After 10 years in Dirty Sanchez, I looked at myself bloated and yellow and thought, what have I become?
Welsh wildman Matt Pritchard tells MARION McMULLEN how he’s finally taking care of himself after a decade of reckless abandon
There were a lot of outrageous pranks on MTV show Dirty Sanchez, from being slapped in the face with a cactus to barbed wire hurdle races. How did you survive it all?
I WAS quite happy to do anything then and to be inside that kind of madness. We travelled the world, but now I feel like I’ve been there and done that.
I’m not partying as much as I did, put it that way. You can’t go on stage and stick a drumstick up your a**e, especially when you’re 45.
What’s life like now?
REALLY busy. I have a barber’s and a tattoo shop at home in Cardiff and another one in Bargoed. I’ve also signed with the BBC and have big challenges coming.
I have a four-year plan. I want to live in Majorca eventually and go swimming and running and cycling. I have friends out there, so that’s my plan. I mean, I love this country and it’s lovely in summer, but the winters .... I just can’t take them.
What does your new healthy lifestyle include?
I TRAIN six days a week and have one day off. I’m working on strength at the moment in the gym. I started as a skateboarder before Dirty Sanchez and I was always fit.
I dived headfirst into Dirty Sanchez and went wild for 10 years, then I looked at myself bloated and yellow-looking and thought ‘What have I become?’ and I decided to do something about it.
I did the Cardiff half-marathon first. I had first done it when I was 15 and I just got addicted to it all. I just carried on with marathons, triathlons and Ironman events.
What is it like doing Ironman challenges?
THEY’RE tough. I’ve done the triple Ironman and that’s really hard, but that’s what I enjoy most. I didn’t stop after I had finished it. I just continued training.
Training keeps me in a happy place. I have decided to have a year off and concentrate on my strength because I have done so much the last few years and my body was starting to feel it. So I’m concentrating on building up my strength and then I’ll start again.
I view my day off from training as having earned my party time. That’s how I look at it – party time – but I do not drink anything like I used to do.
How do you manage all your fitness training on a vegan diet?
I KNOW a lot about food. I used to be a chef and I still understand food. It’s important when I train.
I turned vegan a few years ago. I love animals and I decided it was time to make changes. I’ve found I’m faster and stronger on a vegan diet and healing times are quicker.
I’ve had people ask ‘Where are you getting your protein from?’ and I say ‘Erm, well, plants.’
(Laughs) I do miss a boiled egg, but I’m much happier now. I don’t really think about it any more.
You and Dirty Sanchez team mate Lee Dainton are about to go on tour. What can people expect from An Audience With Dirty Sanchez?
DOING this was something me and Dainton were always talking about. We can’t carry on touring forever, we’re getting older and he’s got kids and family and stuff, but when we do see each other it’s like it always used to be.
I’ve known him 25 years and we still mess with each other. (Laughs) Nothing changes really.
Dainton has got reams of stuff that was never used in the TV show and we talk about how Dirty Sanchez came about, and our friendship. We have a Q&A and encourage people to ask whatever they want to know. It’s nice to go up on stage without smashing the living s**t out of yourself.
An Evening With Dirty Sanchez can be seen at Cardiff Tramshed on July 27 and tours from September. Go to twitter.com/pritchardswyd for more details.
I have a four year plan. I want to live in Majorca eventually... I love this country... but the winters... I just can’t take them.