In various forms, fighting seems to have been part of your life from the beginning. Was it difficult being the youngest in such a large family - with brothers who appear to have set the stall out while you were still in short trousers?Yes, but to be fair, although my brothers where known fighters, in my eyes they only did what they believed to be the only way to protect themselves and our family. You have to realise, Nick, we were not being brought up in the leafy suburbs - we were living on what was said to be one of the roughest council estates in the country at the time, on the street with the tough-est reputation. In a situation like that, you either become top dog or dog food. This was the early 1970s and our estate, and town for that matter, was populated with so many tough lads that if you weren’t somebody you were nobody. And being nobody and having nothing is not a nice place to be.

Growing up in a tight-knit provincial town, was it tough when you first started to go out and about - knowing that all the other young lads on the beer knew who you were before they knew you as a person?Talk about shock! When I first went out drinking I felt like a celebrity! Although I was only 15 years old and looked 13, I never once had a problem getting into a pub or club, or getting served at the bar. I remember wondering what my mates were worried about. On my very first night out in town I learned how much of a reputation there was for me to live up to... I was in a bar and a doorman came over and grabbed me by the arm. Another doorman, who whispered something in his ear, stopped him. The next second, instead of throw-ing me out, he took me up to the bar and bought me a drink. Later on, as I was leaving, the two lads said, “Say hello to your brother for us,” and I realised what had been said. “Wow!” I thought, “This is alright!” However, it wasn’t long before I learned that being a Skillen was a double-edged sword. My brother, John, had a fearsome reputa-tion, but was also well respected. He was a door-man and part of a bunch of lads who were feared and had made a few enemies. It wasn’t long before someone had a go at me because of my family. I was amazed that some lad I had never met was squaring-up and offering me a free facelift... I was crapping myself and when this lad went to head butt me, I lashed out to defend myself and caught him over his eyebrow, which split open. Even at that young age, I’d done a bit of training with my brothers, but this great punch was pure fluke. That was a reality check like no other and I’d very quickly learned the impact of my family’s reputation.

martial arts illustrated / 73

the bottom of the barrel, he drilled a hole in it and went even further down... A decade ago, Peter Skillen was, in his own words, “Waking up in my own puke, scraping for cigarette butts and sifting through empty beer bottles...” and, “Living amongst the thieves, fighters, gamblers and one-time somebodys who propped up the bars of the worst drinking holes I attended on a nightly basis.”

Currently working on an autobiography that is harrowing, humorous and inspirational in equal measure, Peter Skillen took time to retrace some of his steps with fellow writer, Nick Hardy...

Nicky Hardy: Having worked as a success-ful DJ - on the face of it, enjoying a life filled with wine, women and song and get-ting paid for the pleasure - was there a sin-gle moment when you suddenly thought it had all gone wrong and that you had to change, or was it a gradual realisation?Peter Skillen: In the back of my mind, I knew it had all gone wrong - my life that is! From a very early age and for many years, I tried to paint over my problems in the hope that they’d just go away. But, as you know, Nick, problems don’t just go away - they have to be tackled head-on or they will just pile up and become bigger prob-lems with even bigger consequences.

Having read some of your manuscript, there is a sense that your early years were a mixture of much pleasure but also hard-ship, struggle and pain. Did your child-hood lay the foundations for both your fall into the dark side, but also for your remarkable recovery?Up until about the age of around eight, my childhood was great... Mum and dad where both hardworking and proud parents and I was sur-rounded by a large loving family. We didn’t have much in the way of cash or material possessions, but there was always a sense of togetherness and love between me and my brothers and sisters. I was well looked after and our home was always full of laughter. We took good care of each other.

Your family background is nothing if not interesting - do you think the environment you grew up in set you off on the wrong path or gave you the strength to turn it around?In all honesty, both are probably true. It certainly wasn’t the actual way that I was bought up that affected me badly, but rather certain events with-in that upbringing that tainted me and aspects of my outlook later in life.

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