Phil Taylor has long since conquered the world of darts and is enjoying retirement as he focusses more on his fitness than his finishing.
Now 65 years old, the Power has hung up his arrows for good, not even playing in exhibition matches anymore.
The 16-time world champion has not entirely retired from public life and will still meet fans at events, but his days of throwing tungsten are behind him.
Now he is trying to look after his health after problems with his back and hip, somewhat unexpectedly getting into cycling in his seventh decade.
‘I’m trying to keep fit a bit more now. I’m cycling a lot,’ Taylor told Metro. I had an operation, I had a new hip and the surgeon, he said, “Phil, I’m going to tell you something now. Keep your legs strong, because when you’re in your 60s, anybody in their 60s, if they fall and break their hip, you’re in trouble.”
‘So I do cycling, and then I’m in with one of my best mates Bobbie Goulding. He texts me every morning! He played rugby for Wigan, St. Helens, Leeds, England, Great Britain.
‘He’s in his 50s, and he’s fit as a fiddle. He’s getting me into weights now. So I built a gym, put a sauna in and I’m cycling in the morning.
‘I’ve got one of them vibrating plates as well. So I’ll get on there and squat. I’ve got what you call TRX straps, which hold you, so I’ll squat down on it and back up again.’
Taylor’s health kick has expanded to his diet as well, with the Power providing some top tips for the kitchen.
‘Normally for my dinner, I’ll have sour bread, avocado, a bit of olive oil, a bit of balsamic, tomatoes or poached egg, a bit of cheese,’ he said. ‘I’m addicted to it, I love it.
‘I was in Spain last week, Marbella area, and one of the landlords says, “Phil, try this dish we’re famous for it, it’s called pil pil.” Have you had it? It’s prawns. I’ve even bought the dishes now, the tapas dishes.
‘All it is, a good glug of olive oil in there, garlic, put it on a flame so it starts boiling, start cooking the garlic a little bit, some paprika. I like coriander, some people put mint in, then just put your prawns in.
‘Then, because your gravy as such goes red with the paprika, when you put half a teaspoon in, and then you get your bread and just dip it in. Oh mate, addictive! Addictive. I’m telling you. You can put a little bit of chilli flakes in as well. Try it.’
While the legendary darts player could have a future as a lifestyle influencer for retirees, attention did have to turn, at least a bit, to sport.
Still the greatest of them all on the oche, some suggest Taylor is up there with Britain’s greatest sports people of any flavour, but who does he see as in that conversation?
‘My favourite sports people have always been winners,’ he said. ‘I love winners, because I know what it takes. Football-wise, I used to love Roy Keane, Stuart Pearce, Tony Adams. Stanley Matthews, he was a friend of mine because he’s from Stoke.
‘I used to chat with him a lot about what he used to do. He said, “I used to go running on the beach when he played for Blackpool, after we finished training.” I asked him why he did it. He said, “because they won’t.” And that gave him the advantage. I thought, that’s clever.’
Taylor took that mindset, making himself hit ‘five or six 180s before I went to bed’ which could take ’10 minutes or an hour-and-a-half’ but he knew his rivals weren’t doing the same.
He didn’t stop there, though, and now come some more handy lifestyle hints from the Power.
‘I used to take a lot out of other sports people,’ he said. ‘I even had blood tests, so I could eat to my blood type.
‘So my blood group is a funny blood group, mine comes from Mongolia. It must have been when the Mongolians took over the world, so I’ve got their blood group. So if I eat rice, in Chinese food, I get no stomach problems at all. But if I eat chips or potatoes, bread, it kills my stomach, gives me heartburn.
‘I take my own cooking stuff to hotels, I take my own mattress topper, I take my own pillow, and I got all this off different sports people.’
One final piece of advice from the Power for sports people or anyone on their travels really hits hard.
‘Another thing as well, if you ever go in a hotel, this will spoil you now,’ Taylor said in a hushed tone. ‘They wash the linen, they wash the sheets, they wash the duvets, they wash the pillow cushions, they never wash the pillow.
‘So just take the lid off and smell the pillow. All you smell is people’s sweat! So I take my own pillow.’