When I see myself on TV, it's like watching a film with Bruce Willis in it. You think it's somebody else. It's weird.

I grew up in Mill Hill. All potteries, mining. Then once Maggie Thatcher closed the pits down, it became a bit depressed.

People think that being rich is all about having money. But the times I've had the most money is when I've been unhappiest.

I've got a friend who has a juice business and he brings boxes round and fills up my fridge with fruit and vegetable juices.

There have been too many miles on the road. I have been doing six or seven exhibitions a week, two or three a night sometimes.

In 1990 I qualified to play in the World Championships for the first time. I was ranked 125-1 to win but I knew I could do it.

I want to win, I've still got the fire in the belly to win, it's just the old utensils are not working as good as they used to.

I have always been 100% regimental and I haven't done what I should do and sometimes you can be a casualty of your own success.

I am on a fat-free diet for most of the year, but before 'the worlds,' I tend to relax on the diet a bit to concentrate on darts.

If you told me I was at number 34 Blake Street, I'd immediately think 'double 17.' If I was at number 37, I'd think 'five, double 16.'

I have been to Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street but cannot get on the BBC. I am very disappointed because it boils down to snobbery.

Some tournaments are played in one day - you might start at nine o'clock in the morning and it won't end till one o'clock the next morning.

Do I miss the darts? No, not at all. It has been great not to get up in the morning and have to be dedicated anymore. That is the best part.

We've created the best indoor winter facility in the world. Having set that benchmark, it could inspire a whole new generation throughout the world.

During the year, when I'm not doing major tournaments, I'll go to the gym for about two to three hours in the morning and practise darts in the afternoon.

You know what, December's a funny time of the year, because the weather changes, the central heating comes on; sometimes you can get colds and coughs and flu.

Boxers Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank would not have missed their rivalry for all the world, and I don't mind a bit of needle in darts if it helps to pay the bills.

These youngsters coming into the sport are bright lads. They see how much money there is now and they realise you've got to be fitter and stronger than the others.

Money is great for paying the bills and putting food in the cupboard and in the fridge. But winning titles is different altogether. It's what you do, it's your living.

I used to have to go to the board and hit three 180s before I'd allow myself to go to bed. Sometimes, I'd do it in five minutes but, on a bad night, it could take an hour.

I used to watch a lot of people and think, 'You're not dedicated.' It's half an hour into the game and they have dropped their standard. They weren't putting the effort in.

You can't afford to be lazy in this business, and in the past I've used all the travelling and the hotels as an excuse not to stick to exercise regimes and looking after myself.

You can get spoilt in this game, you know. You reach the point where you get a new car and don't get excited about it. You get complacent, and that's what you've got to watch for.

It can be a quick career if you don't perform properly. If some of these pros don't do something to reinvent themselves, they're going to go down the rankings as quick as anything.

I used to body build six or seven days a week. I was really, really fit. I wasn't naturally talented but I was fanatical at it. That's the problem with me, I've got a one-track mind.

My dad was only 57 when he died. That's one of the things that makes me worried. You never know what's around the corner. I don't want to go at 57 and not having done anything but played darts.

I used to go into the practice room when I played county. Sometimes I wasn't playing until five or six o'clock in the afternoon, and I was there at 9 A.M. The cleaners were hoovering around me.

Down the years, I have always enjoyed playing Raymond van Barneveld. There is always a frisson of excitement in the air, an edge to the contest that makes the sap rise, but it stops short of pure enmity.

People are determined to play well against me because they don't want to look silly and lose 6-0. But then, when I'm playing my best, it's weird. Their heads drop and it's like they're suddenly frightened.

I don't know why I am liked. I think it's probably because I've just been normal, not been flash or tried to hurt anybody. I'm not one for going out and going to nightclubs. I'd rather stay in and watch a good movie.

After I left school at 16 I had three jobs: I worked in a ceramics factory, where I made toilet handles, I repaired cars for people and in the evenings and weekends I worked in a bar. I had to do them all to make ends meet.

When we play in the Pro Tour there's no crowds in, so you can concentrate better. The others play better as well, there's players who can't play too good on TV but on the floor when it's nice and quiet they can bang them in, let me tell you.

You can't know the dedication it takes to win 16 world titles until you do it yourself. I didn't know what John Lowe had to do before me. I respected him because that's how I was brought up - but I respect him more now that I've done it myself.

I'm good friends with Robbie Williams because we both grew up in Stoke and our dads went to the same pubs. His dad, Pete, is like my second dad, I can talk to him about anything and I see him most weeks. And Rob is brilliant, a really generous, lovely bloke.

I think we've got every chance of being an Olympic sport and, if they did put us in, I know they'd sell a lot of tickets and the atmosphere would be fantastic. I would love to see it, I really would. If you want to sell tickets and get thousands of people there, then do it.

I can sit down and watch the Discovery channel and see something on nuclear submarines that gets me thinking about torpedoes and darts . Or I can see a documentary about someone preparing for a big challenge and I'll use the same techniques. You always need to aim to get better.

We had this little yard, and during the summer holidays, when my mum and dad were working, I spent hours bowling a golf ball at a stick. Just bowling, bowling, bowling. And I got to where I could hit the stick every time, repeating the same action. That's where the darts came from.

I'm a little like Roy Keane. Mentally I'm very strong. I'm very hungry. I'm very dedicated. You can't throw me off my stride. That's how I break people. I just don't care what they do. They can throw 180, 180 and 180 again and I'm like, 'so what?' They've got to keep it up to beat me.

We've tried to create something that's much more like being at a mountain resort. Many of these types of facilities done in the past paid little regard to structure or the environment and just focused on the sport of skiing. We've gone a step further and provided an immersive environment.

We get what we deserve. When we allow dirty players to be sanitized and called "intense competitors," when we accept classless gestures and taunting as healthy enthusiasm, when we cheer for the barbaric, eye-for-an-eye mentality of players throwing baseballs at each other, we get what we deserve.

That first world title has to be the most wonderful moment and to beat Bristow, the No 1 in the world, was the ultimate. There's not many matches I remember, but I do remember that one, remember playing really, really well. Bristow was so upset he wouldn't talk to me for a few weeks after I beat him.

With darts it's just one against one, it's blow for blow. The only thing I could compare it to is boxing. It's dead exciting. You're reacting to each other, the adrenaline's pumping. You don't feel calm at all. But it's all about being able to win when you're pumped up. People say you don't play the player; I play the player every time.

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