FULL THROTTLE
A photo portfolio from Northern Ireland’s gritty motorcycle race, the North West 200
I have a naturally cheerful face but I am happy. I’m out for a laugh.
I was born in Somalia, grew up in Djibouti, then moved to Britain when I was eight. As a boy, I mainly remember trying to make friends. All I really wanted was good mates.
How many miles have I run in my life? I average 115 and 120 miles a week with, maybe, let’s call it a month off altogether each year. Pretty scary to work that number out… not that I’m going to work it out right now!
I’m a Denzel fan. Man on Fire [2004] is one of my favourite movies.
All I ever wanted was to work for what I have and I’ve done that. To have a nice house, support your kids and dress them well, give them what they need, it’s pretty amazing but it’s something I worked to achieve. Occasionally, I will treat myself, of course. I’ve got a Jaguar. That’s nice. The XJL, the slightly longer one. My first car was a Micra. Remember them? The Nissan Micra. Old shape. Having faith is a big part of my life. It’s made me who I am. You’ve got to believe that things happen for a reason.
I ran the perfect race at the London Olympics. Which race? Both. To have that much pressure and get it right wasn’t easy. You’ve got to time it perfectly in terms of your preparation; you go up the stairs smoothly, that’s how I describe it. The memories of London will always stay with me. Being on the podium. Crossing the line first. Having 75,000 people cheer for you. It can’t get any better than that. That’s really what drives me every day.
You shouldn’t mistake being kind and decent for being weak.
Everybody wants to scrub up well but I don’t collect certain clothes. I’m more of a shoes man. I like my Nike Air Jordans. That’s the one thing I collect. I’ve got the 1s, 2s... all the way up to 12s. The 4s are the best. Very similar to the 3s, they’re that little bit higher but not as high as the 11s. I’ve still got them in the box but occasionally I will wear them. “Differences” by Ginuwine was the first song played at my wedding. I thought I was a good dancer but I’m not really. What other music is in my collection? All kinds of stuff. You might find Devlin. You might find Wretch 32. You might find Calvin Harris. You might find Pink. You might find Tupac. Do I think Tupac is alive? No. He’s dead.
It’s not easy being away six months of the year. I’m away from my kids and I don’t see them a lot but it’s all worth it. That’s what it takes. You never get that time back but how many people can say that they could give each one of their kids an Olympic gold medal?
I did try media training but I didn’t agree with it because it’s not what you really want to say. I just wanted to be myself and be as natural as I can. I think that’s the best way.
Do I ever go out clubbing with Usain Bolt? No! He would show me up, wouldn’t he? I’m a bit too old for that, I think. I haven’t been out clubbing for years. For me, I like to go out for a nice meal and have a chat. That’s what I do. You’re only as good as your last race. Win or lose, you have to let go. You can’t hold on to anything.
I could probably do 30 keepie-uppies but it might take me a couple of attempts.
Arsène Wenger is a very passionate man. I’ve met him a couple of times. If he believes in something he makes it work. I love that.
I spent most of my childhood in west London. My dad was an IT consultant and then, over time, I think he got different jobs and stuff. I probably don’t keep up as much as I should. But yeah, that’s what he started off as. My mum has always been a housewife, looking after four kids. Quite a handful, isn’t it? I’ve got four kids now and it’s not easy.
Running has helped me out, made me travel around the world. I’ve seen a lot of different cultures. Seen life, really.
My twin brother is Hassan. He doesn’t exercise as much as me so we look a little different now. We still talk the same. Home will always be London but I live in Portland, Oregon. You get a lot more space, the roads are bigger and it’s more relaxed. When you come back to London, it’s a little bit more packed but that’s what I love about it. I come here, wake up, pick up a newspaper, go out and enjoy the good food I miss. I take lots of stuff back with me: chocolate; tea bags; Ribena; Heinz beans. Portland’s on the West Coast. You couldn’t get beans on toast there.
Nothing really gets on my nerves. I just don’t like rude people. Respect everybody.
I get bored when by myself. I prefer to hang around with people, chill out, play computer games. It’s got to be Fifa. It used to be Pro Evolution Soccer but Fifa’s overtaken it. Nothing else. Just football. I don’t play other games.
Forty-five minutes before a race I’ll have a double espresso. Sometimes triple espresso. Bit of sugar in there. It helps you be alert.
When you’re growing up you see your mates smoking and whatever, trying to be cool as you get into secondary school, but I think sport has kept me out of all that. Chocolate. Sugar stuff. That’s my problem. Snickers. Frosties. I love Maltesers. Anything sweet.
Nothing worries me about retiring because I know I had my time. It’s one of those things. At some point in our lives, everybody’s going to die. That doesn’t scare me. It’s part of life.
You’ve got to make sacrifices to achieve anything. I’m a believer in that. Things ain’t going to come to you. You have to go get them.
I’ve had braids, plaits, blond hair. All kinds of hair. Now I’m shaving my head probably every three or four days. More often than that if I’m going somewhere special.
If you want to get fit, rest is important too. Not too much, though. Don’t sit on your backside drinking tea.
I just want to be known as that person who did what they could in their career and made the most of it. That’s all I want to be known as. Someone who took that opportunity.
‘MEMORIES OF LONDON WILL ALWAYS STAY WITH ME. HAVING 75,000 PEOPLE CHEER FOR YOU. IT CAN’T GET ANY BETTER’