Lockdown Lowdown: Managing fighters and family life with Kieran Farrell
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In the second edition of our Lockdown Lowdown series, we spoke with former boxer and now trainer, manager and promoter Kieran Farrell to see how he has used his surroundings to continue his work - and find out what he has learnt during this time.
The term workaholic is one that doesn’t get thrown around lightly, but that is exactly what Kieran is. In the past year, Farrell has hosted numerous sell-out shows across the North West; coached various fighters up and down the country; and through his management guided his brother to fight on the biggest platform in the sport – Matchroom Boxing. Taking a man away from the comfortable chaos of that lifestyle that he ultimately thrives in is understandably going to take some getting used to, and the 29-year-old discussed how much his daily routine has changed:
“The main thing is making sure my kids are learning during this time above any of my work. My daughter logs onto an online workplace where she can study, whilst my son is just coming out of nursery so it’ll be his first year in reception when he goes back in. It’s a massive change of scenery for me, I’m usually out of the house training at 5:30 in the morning whereas now, I’ve thrown myself into doing more housework than anything to the point where I might run out of things to clean!”
As well as training professionals, Kieran also coaches children from a variety of age groups, and has made sure that members of his classes have the appropriate regime set up to keep them active and healthy outside of the gym environment:
“I sent a routine out to the kids in the gym of ten exercises and ten reps, such as burpees, sit ups, squats etc. That is what I do with the kids to finish off their sessions anyway and I’ve told every parent with children that come to my gym, to make sure they keep up with that every day, as well as their running. When they come back to the gym, they’ll be ahead of schedule and ready to go in September, when the season starts again.”
As previously mentioned, 2019 was a massive year for Kieran’s brother Nathan and the work rate is still as strong as ever for the 3-0 super-lightweight with plenty of big opportunities and fights coming soon:
“Nathan lives on the same street as the gym, so I’ve allowed him to go in the gym on his own whilst adhering to self-isolation and he’s following a plan that I have set up for his own time and personal space, as are the other pros.”
In a time where we all need something to brighten our day, social media has shown that we can bring each other a bit of happiness with various challenges ranging from Tik Tok dances to childhood photo nominations. Kieran discussed the positive impact these challenges have had in uniting people:
“I got tagged in a feel-good challenge on Instagram, where each person has to sing and nominate someone else to do the same and that did bring a smile to my face. Things like that are good in times like these to help bring people together when we can’t be around in person. A lot of the lads that took part are fighters that I manage and don’t train, so it’s nice to be able to catch up when I don’t get to see them every day anyway”
Kieran closed the interview by stating that despite how career driven we may be, that the wellbeing of ourselves and our loved ones should always be our biggest priority - and hopes that this togetherness is maintained going forward:
“The brain injury I suffered all those years ago made me realise how precious life is. It’s very easy to get caught up with work and think that is our biggest focus, but recent weeks have shown us that the health of our families should always be our biggest concern and that our time with our loved ones is incredibly important. I hope everyone stays safe, active and looks after their families.”
Stay tuned for further updates from Morson’s sporting stars and continue to keep safe.
