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Groove is In The Heart

I wouldn’t exactly like to define what a “stereotypical” snooker player is, mostly for fear of offending anyone! There are certain traits that are instantly recognisable, although on the other hand there are some that you just wouldn’t expect.

Take me, for example. I absolutely love clubbing. Loud, sweaty, booming clubs where you dance until dawn is probably not what you’d expect a snooker pro to get up to in his spare time, but I just love it, raving is one of the best experiences you can have.

I’ve just got back from Ibiza where, basically, I got drunk for a week and danced until I dropped! I have a circle of friends who have nothing to do with snooker and it’s a great way to spend time with them. I’m 34 and I’m not getting any younger, but Ibiza is a fantastic place to go away and lose yourself. It’s the best place in the world and I wish I could live there.

I love my music, and there’s a club in Ibiza called Space which is the best night out, bar none. It’s really nice inside, your feet don’t stick to the carpet, and the DJs and music are out of this world. It’s a bit pricey, 12 euros for a drink, but it’s worth it because of the experience you get from it.

The atmosphere is like nothing else. You’ve got literally thousands of people under one roof, all there for the same reason, to listen to some amazing music and to have a great time. You have to see it to believe it. And you meet some really interesting people too, everyone is buzzing and happy, you talk to anyone. I speak a bit of Spanish because I lived there for a while, which makes it even easier to get along with people. You can meet a new best friend every night.

You can go out on your own one night and, by the time you come in at 7am, you’ve met new people and had a great time with them. You’ll probably never see them ever again, but that’s what it’s all about, you live for the moment.

I think on this occasion it caught up with me, though. I felt a bit rough when I got back but thought it was just a hangover. After a few days of feeling really awful, so bad that I couldn’t even walk up the stairs without being on my hands and knees, I knew it was more than a hangover!

I picked up a virus or something, or maybe just got so run down, but it made me miss the PTC event in Gloucester. I’ve usually got a really strong immune system and I still don’t what the problem was, but I’ve never had to pull out of a tournament before.

But I’m much better now and back practising for the qualifiers this weekend for the European Tour event in Poland, and then next week it’s the qualifiers for the International Championship. I just want to get back playing and winning some matches, and I really want to qualify for the International, it’s a huge event now with big money and lots of prizes at stake, so I hope I’ll be on the plane for China in October.