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The Apprentice: Rocky Andrews interview
Rocky Andrews was the youngest contestant on the last series of The Apprentice, appearing on the TV show when he was just 21 years old. Two years after Sir Alan told him: "You're fired!", he's just opened his 16th Fatso's sandwich shop on The Headrow in Leeds.
Raised in Stokesley, North Yorkshire, he now lives on a nearby farm with most of his family – mum, dad, and four siblings – still on his doorstep. Rod McPhee found out if life is still sweet without Sugar.
My philosophy on life is work hard, play hard and learn from your mistakes. I learned quite a bit from being on The Apprentice, even though I wasn't on there for very long. It was a completely surreal experience and it feels like just what it is – one minute you're watching the show on TV the next thing you're in the TV. Sitting in the boardroom opposite Sir Alan feels so familiar, it's weird.
To be honest I kind of ended up on there as a result of a bet with my dad, he said I'd never get on the show, I told him I could win it – so we both lost the wager really. Even though I did fail on what was only the second task, I felt like it was a bit unfair getting fired so early on, I felt like there was so much more for me to experience and learn. But the whole thing didn't sit well with me. The programme is much more set up than you'd imagine. You have to film scenes and conversations over and over again, as if they were natural when they're not always. There were times when I actually thought about throwing the towel in because I found it weird, but then people would have thought I was crazy. Sir Alan in real life is just like he is on the telly – what you see is definitely what you get.
I got fired from my first job too. I was a paperboy and on my round was this old bloke who used to come out and shout at me and my mate as we delivered. So one day we thought it would be funny to post 50 papers through his letterbox and have him come home to a mountain leaning against his front door. We thought it was hilarious but obviously I lost my job, which wasn't good.
My childhood was great. I was always into football. Even when I was in nappies I was kicking a ball around. Then I was spotted by Middlesborough FC when I was just seven and as soon as I left school I was signed up with the team. But I was only with them a few months when I was diagnosed with arthritis and had to call a halt to my football career. I was absolutely gutted and spent about three weeks locked in my room crying. But I'm over it now. If I'm completely honest I'd love to still be playing – something like nine out of the 11 players I was with at Middlesborough now play for Premiership teams – but you have to play with the hand you're dealt and I have a business I work on seven days a week which keeps me preoccupied.
My business is the thing I am most proud of in life. I've got Fatso's sandwich shops all across the north-east, but the Leeds branch is the furthest south I've come.
I really like Leeds. I've been here quite a lot because my girlfriend, Cherrie, was at university here and when I was a kid my mum and dad always used to take us to The Flying Pizza in Roundhay – we used to love it there. The people in Leeds are just much more relaxed and confident about themselves. They're really polite and friendly and I appreciate that – it's refreshing.
My first crush was a girl called Jodie Bransby who I kissed at the school disco when I was about 11 years old. Nothing ever came of it.
The best advice I ever received came from my dad and he said: learn from your mistakes and always listen to people. So I always listen to everyone whether it's family or friends or my employees. You have to listen to the people you work with and respect them. You should be seen to be doing any of the things you would ask them to do whether it's cleaning a toilet or unloading a van. I will quite often stand outside one of my stores with an A-board just as I've always done – except since The Apprentice I get recognised by passers by.
The last time I cried was when my grandfather, Don McCluskey, died last year. He was a scrap metal man then he had a skip company. I used to go around with him on his rounds when I was a kid. I had so much respect for him because, like the rest of my family, he was self-employed. My dad used to run nightclubs around the north east as well as restaurants called Fatso's – which is what my sandwich shops are named after.
The person I'd most like to meet I've already met actually, Muhammad Ali. My dad is crazy about boxing and he heard Ali was going to be in Brixton so he drove the family down to London one day. When he came by in the streets there were barriers everywhere and my mum threw me over the top to go shake his hand, but as I did a journalist barged into me and knocked me over. But Ali picked me up and shook my hand and I had my picture taken with him. It was a magical moment – I was only about 11 years old so he just seemed like a God to me with these piercing eyes looking at us.
The one thing I couldn't live without is football. Even though I don't play anymore I'm still obsessed with the game. Sometimes it's frustrating that I can't take to the pitch anymore but it's not something I dwell on too much. I can't, I don't let myself have time to dwell on things.
The one thing that might surprise people about me is the number of animals I own. I wasn't brought up with many animals but on my farm I have three llamas, two micro-pigs, two goats, three horses, swans, geese, a dog and even a Shetland pony called Beefed-up Rocket. We inherited the pony – and her strange name.
A joke: Two packets of crisps are on a pavement when a car pulls up and the driver offers them a lift. "No thanks mate," say the crisps "We're Walkers."
FAVOURITE THINGS
Food: Spaghetti bolognese
Holiday: Miami
Book: Tom Bower's Richard Branson biog
TV show: Coronation Street or Million Dollar Drop
Movie: The Godfather Part I
Actor: Leonardo de Caprio
Star sign: Libra
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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