Top gymnast juggles training with funeral care job

Steven Bulley took a 20-year break from gymnastics before returning to the sport after the pandemic

An elite gymnast who fell out of love with his sport and instead focussed on building a career in the funerals business has described how he now manages to combine his two commitments.

Steven Bulley, from Manchester, competed for Team GB in his teenage years before taking a 20-year break from gymnastics.

The 41-year-old, who leads a team at Wolstenholme Funeral Directors in Accrington, Lancashire, realised he missed the sport during the pandemic.

Within months, Steven was back in competitive action and won the Over 30s title at the Adult British Championships in August 2022.

Steven Bulley wont a gold medal at the British Championships in August 2022

Talking about working in funeral care, he said he was proud to work "in an industry where you're genuinely helping people at difficult times".

Steven said that while there may appear to be little in common between his two commitments, "believe it or not, there's a lot of transferable skills".

He explained: "When you present to a judge, you're about to do your routine, and you've got one chance to get it right.

"And in funerals, there's no returns or refunds. On the day you've got to be absolutely immaculate for the family and the people you're looking after.

"Teamwork as well is a massive part [and] for funerals it's all about planning."

'Fitter and healthier'

Steven said his start in gymnastics "was a very common one".

"As a child I was hyperactive, running round the house," he said. "And it was an easy transition for my parents to say 'get that energy spent so we can sleep at night!'

"So from eight to 18 I dedicated my life to gymnastics."

For more than a decade he said he trained for 40 hours a week, until he "got to the age where I wanted to have a McDonalds and go out and I just fell out of love with the sport".

From then on, Steven said he "didn't enter a gymnastics centre for 20 years".

As was the case for many people, the pandemic really made him take stock of his life

"It was really after Covid that I thought how to get fitter and healthier and work on my wellbeing," said Steven.

"And I just thought I'd go back and see what happens."

Within a year, he said he was asked to take part in the British Championships "and it's been a rollercoaster since then".

He won a bronze medal in the 2023 all-around category.

In last year's Over 40s event, he won silver in the all-around event.

Steven will represent Great Britain again at two international events later this year.