Austin’s A Man With A Mission

Former professional footballer Austin McIntosh discusses motivation, male identity and mental health.

“It's usually the men who turn up at the gym for the first time and wait near the front door. Then my phone pings. The text invariably reads: "I'm waiting outside, will you please come out and walk in with me?"

Austin McIntosh, Owner of TFC The Fitness Club, Sheffield. 

Austin McIntosh is a man with a mission. Motivation is a core element of who he is and how he lives his life. He passionately believes in empowering and inspiring others to achieve their goals – particularly when they are feeling at their lowest. When it comes to lows, he's been there, done that and most definitely got the T- shirt (actually, football shirt if you want to be specific).

The 36-year-old’s personal journey from promising professional footballer to sports massage therapist and personal trainer (he is also training to be a life coach) illustrates how he has seized opportunities and battled issues of self doubt after life threw him a curveball when he least expected it.

He told InterActiv: ‘I was a professional footballer in my teens loving my life. Then a football was kicked towards me and it landed full-force in my face, leaving me partially blind in my right eye. I underwent surgery to peel back scar tissue and was bedridden for two weeks and injured for a total period of six months. I was just 17 and it was pretty hard to deal with. I was someone who had been so active with the world at my feet. It was quite a shock.'

Austin had been living every schoolboy's dream. He had attended Sheffield’s All Saints Catholic High School and represented the school football team as they won the Sheffield Schools championship in 2004. His football prowess and nifty footwork was quickly spotted by a talent scout and he was signed up with Mansfield Town, making his Football League debut in May 2005 for the Stags (the club’s nickname is from the small deer found in nearby Sherwood Forest) in the closing stages of the 2004-05 season. He was excited to be in the 'Starting Eleven' away to Leyton Orient in a League Two game which Mansfield lost 2-1.

Little did he know that was to be his last league game for the club and he would suffer the ramifications of the freak on-pitch accident, missing most of the 2005-6 season because of his eye injury.

Above: Austin playing for Mansfield Town pre-injury. Above right: Austin wearing his protective goggles post-injury.

‘I began wearing special goggles to protect my good left eye, but I got some ribbing from my teammates and I became self-conscious and fixated on the fact I wasn’t getting selected because of how I looked in the goggles. Of course, that wasn’t the case as when I ditched the goggles, I still wasn’t being selected!'

Austin was highly rated  before his injury but things weren't going to plan and the club released him. He then played once for Ilkeston Town in the Northern premier League and played one game for Swindon reserves.

Struggling with his identity, which had largely been intertwined with being a professional footballer, someone Austin 'respected' advised him to go to America on a soccer scholarship. He first flew out to Bellevue, Nebraska, before moving to the University of Montevallo, Alabama, while studying for a degree in accounting.

‘I partly saw it as running away but also I never wanted to stop my playing and be faced with the inevitable burning question - the ‘What If’?’ scenario later in life.'

Austin, as a right-back who had also played central defence, was playing for the Montevallo Falcons and he looks back on that time with pride.

'I had arrived feeling unsure of myself with identity issues but the best part of that time was finding my identity. Understanding who I was and what my values were. It was in Montevallo I met my two best friends, and to this day we share a very tight bond although one is in Australia and another is in Canada! '

There were no rule changes with US soccer other than 'no bad mouthing the referee!'

'If you did, you received a caution! All of us had to be extremely fit and hardworking to cope with the physical demands of the game.'

On completing his degree, Austin returned to the UK where he joined Eastwood Town and towards the end of the 2011-12 season he joined Northern premier League First Division South club Sheffield where he made two league appearances.

Austin graduating from Montevallo University with a degree in Finance and Accounting

On Austin's return to the UK, a 'pivotal point' for him was when he walked  into a bar called Menzles in Ecclesall Road and spotted Keith Curle, who had been player/manager at Mansfield Town whom he'd first met around the time of his GCSEs when he was with Mansfield's first team.  

'I had a lot of respect for him as he’s always looked out for me and he was now manager at Notts County. He was the man who invited me to train as a 16-year-old and put me on the  bench for the first time. I was so happy that I had bumped into him. We got chatting and I blurted out "Please give me a chance."

‘He replied, "The problem is you are not 16 anymore, you are 24. Most 24-year-olds will have played hundreds of league games and you have only played maybe three." But yes, he listened to me. He did give me a second chance.'

