“He’s paved the way for us": Tommy Fury on being a traveller & the influence of his family

Just yesterday, former World's Strongest Man, Eddie 'THE BEAST' Hall launched his debut podcast ‘The Good, The Bad & The Beast’, which promises to reveal the mindset of champions through deep dive interviews with extraordinary beasts; uncovering what drives those who achieve the impossible.

His first guest on the podcast is Manchester born Tommy Fury, the younger brother of the iconic Morecambe based boxer Tyson Fury.

In the interview, 26-year-old boxer Tommy - who first rose to fame as a contestant on ITV2’s Love Island - spoke about his life both in and out of the ring.

As well as being an undefeated cruiserweight boxer, Tommy’s personal life is never very far from the spotlight: both the Fury family and his on and off relationship with influencer Molly-Mae Hague -with whom he shares a daughter - are well documented on social media and in the press.

The podcast episode’s information reads: “ hey dive into what boxing really means to Tommy, how 2024 tested him with injuries and setbacks, the pressure of the Fury name, family life and what’s next in his journey… including Eddie calling out Jake Paul. Nothing’s off limits - just real talk between two heavy hitters.”

Whilst you can watch the full interview here. in the below story we have looked at how Tommy talks about his upbringing, including how his family have influenced him.

On growing up as a Fury

When media personality The Beast prompted Tommy to talk about growing up in Manchester, the young star, who is from the traveller community said: “That was a pretty normal childhood. I went to primary shcool and obviously high school ... the back end of high school was a bit of blur, I didn’t really go.

“Obviosuly my dad [John Fury, who is also Tyson’s father] went to prison for a long time. He got 11 years but he ended up serving six ... he went in when I was 10 and he came out when I was around about 16 and that’s a vital chunk because I feel like when you’re 10, you’re going into your teens and you knowm you’re going through that. It’s kind of hard not to have that figure there.

“It was tough and obviously we went to see him as much as we could and it was just a lot of prison visits- that’s a very vivid memory of mine.”

Tommy went on to say that his dad’s absence was not the reason for his disinterest in high school but rather he was just not academic and instead spent time training.

Asked about how Tyson fitted into his early life, Tommy responded: “I remember him always being there like kind of looking over, watching some sparring sessions, coming to some amatuer fights and like he was always very supportive.

“He’s paved the way for us. Without him doing what he’s done in boxing... we wouldn’t be anywhere. He really has opened them floodgates for absolutely everybody and I’m fully aweare of that and I’m full thankful for that.

“But boxing’s a tough sport because it’s not like anything can be given to you. Like you have to win them fights. Tyson can’t just go over to the opponent and say lose today mate... It’s the opposite. Because you are who you are and your last name is what it is, you gight a bum and they’re going to come and bring it because to beat a Fury is winning the lottery for them.”

After a discussion about Tyson’s career, Eddie then asked Tommy what growing up in the traveller community entails.

Tommy replied: “A lot of people think that just because you live in a trailer on a piece of land and you travel around the country, people automatically think you’re a traveller but you’re not. To be a traveller, it has to be in your blood.

“I would say watching my dad [being a traveller] is about pride... especially when it comes to fighting so if you’re fighting a traveller, normally everytime you’re going to have to kill them to get the win... My dad still runs to this day becuase you never know when you can get that knock on the door for a bit of trouble so that’s why he keeps himself in shape but because he is who he is, he would never giev his hand. he could be getting beat to death and you got to kill him... I think that’s what it’s all about.

“When you got to amautuer contests and you see the travelling boys fight and you see like the non-travelling boys fight, if the travelling lad’s getting it put on him a little bit, he will always be answering back. Whereas you get other kids who shy away a little bit.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Tommy also spoke of his mum’s side of the family - notably his maternal grandad who was from Mauritius and came to the UK age 21 as a doctor.

Sharing his pride in his grandfather, the dad of one revealed that he had worked for fifty years at the Salford Royal and was even the night manager there during the Manchester Bomb attack.

“He helped a lot of people through that night. I think he actually won some sort of award for it but like I say, he’s sacrificed an awful lot”, Tommy said.

New episodes of The Good, The Bad & The Beast are available every Tuesday on YouTube , and wherever you get your podcasts.

‘The Good, The Bad & The Beast’ is produced by Folding Pocket, (a Platform Media label).