Wright dons warpaint to give him strength in fight for world title
PETER WRIGHT switches on daytime TV in his hotel room, sits at the desk and surveys the suitcase full of cosmetics in front of him. The warrior is ready for his warpaint.
This time his wife, Jo, is treating him to a Christmas theme ahead of the World Championship in London, with a bauble, a sprig of mistletoe and a pair of lips on one side of Peter’s head.
On the other side is his trademark snake beside a multicoloured Mohican. It is a two-hour process but so much more than a makeover.
Peter comes across as a quiet person; not someone who would skip across a stage while his song, ‘Don’t Stop The Party’, is blasted at a sold-out Alexandra Palace.
Paint him up, however, and he turns into his persona, Snakebite (above). A cocky alter-ego in a loud shirt and even louder trousers.
While the majority of players spend their build-up practising, this is the Wright ritual. It is one Peter and Jo feel leaves him in the right frame of mind to win. ‘I become that character instead of the shy sort of guy I am,’ says Peter, one of the favourites for the title. ‘It’s like putting your work gear on and going to work. I’ve got a job to do.
‘Getting that snake on, getting the hair done, getting the outfit on — it makes me confident.’ Wright faces Brazilian Diogo Portela in the first round on Thursday. In the hours prior, hairdresser Jo will have decorated her husband’s head using paint brushes, sprays and stencils, adding a sprinkling of glitter.
Peter believes he can win this world title ‘as long as I’ve got the right set-up and right frame of mind’.
Wright likes to save a special outfit for the final, such as the pineapple theme from Blackpool’s World Matchplay showdown with Phil Taylor. He already has one in mind for the Ally Pally.