Justin Hood was a joyful addition to the World Darts Championship last winter, but he has felt the dark side of the spotlight since his brilliant Alexandra Palace run.
On his Alexandra Palace debut, Hood became a big hit with fans thanks to his entertaining walk-on and antics on stage, coupled with some immense darts.
After beating Nicky Kenny in his opener he stunned sixth seed Danny Noppert in the second round with an average of 103.
Returning after Christmas Hood saw off Ryan Meikle then hammered Josh Rock 4-0 before falling to Gary Anderson in the quarter-finals.
A new force had arrived on darts’ biggest stage, but with Hood’s breakthrough has brought with it great expectations and the downsides of sporting fame.
The 33-year-old was relatively anonymous on the professional tour before the World Championship, but now he is better known, he is experiencing the grim realities that social media produces.
‘It’s been an overnight thing really from the Worlds. I used to get recognised once in a blue moon, now it’s every time you go out to practise. It’s nice, but it’s difficult sometimes,’ Hood told Metro.
‘I get a lot more hate messages now, which is not very nice to read. If you lose, some of the stuff we get, it’s just horrible really, but it’s part of it, I suppose.
‘I spoke to my partner about it and we’re probably going to come off the socials soon and just let her run Instagram. It puts a downer on your day when you’re trying your best out there and it’s not working.
‘There’s not a harsher critic in the world than a dart player on themselves when they lose. It is hard to read it sometimes, especially when they’re getting a bit personal about your family and stuff like that. It does affect your mental health after a while.
‘Last year you get the odd message, but most of them were nice ones. Now if you don’t get to the quarters, you just get non-stop abuse.’
Hood has not been spectacular since his Alexandra Palace run, but has been to the final of a Players Championship for the first time.
He is happy enough with how he has been playing and can handle the defeats, but the abuse that comes with them is something he will try and get away from.
‘We’re part of the top 128 players in the world. I could go all year without winning much and I’m still playing a decent level,’ he said.
‘I still get a lot of friendly messages and people encouraging you and it’d be a shame that I don’t get to see all that. But there’s only so much you can take before you want to come off it.’
That quarter-finals run at the World Championship did bring plenty of positives as well, though, notably the £100,000 he picked up for his four wins.
Very real financial fears that were haunting him last year have been seen off.
‘It’s been nice having to not go to events thinking “I’ve got to win this now to pay my bills”,’ Hood said.
‘We’re set up for a little bit now, which is a nice situation to be in. Last year I lost three or four games in a row over the space of two months. I was like, “How am I going to afford rent next month?” Then, luckily, you win a few games and pick some money up.’
If you followed Hood’s World Championship heroics, you may well remember that some of that cash has been earmarked for a Chinese restaurant.
The dream of owning his own Chinese remains alive, and he reckons he’s got a powerhouse darting consortium behind it.
‘My manager is looking into all of it at the moment,’ he said. ‘It’s been so busy since the Worlds that we haven’t had time to sit down and sort anything out. But it’s definitely going to happen. Just not 100 per cent sure when.
‘I reckon we’d get Humphries involved and Littler.’
Another highlight of Hood’s World Championship run was his nickname Happy Feet and its daft origin story of having to borrow a pair of shoes to play an event once and they were far too big for him. He looked enough like a penguin to earn a new nickname.
That’s gone now, though, replaced by Pocket Rocket, after Warner Bros were not too impressed.
‘I got told it was Warner Brothers weren’t too happy, apparently,’ he explained. ‘It went so viral at the Worlds, with me messing about and that. I think they cottoned on and we weren’t allowed it. We’re not going to argue with them!
‘We had a few nicknames thrown about from ourselves and Target, and Pocket Rocket ones seemed to resonate the best with me.’
Nickname settled on, Chinese to come later, what’s next on the oche? Can he repeat his World Championship brilliance?
‘I’m never surprised at what I do,’ he said. ‘I know how good I am. It’s just it’s nice to prove it sometimes.
‘I know if I can put the time in, I can be a top 16 player in the world.’
Justin Hood is a Target-sponsored athlete. For more information and to keep up to date with Target related news visit: www.target-darts.co.uk