At 37, I’m the healthiest I’ve ever been .... I’m finally living my Best life
Once famed for his party-boy antics, Calum Best has been on a long journey of self-improvement. He tells GABRIELLE FAGAN why he’s never felt better
AROUND a decade ago, Calum Best decided to turn his life around. For years following the death, in 2005, of his footballing father George Best, who’d battled alcoholism, the reality TV star struggled with his own demons, admitting to ‘wild’ times when he was drinking, taking drugs and partying to excess.
In previous interviews, Calum talked of the moment, aged 28, when his mother, Angie Best, was so concerned for her son that she returned from America to live in the UK – recalling how “we were walking down the river. She tried to put her arm in mine and I felt really uncomfortable. I was ashamed of what I got up to. The demon that was drinking and doing drugs every day for years had taken over my brain. Luckily, I switched out of it and thought: ‘This is not the way for me’.”
Now 37, Calum is a passionate advocate for health and wellbeing and living his best life. Here, he opens up about what makes him tick, how he feared his life would end prematurely and what drives him on...
Are you in a good place in your life right now?
I FEEL like I’m going from strength to strength. My pursuit is health, fitness and happiness, and my lifestyle is about training so I can improve my mind and body. I’ve spent 10 years evolving and bettering myself, getting away from all the nasty stuff that was in my life and focusing on the good stuff and being in touch with my spiritual side.
I remember sitting with my mum at one point when I was in my late-20s and telling her I really was fearing for myself, and didn’t know what age I was going to make it to. To say to your mother, ‘I don’t know how much longer I’ve got’... She must have been mortified.
Luckily, I snapped myself out of it – I know how that story ends and it’s not a nice one. I’m always going to have a bit of rebel in me, I’ll always be my father’s son in ways but at the same time, I’m very much my mum’s son, and she’s been a health nut for as long as I can remember. What were the key turning points for you?
APART from my mum coming back to the UK – I’d not been in a family environment for years, which I needed – the starting point for me was when I was at an all-time low years back, and I said to myself: ‘I want to change’.
As soon as I meant it and had conviction in my head, the universe gave me an opportunity. Making the documentary, Brought Up By Booze (2009), where I talked about my feelings of having an alcoholic parent, was healing and helped me with the grieving process. I’ve connected with charities and I am a patron of The National Association for Children of Alcoholics.
My mindfulness journal, BestMeLife Journal (bestmelife.co), is designed to help people create a happy and harmonious environment for themselves and keep a focus on their goals. I write my journal daily and it helps me. Would you do another reality TV show?
NEVER say never. For me, it was a learning process. We know a lot of reality TV is car crash television, and some of it is actually terrible to watch. But I had to earn a living and
it gave me an opportunity to express what I was feeling.
Do you feel grown up? THERE’S no doubt. I lacked a lot of self-belief for years because of not really knowing what my role was in the world. I feel more confident nowadays. As you get older, you care less about what people think, and you care more about what you’ve got to do to make yourself feel right.
What’s been your toughest physical challenge?
I CLIMBED Mont Blanc, in the Alps, which is nearly 5,000 metres above sea level, for charity and it was definitely the toughest thing I’ve done. I just assumed because I keep myself fit, it wouldn’t be a problem – in fact I was so ill-prepared!
You’re dealing with the physical strain, the altitude, the fear, and my brain kept saying: ‘You cannot do this, you will not be able to do this.’ There were sheer rock faces, ice walls, and at one stage we hiked for seven hours and I struggled to breathe because of the altitude.
The adrenaline rush at the summit was something else, and the experience was amazing, scary and incredibly worthwhile all at the same time.
How do you look after your health? AT 37, I’m the healthiest I’ve ever been, in my mind and my body. I’m very active, go to the gym every day and use weights. I play football three times a week and I do a lot of fitness classes and spin classes as well.
I eat well, although I’m addicted to sugar and I still enjoy a drink here and there, so I’m no saint. But overall, my life is based on pursuing a better version of myself and improving all the time.
How do you look after your wellbeing?
I USE mindfulness, which is thinking, ‘What can I do to help others, what can I do to help myself?’ and ‘How can I be more thoughtful and mindful of others and myself and practise gratitude?’
I’m trying to practise meditation but I’m not great. It’s so hard to clear your mind and not get distracted.
I’ve just been to an amazing, isolated retreat in Bali, where you train really hard with an ex-military instructor, explore natural pools and temples or zip-line down mountains, and every day, meditate.“I found it so calming and at the end, it even leaves you feeling euphoric, so it was mind-blowing and I’m hooked. I also enjoyed yoga there and I’m going to incorporate more yoga into my life from now on. ■ CALUM Best travelled to Bali with Fifth Element Escapes, a luxury travel company offering adventure, yoga, fitness and wellbeing escapes to some of the most beautiful destinations on earth, alongside unparalleled expert guidance. Visit Fifthelementescapes.com