An inspirational North East athlete and coach tells PETER BARRON how sport transformed his life after a spell in jail
SIXTEEN years have passed, but Ste Gordon remembers all too vividly the chilling echo of the door being slammed and bolted on his first night in prison.
"I sat down in disbelief, wondering 'how did I end up here?' It was utterly harrowing - my life was at rock bottom," he recalls.
Today, at 37, Ste is in "a much better place", having turned his life round through the power of sport - in particular, kettlebell lifting.
It's a sport that's taken him round the world, enabled him to run his own business from his hometown of Darlington, and given him the chance to inspire others.
Now, he's telling his story for the first time - bravely talking about his jail sentence - because he wants others to know it's possible to recover from mistakes and build a new life.
"Even some of the kids in here tonight won't be aware of my story, but it's the right time to tell it," Ste insists, as he watches the Wednesday night training session at his gym - Tu Nova - on Darlington's Albert Hill industrial estate.
"No matter how bad it gets, there's always the chance to change direction if you find the right focus and sense of purpose," he adds.
Ste spent his early years on the Red Hall estate before moving to Springwell when he was 13. His mum worked at Rothmans cigarette factory and his dad at Eaton Axles, in Newton Aycliffe.
As a teenager, Ste developed a passion for weightlifting, and bodybuilding, while attending Alan Potts' gym, in Bondgate.
"Being strong is an empowering feeling," he recalls. "It gave me a focus and built my confidence."
After school, not really knowing what he wanted to do, he started a bricklaying apprenticeship, but the repetitive task of repointing retirement flats overlooking Saltburn beach made up his mind that he didn't want to do it for the rest of his life.
A stint working in the freezer section of an ALDI warehouse followed and, around the same time, he discovered he was going to become a dad.
However, his life fell apart when his baby daughter was just three months old.
Cycling to work for an early shift in the warehouse, he was intercepted by police and arrested. Having made some "bad lifestyle choices", he'd started dabbling in drugs and supplied cocaine to an undercover police officer.
At 21, he was sentenced to nine months in Holme House Prison, wondering how he'd survive the ordeal.
The irony was that, before the arrest, he'd started to turn his life around after discovering Thai Boxing and being mentored by inspirational coach Paul Pearson.
"What I did was stupid but, when you go into prison, you have to adapt to your surroundings and find a focus to get through it," he says.
Ste's answer was to put his "heart and soul" into the prison gym, embarking on a Level 1 course in being a gym instructor, and working as a gym orderly.
When his sentence was over, he enrolled on a Level 3 personal training course, and got a job at a gym in Darlington, before the opportunity arose to rent space in the former workingmen's club in Barton Street.
Tu Nova - Latin for 'new you' - was born, with the support of the probation service funding a Level 2 Kettlebell Training Course.
It ignited Ste's interest in the sport and, within a year, he went in search of more training by flying to Russia, which is where the sport originated.
Early kettlebells were used as counterweights for grain, and sailors passing through the markets began using them for weightlifting contests.
Ste's own competitive instincts quickly kicked in and, in 2013, he competed in his first world championships in Sibera.
He returned to Darlington as the first Englishman to win a silver medal, after lifting 82 repetitions in 10 minutes.
After starting with just six kettlebells and a few mats, Tu Nova has grown steadily. The gym is now equipped with 80 kettlebells, used by a thriving membership, aged between 10 and 66, coached by Ste and assistant, Simon Trenholm.
Every year since 2013, Tu Nova has had members competing at the European and world championships.
Indeed, at last month's world championships, in Poland, 15 of the 21-strong England team were Tu Nova members. A mix of adults and juniors, they won a collection of trophies and medals.
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Tu Nova's commitment to inclusivity is typified by Abbie Etherson, 15, who has spina bifida and hydrocephalus.
Earlier this year, Abbie won the disability award at the Darlington Sports Winners Grand Final for becoming a gold medallist at the International Union of Kettlebell Lifting World Championships in Corfu.
Abbie's twin sister, Kate, as well as her mum and dad, Jane and Kevin, are also Tu Nova members.
"Ste is an inspirational athlete, and a trusted role model for our daughters," says Jane. "He's made his sport accessible to all: he is a devoted coach and overwhelmingly contributes to his community."
The latest challenge for Ste and the Tu Nova crew takes place at Hopetown railway museum today, and ties in with the 2025 celebrations marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of the railways.
Ste will tackle a series of lifts adding up to 6.16 tonnes - the weight of Locomotion Number One, the locomotive which made history on the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825.
Other members will also be lifting kettlebells, with accumulative targets inspired by statistics from the birth of the railways.
"I wanted to do something that celebrated Darlington's heritage while also raising awareness of our sport," explains Ste.
At last month's world championships, Ste again won a silver medal, but his biggest triumph by far has been lifting his life out of a dark place.
He's articulate, confident, brimming with positivity, and eager to raise the aspirations of others.
"While we were in Poland, I watched our members competing so successfully - juniors and adults, from different backgrounds - and I felt proud of how far we'd come," he says.
"I'm still competitive, I'm determined to turn silver into gold one day, but I get so much more from seeing others succeed."
On a wall at the back of the gym, above rows of kettlebells, is the slogan: Tough times never last...Tough people do.