Austin was taken on for trials at Notts County before joining Icelandic side Reynir Sandgerði in May 2012.

'It was a new opportunity for me to get men's football under my belt.'

Austin made his Reynir debut in the 2-0 away win over Njarðvík FC the following weekend and went on to make a total of nine appearances for the club, eight of them in the league. In July that year he moved to Njarðvík on a free transfer, playing four league matches during the remainder of the season.

'I had always taken being fit and active for granted and being a footballer could be equated to kicking a ball around with your mates every day. I realised that so many people felt good about exercise yet there were equally so many who needed motivation to get started and that’s when my career took a different path.'

Austin trained to become a Sports Massage Therapist in 2012 and started his Personal Trainer course in 2013, completing it in 2014.As owner of The Fitness Club in Sheffield's city centre, he helps both men and women achieve their goals but he says it is often the men who can show more vulnerability when it comes to starting a new exercise routine – or joining a gym. 

Although women can feel intimidated by joining a gym, his own personal experience is that the men are the ones who ‘feel they have to be a certain body type, or feel that perhaps they don’t measure up to what a fit man should be.’

He continues, ‘It's usually the men who turn up at the gym for the first time and wait near the front door. Then my phone pings. The text invariably reads: “I'm waiting outside. Will you please come out and walk in with me.'' That happens quite a lot!'

He recalls the following scenario.

‘There was this man who was a few stones overweight who felt very nervous about coming along. I got him on the cross trainer. He was a big lad, very intelligent, but well out of his comfort zone. He admitted beforehand he didn’t think he belonged in a gym. He was going to be on the cross trainer for three minutes at Level 12, at around 150 rpm. After two minutes he wanted to stop.'

Austin realised that his client had stopped because he did not want to appear struggling in front of onlookers. For many people, their fear of what other people think of them overrides their desire to push through and get results. 

'I gave him a motivational talk and I suddenly saw the determination in his eyes. He continued for the full three minutes and a big smile lit up his face as he was so proud of himself. He was sweating and his legs felt like jelly as he clambered off the cross trainer but he was a different person to the one who had arrived earlier. There were smiles from others too who had seen his accomplishment. That’s why I do this job and what I’m here for!’

Austin, owner of TFC the Fitness Club, following his graduation from Sheffield Hallam University with a Psychology degree.

Austin is in regular contact with health authorities to discuss the links between mental health and exercise.

‘Yes, we can talk about endorphins and what exercise does to us in terms of highs but on a wider, social level we must not underestimate the sense of camaraderie and community and sense of cheerleading you get through exercise. Whether it's from joining a gym and finding supportive like-minded people, or joining a running club where perhaps 10 of you each bring a mate along. Suddenly there's 10 new friends you’ve met sharing a common goal to get out and exercise and feel you belong to something.

‘I say to people there are seven days a week so try and get out to a gym or out running for four of them. That’s more days exercising than not. It really will make a difference to your fitness and mental health.’

It comes as no surprise that Austin has a Master's in Psychology from Sheffield Hallam University (2022) and the title for his dissertation was: 'Exploring The Characteristics Of Ex-Professional Footballers For The Continuation of Happiness Post Career'.

''I interviewed a few of my old teammates about their football transition process to professional players.' 

Austin believes there is far too much money in the world of professional football these days and 'seeking 'Fame and Fortune' has always been the biggest issue in the game.' 

He knows from personal experience that sometimes life isn’t always a straight, easy path and there will be obstacles along the way. 

'It's how you deal with those obstacles and how you deal with any self-limiting beliefs. There is a lot of talk about mental health right now and exercise can really help with your wellbeing in this respect.

'I always did and do believe in myself and I like to help as many people as I can in a positive way. It's barmy that every GP practice is not associated with a local, independent gym. I say independent because of the level of service and attention a member receives in comparison to the bigger organisations. The best thing Joe Wicks did was to demonstrate how good exercise and nutrition can be achieved by anyone. I firmly believe exercise should be accessible to all.'

What would he say to young, aspiring professional footballers? 

'Go for it!. Give  it everything you've got but stay true to yourself. Understand your values and reasons for playing the sport.' 

For more info onThe Fitness Club, whether you prefer studio classes, the gym or a combo of both: 

Website: www.thefitnessclubcentral.co.uk

Instagram: @tfcsheffield

Tel: 0114 275 3755

Email tfcsheffield@outlook.com