Meet Paul Hines’ apprentice, Tony White

At 24 years of age, Tony White is the baby of the Clinic’s staff and so it’s fitting that he should be working under the guidance of Mr Experience, Paul Hines.
As I write this, he is assisting the feisty Ben Vickers in a beginner’s MMA class – he is yin to Vickers yang.

The Clinic is in constant pursuit of the best trainers and Tony caught Paul’s eye, here’s what he has to say; “He’s a good kid, a good fighter who’s on his way to becoming a great coach too. Good kids deserve a break and that’s what we’re doing with Tony,”

Tony is a fitness instructor but coaching MMA is what he’s working towards, “This is the start of my dream career, teaching MMA to earn a living wouldn’t feel like a job.” And he holds the clinic in high esteem, “This is a private gym which is run professionally and how I think other gyms will look to do things in the future.”

What he lacks in years of experience he more than makes up for with dedication. He trains 6 times a week, sometimes twice a day, boxing, grappling, BJJ and MMA. He also recently spent 3 months with the HIT Squad in the US (you may recall reading Graham’s blog from there in December 08). He was there to learn, he was there to train and train he did apart from when he was eating and sleeping. So you could say he’s got some great knowledge to pass on.

I’ve seen him spar – he’s fearless and he’s fought in MMA and submission wrestling – so he’s not afraid of a tussle or two. But he’s modest about his abilities, when asked which talent he would most like he replies, “Probably being able to fight, then I wouldn’t have to train.” He claims to have limited natural ability but trains to make up for that. But he believes this is a quality that will also make him a good coach, as he is able to put himself into other’s shoes.

If you ever come face to face with Tony in the cage don’t be intimidated by him, because he’s afraid of his mum! When asked if he ever cursed he replied, “ I swear way too much, although my mum has never heard me swear, she would kill me.”

Away from the gym Tony likes the simple things in life. As an avid Arsenal supporter his favourite sound is that of the terraces. His greatest extravagance is pie and mash on a Saturday afternoon and the things that make him most happy (apart from an Arsenal win of course) are a cup of tea and a packet of chocolate hob knobs.

He’s a north London boy, born and bred in Holloway, so the new gym in The Angel is perfect for him and his “angelic” personality – let’s just hope the Bens don’t corrupt him.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 3rd, 2009 at 8:16 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.