From Zero To Rio: A Life's Journey To The Olympic Games - Sonny Webster - #026

**Chris Williamson** (0:00)
Hi, friends. Sonny Webster, Olympic weightlifter and general all-round big dick on Instagram has joined me for a discussion about his career. We did this before we went on a night out in Newcastle, and I think the night out's probably worthy of a podcast as well. But today we're gonna find out exactly how Sonny got into the sport of weightlifting, his entire journey from starting at school right through up until he walked out at the Olympic opening ceremony next to Andy Murray holding a tiny little flag. So I absolutely loved this episode. The storytelling and the narrative of Sonny's career from when he started up until when he decided to leave home at the basically at the protest of his dad to go and live on his mate's University Halls of Residence floor because that was where he needed to go because he wanted to lift. It's an incredibly grounding story and it provides a lot of perspective, I think, that we can apply to our own lives. And on top of that, it's just fucking cool. Like we get to find out what the kit selection process for the Olympics is like, what it felt like to walk out at the opening ceremony, what it feels like as you're warming up backstage before you go out to make a lift on the biggest stage in the world. It's a really, really interesting story. The plan will be to have Sonny back. We got up to the Olympics in super detail, and then it was two hours deep. He desperately needed a wee, and the place we were going to for food was gonna close in about 30 minutes time. So he will be back. There's a lot more to Sonny's story that we're going to go through. And if you want to ask him any questions, head to YouTube and post in the comments section. I will make sure that he logs on and has a little bit of a look now and then. But for now, enjoy the journey of an Olympian from zero to Rio. Here's Sonny Webster.
Everyone who's listening, welcome back. Sonny Webster's joined me today. How are you?

**Sonny Webster** (2:26)
Very well, thank you.

**Chris Williamson** (2:27)
What's happening? Long drive today.

**Sonny Webster** (2:29)
Long drive, five hours in the car, decent training session considering.

**Chris Williamson** (2:34)
Very decent training session, and worth it obviously to see me.

**Sonny Webster** (2:37)
Of course, I'm looking forward to the later part of tonight's antics.

**Chris Williamson** (2:41)
Yes, of course. Those of you who know what I, how I perceive drinking, I'm gonna suspend my drinking habits or my lack of drinking habits for one evening. I can talk about it.

**Sonny Webster** (2:53)
Bearing in mind when I met you, you were on a six months sober.

**Chris Williamson** (2:56)
Six months sobriety stint, yeah, exactly.

**Sonny Webster** (2:58)
And we still went out and you were there like itching.

**Chris Williamson** (3:01)
It was difficult, but that was at the end of it. That was like two weeks to go. It was not easy, but yeah, that was still a really fun night, a body power improvement.

**Sonny Webster** (3:11)
So good, because we literally met like a few hours before that as well, and we just like click.

**Chris Williamson** (3:15)
Yeah, it's cool, man, it's awesome. So anyone who's watching on the brand new Modern Wisdom YouTube channel, subscribe, subscribe, subscribe. If you don't know what Sonny does, Video Mandean will make it appear here, and here, and also here.
So Sonny is an Olympic weightlifter, represented Great Britain at Rio.

**Sonny Webster** (3:44)
Yeah, 2016

**Chris Williamson** (3:46)
And now you are traveling the world doing weightlifting seminars and coaching people, doing a lot of PT work.

**Sonny Webster** (3:52)
Having a lot of fun.

**Chris Williamson** (3:53)
Having an awful lot of fun and being a big dick Instagram swinger and all the rest of the stuff, man. So for the people who don't know who you are and for the people who do, can you give us a background? How did you start in weightlifting? Where does it come? Where do you begin?

**Sonny Webster** (4:07)
I guess I have to take you right back to me even as a kid and go back and talk about, I guess, what got me into sport. I mean, I've always been a sport kid. You know, you get these kids, the sport kids and the kids that are more artistic, etc. I was always a sport kid. My dad was always into golf. So naturally, before I could pretty much walk, my dad had golf covered my hands. I even remember, like, he still got videos on, you know, the old video recorders, like the tapes of him trying to teach me. And he's so brutal with me. My golf swing is pure. And he's like, that's wrong. It's bad. And I'm there like, I'll sit.