A Dealer of Drugs & Ambition

The day I met the most the accomplished athlete in Australian Olympic Weightlifting history/a former ecstasy and methamphetamine dealer.

I drove out to Devonport one morning to capture one of The Strength Den’s regular competition events. This one specifically being an OLY meet. Naturally, I whipped out my camera and began pointing it at anything colourful or with legs. Amidst my busy flurry, a friend approached me and recommended that I interview a supposedly very decorated elderly gentleman who was in attendance – a man by the name of Ron Laycock. So that’s what I did.

I cornered Ron along a wall in the busy competition room, received a quick word of approval and then proceeded to question him about the only thing I could think to ask an old man and two time Olympian: mindset. There are countless clichés about mindset that any one of us everyman can recite, but when a person whose lived the life begins speaking, the words simply have more power to them. Ron was short and stout, carried too much weight and moved with a certain waddle in his gait, but this former Commonwealth Games Gold & Bronze Medallist clearly had no limp to his confidence

At first, I assumed Ron’s towering demeanour stemmed from a lifetime at the pinnacle of competitive sports. However, I later discovered that Ron had lived a different life as a 48-year-old drug dealer in NSW, equipped with an illegal shotgun and a big stash of contraband.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/central-coast/former-olympic-weightlifter-ronald-laycocks-case-adjourned-over-drug-and-firearm-charges/news-story/adeba44772a97a78adfa5ccf81708da5n

Despite the moral shortcomings, thriving in such dark realm of the market demands a whole other degree toughness. Perhaps his waddle wasn't just due to the beer belly, but also the giant pair of swingers sitting underneath it.

Now I wouldn’t dare condone such occupation in any sense, but men like Ron can have a special place in our world. Misdirected and antisocial young men and adolescents need strong guidance. And not just strong mentors, but the rare type of men that are capable of both success and understanding. The checkered kids that I highlight respect great strength, but only if it comes from a place that they can relate to. It seems to me that the very checkered and decorated, Ron Laycock would be a great profit in this world.

For a quick example, take a look at Ron’s mean looking son in the final lift of the above video. I think we’re all lucky that this monster of a kid was guided in Ron’s athletic direction.

I just hope that in the end Ron created more athletes than he did meth-heads. I bet he did.