On the Oche: How darts went from pub game to cash-rich modern sport – Part two: Challenging the stereotype

The stereotype of your typical professional darts player: an overweight individual who loves nothing more than a pint of lager. Sometimes even while playing.

This perceived idea of all darts players being like this – from the outside looking in – seems to be somewhat lighthearted. But in the eyes of the Professional Darts Corporation, this exact stereotype has damaged the image of the sport for many years.

Where did this all stem from, you ask? The answer: a television show from the 80s.

“There was an old comedy show called Not the Nine O'Clock News that had this one sketch about darts players that whenever they’d go for a double or they’d go or a treble, they’d just start necking drinks,” said darts journalist and broadcaster Dan Dawson.

“It seems weird to think that just one little comedy sketch can do so much sort of reputational damage to a sport and make it seem like a figure of fun, but it did sort of seem to cut through.” 

And to the present day, it is still something the PDC are desperately trying to pull themselves away from.

Dawson added: “So the PDC said: ‘Look, we're going to move away, we need to be something different’.

“They wanted to make something that was different from what had been done before. And part of that was: ‘Right, everybody knows it and loves it for them all being beer-drinking, fag smokers. But it's still a sport’.

“It kind of got lost among all that sort of haze about it just being fat blokes down a pub chucking arrows.”

Paul Nicholson, a PDC major title winner and a now leading darts commentator and pundit, says that this stereotype had the sport in tatters.

“When the sketch came around and was portraying every single dart player as someone who needed to be in that sort of inebriated state, the reputation of the game was completely obliterated,” he said.

“But I think what we're looking for now is this somewhat seismic change within our sport so that we can be taken seriously.”

That seismic change within darts is definitely underway… thanks to one character in particular.

Gerwyn Price, at first glance, is not your traditional darts player.

Is he a pint drinking, cigarette smoker? No. He’s a former professional rugby player who loves nothing more than flexing his muscles on stage.

But he also happens to be the number two ranked darts player on the planet.

Price is a rare breed in his profession, but could easily become the PDC’s poster boy for changing the dynamic of the sport – as well as being the first significant sign that professional darts players are turning into athletes.

Dawson revealed that Price’s fellow darts professionals have kept a keen eye on the way he operates off the oche.

He said: “I’ve certainly spoken to darts players who have looked at Gerwyn Price – when he’s made his mark over the last three years – and gone to me and said: ‘Maybe there’s something in it? I’ve not done anything like that in my entire career’.

“But look at him, he’s playing darts at an incredible standard and doesn’t look like he’s breaking a sweat.

“If players are going to have to improve what they do off the oche to perform better on it, it will be a process of evolution. If you don’t do it, you’ll fall away. You won’t be as good.”

Nicholson was a man ahead of the curve when it came to fueling his body off the PDC circuit.

The Newcastle-born darter had an uncharacteristic, never seen before nutritional regime he’d go through playing, similar to a diet of an athlete.

It was the same one, however, that made him the brunt of the joke by fellow players.

“For me, it was always oats in the morning and pasta in the mid-morning to give me that slow-release energy for the rest of the day. I’d always eat around three hours before competition,” he said.

“I was doing this well before most people – and they used to make fun of me!

“They used to say: ‘Oh look at you having pasta at 10.15 in the morning’ – and I said: ‘This is because I don't want to eat during competition and I don't want to feel too heavy’.”

Many years after Nicholson started utilising these tactics, players started to realise the benefits that a disciplined diet had on them.

But it didn’t come by taking inspiration from footballers, for example, Nicholson claimed from an unlikely source… the diabetics on the circuit.

He said: “If you look at players like Colin Lloyd, Jamie Cavan, Ian White and Raymond van Barneveld – who is probably the best case for this – they're all diabetic.”

“So what they've taught us is that a regimented nutritional scheme is beneficial for you to have success.

“It's not just about waking up in the morning, having a fry up, and then not eating for the rest of the day.

“Nowadays, you're seeing way more people eating porridge in the morning. They're taking snacks to the arena so they can get that slow-release energy throughout the day.”

Nicholson admits that without eating the correct foods and drinking lots of water, he wouldn’t have been as successful as he was as a professional darts player. 

“The clarity of thought that I had by drinking lots of water, and having that slow-release energy throughout the course of the day served brilliantly when I was in tip-top shape,” he said.

“And I think if it wasn't for those kinds of tactics, then I wouldn't have won many titles whatsoever.”

It now begs the question: are the young players on the PDC tour now following the pathway Nicholson and a few others set when it comes to nutrition – and subsequently turning more and more into athletes?

“We have to, to be honest,” said Rowby John-Rodriguez, 28, a man tipped to become a future world darts champion.

“There’s more tournaments every year and the format is getting longer.”

What is visible behind Rodriguez as he chats away on Zoom is a fitness studio in his practice room, something he admits he’s just got into. 

“I just started with the gym because I’ve never done it,” he said.

“I think if you get healthier and fitter, you get fitter in the mind.”

Rodriguez, however, is keen to note that despite his claims that darts players have to transition into athletes, they do not need to be the darting equivalent of Cristiano Ronaldo in the physique department.

He said: “We don’t have to be fit like footballers or other athletes. But a little bit of exercise and healthy eating would definitely help.

“I think in the future, more and more players will start using diets, that sort of thing.

“In many years, I don’t think there will be many on the circuit that are not fit and healthy.”

When it comes to an athlete seeking to maximise their performance in whatever sport they compete in, the use of a sports nutritionist like Danny Webber may come into play.

Webber reveals that the world of sports nutrition is still an untapped market for darts players in the here and now.

But he does predict that will soon change, especially if they start going for gold.

“It’s one of those sports where nutrition has never been part of it at all,” he said.

“But I really think it will come into fruition in a few years – showing that being in a good body composition, dropping the gut and the bad habits they may have will improve their performance in the long term.

“It’ll be interesting to see whether it evolves into an Olympic sport, then I think you’d see more players going down that route.”

It does beg the question, however, what would nutritionally benefit a darts player?

A clue: it’s not a pint and a pie.

Webber explained: “It would be very emphasised to be in line with what their natural energy requirements are, splitting that up with a high protein diet.

“Mainly just helping them to keep full, as opposed to any muscle building – and also controlling blood sugar levels.

“Along with that, it would just be about keeping good dietary habits, things such as slow-release carbohydrates and healthy fats.”

Professional darts players may not be partaking in the diet of a footballer just yet, but it is evident that the stars of the circuit are becoming more in tune with their bodies than ever before…