Menzies sheds weight & embraces fitness after health issues

Cameron Menzies has lost five stone after hand surgery and a medical fright threatened to upend his darts career.

The Scot, 37, needed an operation for an injury sustained repeatedly punching a drinks table on stage following his first-round exit at the PDC World Championships last December.

And he made headlines during the summer after requiring medical attention during his World Matchplay encounter with Ross Smith, which he had to forfeit.

His dizzy turn was put down to high blood pressure caused by dehydration.

"I didn't know what it was, I looked at the board and I just felt like everything was spinning," Menzies told BBC Scotland.

"They took me off the stage, there were paramedics and first aid on site and they were taking my blood pressure and it was up to over 200, and they were going to phone an ambulance because that was like heart attack material.

"But as soon as they gave me a drink of water it dropped massively. They wouldn't let me leave the venue until they were quite happy with it and then when I came back up to Glasgow the next day I went to the Royal Infirmary and got bloods taken and stuff – it was just high blood pressure dehydration.

"I have got a little blood pressure machine now. I have been taking that as much as possible and everything has been fine.

"I just make sure I drink a lot more water. It was warm that day, I had a lot of TV stuff to do and I maybe didn't look after myself much because it had never happened before and hopefully never happens again."

On his weight loss, Menzies elaborated: "My heaviest was 21-and-a-half stone, I didn't realise how big I was until I see pictures now and I am like, 'wow I was big'.

"It was for my health to try and lose weight because I had a thing last year with my heart so I went to the hospital and found out that I have got an ectopic heartbeat so my heart skips an extra beat.

"They told me to try and lose weight before they did anything with tablets, so thankfully it has dropped to a level where it is fine, I don't need tablets.

"I just usually do a 5k, I don't do many weights because then I can't throw darts but I just go for a jog. It is good for my physical health and it is good for my mental health, I never leave the gym feeling bad, I like doing it for that as well."

It is not just Menzies who has got the fitness bug, with a host of other top players seeing the benefits of being in good shape.

"You look at the players nowadays, most of them are starting to look after themselves now," Menzies added.

"Luke Humphries lost a power of weight, there have been a few more.

"Most of the hotels we stay in have got gyms and a lot of guys are just popping to the gym or they go on 5k runs. Even the commentators and the referees are doing it.

"The darts world is changing, I do think in the future you will get a lot more people looking like sportsmen rather than darts players."

Eleven months on from his hand injury, Menzies appears to have made a full recovery and has gone on to enjoy a solid season, winning two PDC ProTour titles this year.

He is preparing to compete at the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton this weekend, but feared he might never return to top level darts.

"At the start of the year I thought that could have been me because I had no feeling in my hands after the operation," he said.

"I was in a bandage for six weeks, and the first three or four months I couldn't feel a dart, so I am lucky.

"Obviously it was my own fault but I am lucky enough that I can still play at a good level.

"With the [Luke] Littler effect the prize money is good. I had a good job before as a plumber but the money in darts these days is life changing."

Up until relatively recently, the Ayrshire player often struggled to control his emotions on the oche, which clearly inhibited his undoubted talent.

The world number 26 has a calmer demeanour now - something that has been helped by his decision to embrace sports psychology and hypnotherapy.

"Every night I have got a track to listen to. The sport psychologist does the hypnotherapy treatment and at night you listen to him talking to you. He is just talking to your subconscious, the same thing every night when you go to sleep.

"I usually fall to sleep after 15 minutes - it is just talking to your brain really rather than yourself.