“First win!”
Although he flirted with Body Building for a short while it was in the field of Power Lifting that Andy was determined to succeed.
As we chatted about this early part of his development, I was taken by the fact that even then Andy had a very disciplined approach to life.
“Did you go out much then Andy?” I asked “not really” he answered, “about once a week on a Saturday night with my mates, we would have a few drinks and meet up with girls like everyone else of my age but to be honest that was enough, I just loved the gym”.
The fact of the matter was that was when he was starting to make an impression on Power Lifting, he smiled with pride when he told me “I won the Yorkshire Junior Championship in January 1991 it was my first competitive win” I think that the fact that he said “January 1991” say's it all about Andy, he knows exactly what he has achieved and when, it's all in his head, where he has come from and where he is going.
“Andy met and married Stacy”
In writing this profile I was determined to "flush out" the real Andy, the real man, not just a list of achievements and championship trophies but to find out what makes him tick, what is he really like.
Although he had his fair share of girlfriends Andy remained determinedly single right up until his late thirties, "to be honest I wondered if I would ever marry and settle down" he confided in me. Anyway, fate was about to change his whole "take" on life.
When he was competing in Florida during 2004 he and a pal were mooching about one day in a shopping mall when he spotted a very attractive lady through a lingerie shop window, our hero was smitten.
He sent his friend into the store to recee the situation and to find out who she was in a very un-Andy like bout of cowardice.
She was Stacy, and he met with her and friends for drinks, no sooner had they met and Andy had to return to the UK.
It says a lot for him that within two months he had resigned his job (the boss wouldn't give him leave!) and had gone back to the States to woo and finally marry this pretty New Englander.
“Do you know” he said conspiratorially to me “before we married we had only spend twenty two days together” approximately I replied, "Yes approximately" said the big man with a laugh.
Stacy and Andy were married that year in the October and they have just celebrated three years of marriage together.
“Family and professional life”
Much to their joy, sixteen months ago the Bolton's welcomed daughter Madison into the world, a happy man and a very happy family.
Stacy works as a retail manager in a leading women's clothing company and in recent months Andy has turned totally professional.
Is there a danger I wondered, that if a sportsman is happy at home with his wife and family he can sometimes lose that edge that has made him the champion in his field?
He disagreed:
“the truth is I'm two different people, I'm a dedicated power lifter who can be difficult, controversial in the gym and in competitions, but when I'm home I am a husband and a father.
- How do you balance the two? I pressed him,
- I couldn't do it without Stacy, she understands what I need to do to be good and keep on winning, we are a team, if she couldn't or wouldn't understand that, I couldn't do it!
- Top sportsmen are renowned for being both selfish and self-centered, do you fit that description? I ask,
- Oh yeah, I certainly do, but that is only in the gym and at competitions, other times I'm OK!”
Yorshiremen are renowned, infamous even, for their blunt speaking no nonsense approach to life, Andy tells me that “I usually say what I think, and it has been pointed out to me that people either love me or hate me”.
Apart from his life with his family Andy is somewhat of a film-buff, “I get hold of videos on a daily basis and find myself watching a film where I know the lines better than the actors that are in it do” unsurprisingly Bolton is a fan of action movies and has a tendency to enjoy the worst excesses of modern horror movies.
Mind you I would have been even more surprised had he a passion for period costume drama.
I asked him about his social life, for instance did he mainly socialise with people in his sport?
“Funnily enough I used to, but now our friends are more mixed, the thing is when you go out for dinner say with people in Power Lifting that is usually what you end up talking about all night, nowadays we have many friends that are not part of it”.
“And now?”
I rather cheekily then probed him about the future.
“At 37 was he at his peak in terms of performance? I ventured,
- No definitely not, all sports are different but most good judges think that the best years for a power lifter are between their late thirties and early forties, so I reckon I have at least five good years at my peak left!
- Why is that? I ask, usually athletes in power sports tend to lose there edge much quicker than that.”
Andy looked at me patiently and observed, “It's not just about raw strength you know Frank, it is also about, experience, technique, confidence in your own ability and many other things, sure strength is the No1 but without the others, forget it”.
One thing that is for sure, Andy is still an obsessive trainer and the long hours of slog in the gym don't seem to phase him, “I honestly enjoy it, always have, and I think I always will”.
Andy Bolton is about 6 ft tall and his “fighting weight” is around 26 stone or 370llbs, surprisingly in terms of height that makes him considerably shorter that most of his opponents, but then as we are often told "size isn't everything".
He is a good guy Andy Bolton, serious about what he does, yet doesn't take himself too seriously, he clearly adores his family and is a self confessed romantic when it comes to the two women in his life, and for good measure is the best in the world at what he does. How many of us can claim that!
What I wondered, separated out Andy Bolton from the others in the Power Lifting arena?
“I work harder than them, I'm stronger than them, and they don't have my heart” with this he met my gaze full on, very intense, very, very committed; I believe you Andy mate, honestly I believe you.
November 26th 2007,
Frank Leavers.
Frank Leavers is a Freelance Journalist and Broadcaster based in Mallorca, Spain.
