Former Wigan Warrior Stephen Wild now helping retired sports stars

Some scale to the fleeting bright lights of the Super League, the pinnacle of the sport on this continent, while others slip through the cracks.

There are not the same dizzying fortunes cashed in by indulgent Premier League footballers, or the lavish lifestyles enjoyed by other elite athletes.

But for those growing up mastering the code in the north west of England and beyond, a very tangible dream remains.

The dream was realised two decades ago by Stephen Wild, an unassuming underdog who exceeded his own tempered expectations by starring for hometown club Wigan Warriors, among others.

“It was only when I was 13 or 14 when I actually thought I could make a career out of rugby,” Wild admits.

“But I had no confidence and each year that went past I thought this isn’t going to happen.

“The week after not getting picked up in a six-week training period with Wigan at 16, I walked into the local roofing firm and got a job.”

With Super League visions long in the distance from Wigan’s roofs, Wild knuckled down in the amateur game.

His skillset was now ironclad and a potential was ready to be fulfilled.

But even after getting his break and belatedly signing for the Warriors on an apprentice contract 12 months later, Wild was still funding his living through brutal late-night shifts.

“I was still working nights in a factory to put me through driving lessons, but that was character building and showed me what I didn’t want.

“Working four nights a week, 10-6 in the morning, a few hours sleep, then training before another night shift actually helped me massively. I needed that reality check.”

A far cry from the glitz and glamour professional sport so often promises, but Wild’s endeavour would bear fruit as he made his name for the team he worshipped as a boy.

Wild is not afraid to admit suffering from imposter syndrome, and never truly felt at home in a world with the game’s poster boys such as Andy Farrell and Denis Betts.

There is a slight trace of regret that a lack of ruthlessness denied his chance to ever truly shine on the global stage during an era brimming with talent in his position.

But the former loose forward holds great pride in reaching the rugby league zenith on these shores, earning international caps with both England and Great Britain.

Wild looks back on his lack of belief as a help but ultimately a hindrance.

“It got me to the position where I needed to work harder than everybody, but as I started to need to be a leader and step up, it did hold me back, even though I had a great career.”

Wild’s distinguished 15-year playing career included three Challenge Cup final visits and a spot in the esteemed Super League dream team in 2007.

There were ample highs at Wigan, Huddersfield Giants and the Salford Red Devils before his career ended at the now-defunct North Wales Crusaders.

However, like for so many, the next pathway was not as defined.

“It was a slap in the face for me,” Wild says, when reflecting on his retirement five years ago.

“It’s impossible to find the adrenaline from playing again and you’re always searching for that high.

“I went into exercise which was my own chase, pushing my body to the limits.

“It got to the stage where I wouldn’t have been able to walk in 10 years because of what I was doing to my body.

“A lot of players use alcohol and betting to find that high, but for me it was exercise and conditioning.

“I was spending 50 to 60 hours in a gym every week trying to search and fulfil something I couldn’t have.

“I was never at home, finding excuses to work and stay at the gym. I didn’t want to let that go.

“I was hiding myself from everything on the outside in the bubble of working and training.”

Wild has now discovered his new purpose and has escaped his darkest days.

A contract dispute at Salford led to a bitter Super League exit in 2013, and he was in the wilderness – questioning his love for the sport that had shaped his life.

It was only when the semi-pro Crusaders gave Wild the call while on holiday, considering an early retirement, that he saw the light.

“I will always thank the North Wales people for bringing back my love of rugby.

“They brought me back to being a teenager and reminded me why I wanted to play the game.

“I was also lucky I was semi-pro where I still had interaction with team-mates two or three times a week.”

Wild could enjoy the incessant buzz around the changing room for another three years, but also had time to focus on building his own gym in Wigan and re-educating himself with a personal training qualification.

Others, though, are not so fortunate.

There is a privilege in playing rugby for a living, and that much is acknowledged by Wild.

But he has also seen so many whom he shared a playing field with overcome by the deluge of immediate financial peril and directionless desperation once the boots are hung up for the final time.

Too many are slipping through the net.

“There’s not enough support in place for injured players or players retiring,” he said.

“There’s nothing for Championship clubs and players further down the leagues. You want that environment you’ve been in for the last 20 years and it’s not hard to create.”

Wild sees an obvious solution – stop the spiral at source.

“Clubs need to do a lot better,” he opines. “Super League players need a 12-month transitional phase where they are at the club helping out and doing jobs.

“They should be keeping in touch with injured players and keeping them involved until they can go alone.

“It’s about listening to players and what they need. I slipped through the net because I was quiet.

“I wasn’t a binge drinker and we almost have to get to that stage of explosiveness before something is done.

“We’re missing a trick in helping them at the worst point of life rather than their best.”

Wild is now thriving with his own personal development business run from his gym in his home town.

‘Mind Body Health Well Being’ not only aims to help clients achieve their physical weight loss goals but there is a sharp focus on improvement of mental health.

“We have studied that people that are exercising tend to open up and talk a little bit more,” he said.

“If you’re training with someone in a gym you don’t have to be sitting there like a counsellor.

“Talking to someone normally and finding them comfortable in an environment to just mention something.

“You don’t have to probe too much. Working with 25 lads in a team environment for 20 years, you would tell each other everything, and it’s about creating that safe environment where they might open up.

“It’s not about giving people the answers, but making them recognise how they feel is normal.

“We’re not just helping people lose a few pounds, we’re trying to change their lives.”

Wild’s clients include a host of amateur athletes and he already works closely with one former Super League player.

And he aspires for that list to grow.

“A lot of these guys have got businesses as well and have been very successful, but they are still mentally struggling from their transition from playing,” he added.

“My dream is to work with struggling past players. I want to be that transition.”

The adversity faced by retired professional athletes is the perennial problem that can no longer be ignored.

Wild is now part of the solution.