Derval O’Rourke
As Ireland’s Fittest Family reaches its finale this week, Jess O’Sullivan sits down for a chat with coach Derval
Were you disappointed not to make the semifinal of this year’s Fittest Family?
I don’t have any regrets in terms of how I went about coaching my families, but I felt a bit gutted not to be involved personally for the next couple of weeks. I genuinely felt both of my families could have done much more, but it’s not like either family made any big mistakes.
Which competitor stood out this year?
Each year has its people who shine. Last year, there were 15-year-old girls who were so tough. This year, the older contestants are really shining. Martin Finnegan-Hogan is 63 and is a grandfather. I remember being told Martin ’s Hang Tough time [a record-breaking 7:40 minutes] and I thought they were joking. Susan Lally is also phenomenal and a beautiful person.
Do you think it’s good for people to see someone of Martin’s age being so athletic?
The new 60 is Martin Finnegan-Hogan hanging off a bar over the Dublin Docks looking like it didn’t bother him at all, and showing up teenage boys in the process. These days, in the social media age we get caught up in 20-somethings who have fitness profiles on Instagram. But you know what? If I can do that in my 50s and 60s, I’d be doing really well. He is so inspiring.
Which challenge would you hate to do?
The Vertigo Challenge, on top of the Irish Life Building. I do not like heights. It was windy as well when they were up there doing it, but I’m not sure how much of that was captured on television. You have a safety harness, but there’s that little voice in your head that says, “Will it really work if I fall?” You can’t train for it because it’s mind over matter, and I think all four coaches would struggle.
Do you ever watch yourself back during the tasks?
Never. I’m probably the worst at forgetting the cameras are rolling. I don’t do as much TV work as Anna and Donncha, and Davy just doesn’t care. At one stage I had a race with Donncha and I was shouting “Check it!” at the ref. I was mortified for myself and the amount of people who messaged me on social media, saying: “Check it!” A woman even shouted it at me in the supermarket! Davy has been a coach every season for the last six years, but has he mellowed at all?
You would imagine he would be jaded, but he’s totally not. There are so many funny opinions on Davy Fitz, but the one thing I see is that he really cares about his families. He’s definitely a different coach to what he was five years ago. He’s less shouty and he cares about them being happy with the outcome as opposed to wanting them to win.
How do you keep a straight face when you are doing your serious pose to camera?
They call it game face. They’ll say: ‘Right we’re doing a game face shot and then you’ll hear Donncha singing Let It Go from Frozen, because he calls myself and Anna, Elsa and Anna. We have to do about 49 takes because Donncha spends most of his time trying to make us laugh.
Donncha’s family knocked yours out (the Finnegans got beaten by the Lawlors) – is there ever bad blood afterwards?
Because myself and Donncha come from Cork, he usually drives me up and down. He knocked me out both times this season and one time in particular, I was raging with him. I thought, ‘Oh my God, I’ll have no lift back to Cork if I keep fighting with him. I’ll have to get the bus.’ The day after he beat me, he wore a T-shirt saying ‘Free hugs’. It worked. You can’t be cross with him. It’s like being cross with an oversized Disney figure.
Who do you think is going to take home the grand prize?
Anna has two teams left, so in a numbers game she has a better chance than anyone else. I think Donncha is under pressure because he won it last year. Nobody has repeated any year. And then the final is in Croke Park, which is Anna and Davy territory. When I got knocked out, I said that if I had to put a few quid on anyone, it would be Miss Anna Geary.
Which family has really impressed you? Davy’s team, the McDonalds from Laois. The two girls are really impressive. Their personalities are quite understated but they are phenomenal athletes. I probably didn’t see their potential as much when we were picking, but I do now.
You have just launched your new website, Derval.ie – tell us about it...
I wanted to do an online product instead of another cookbook. It is subscription-based, at €7 a month, and there are three areas – food, fitness and focus. You get access to workouts and recipes, and tonnes of expert content as well as a loyalty club with great benefits. So I’ll have two new babies really – my digital business baby and then I have my second baby, a real baby, who is due in March. I’ll take a little bit of time off, but I love what I do, so I’m never going to separate myself from it.”