Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Ex-fighter’s podcast packs a punch as he interviews city’s notorious figures
A FORMER bare-knuckle boxer is letting his mouth rather than his fists do the talking as he sheds light on some of Dundee’s most controversial characters in a new podcast series.
Decca Heggie, a two-time British bare-knuckle boxing champion, has never shied away from packing a punch during his career and doesn’t plan on changing that with his latest venture.
The former champion, who now works as an actor, is facing a new raft of opponents, armed with a microphone, as he conducts his “no holds barred interviews”.
An array of guests including Mike Tyson’s former sparring partner, underworld figures and film stars have already shared their stories.
Decca, who now lives in Montrose, has delved into the City of Discovery’s past highlighting the stories of people like Gary Carroll and George Kerr, among others.
The men have shared experiences of time in prison, and conflict both at home and abroad that have added to their notoriety within Tayside.
Decca said Gary’s time fighting Isis in Kurdistan and George’s shooting in the Cutty Sark pub had been two reasons to delve into their stories.
The muscle-bound Cumbrian admitted he has not entirely left the boxing world behind as he conducted interviews with the two men for his The Official All Or Nothing Podcast in the ring.
“I came up with the name of the podcast while scaling Ben Nevis last year.
“With me it is really all or nothing,” he said.
“The acting work had dried-up with the pandemic.
“I’d been in a film called The Corrupted with Timothy Spall in 2019 among a few projects.
“When I was up at the top of Ben Nevis, I don’t know the best way to describe it but it was like an epiphany that I should start my own podcast series to keep my mind active.”
The 37-year-old’s back story, which involved battling his own demons with drug addiction and mental health problems, has made him relatable to many of those he interviews.
He added: “With the podcast series I really wanted to give people a platform to open up and help others.
“I know in sharing my own battles with mental health it had helped others to speak out and I knew there were many with inspiring stories that people would be interested in listening to.
“We have spoken with people who have suffered sexual abuse, male bulimia and those who have lived a life of crime.
“I was given three names when looking into people in Tayside and they were Gary Carroll, George Kerr and George Ferrie.
“When I heard the background of Gary and George’s stories I was interested to get into their heads a little more about the events that shaped their lives.
“The underworld has always interested me and it has been interesting to speak to people who have been there and done that.
“Living in Montrose I was amazed to hear we had stories like these guys right on our doorstep.
“There might be some people who think folk who have lived these lives shouldn’t be given a platform. I believe these people are entitled to share their stories and the pitfalls, living a life like they have, may lead to.
“Both Gary and George spent time in prison and both gave a lot of advice during their interviews.
“Gary talked about the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder after experiencing the conflict he’d seen while also talking about the suicide rate of those who served in the forces.
“George’s one is currently being edited and will be released shortly but he spoke about his boxing career and the death of his brother.”
He added: “There is always going to be a small percentage of people who are going to disagree with that but you can’t please everyone.
“We have had a lot of positive feedback though sharing these stories – Gary’s was released just on Sunday there.”
Given how quickly his series has developed, the former fighter has confirmed he has no plans to throw in the towel once the film industry emerges from lockdown.
He added: ”I’m amazed just how much the podcast series has grown in such a short space of time. With the way this has grown I’m really looking to balancing both pursuits going forward.
“I’ve just been interviewing actor Josh Myers this week who starred in the Rise of the Footsoldier film series.
“Given the current situation with the pandemic we’ve had to change our approach with Zoom calls for some interviews.”
Find Decca’s The Official All or Nothing podcast on YouTube.