SCENE
ABERDEEN
Lee McAllister - life as the Aberdeen Assassin
20th October 2012
Lee McAllister arrives wearing a woollen hat patterned with the American flag, it is splattered with white wall paint. He wears a hoodie sporting his day job’s logo “A-TEAM, knock out jobs, knock out prices” and a pair of army combat trousers. It’s evident from his outfit that he is going to be a character and he doesn’t disappoint. To add to the interesting get up, one of his blue iris’ has a striking brown pigmentation.
The Aberdeen Assassin hustles himself some complimentary food from his friend and owner of the bar and makes sure his colleague is looked after in the deal. The waitress comes to take their order and his colleague tells her that Lee broke his ribs yesterday. The waitress can’t tell if it’s a joke and asks “Seriously?!” to which his colleague responds “Aye, he was trying to give me a cuddle.” She laughs and carries on with her work
McAllister eats his lunch and begins to recount his boxing career. It all began when he played football at school. He says through mouthfuls of chicken mayonnaise “I wisna the best football player and I wisna the fastest runner so I kinda used to hack abdy.” He got kicked off the team and his Dad suggested boxing may be a better option, so from eleven up to nineteen he fought around one hundred fights and lost only ten percent of these. He won numerous amateur titles; Gaelic titles, four times Scottish champion and also fought in the British Championships.
Even in conversation McAllister’s eyes are focussed, he doesn’t drop his gaze, which is possibly what makes the pigmentation so apparent. It’s obvious why he is nick named the 'Aberdeen Assassin' with his fixed stare, locked in with his mark in sight. He describes the rush he feels when getting in the ring:
“The buzz is immense, hearing people chanting your name, shouting your name... Everyone gets nervous, I’m still a bitty nervous, but the nerves drive you on.”
The build up stems from months previous when each morning he runs for six to ten miles, followed by two gym sessions; skipping, sparring, pad work. A strict diet, absolutely no alcohol, followed by the press build up, the adrenaline intensifies until the culmination of the fight. In contrast, Lee says the aftermath is "like a comedown”.
Lee after the crash in Greece
The A - Team, Lee's day job.
It was thought that McAllister would never walk again following an accident in Greece. He was knocked off a motorbike and left with internal bleeding, a broken jaw, broken eye sockets, part of his thigh missing and his leg snapped in half after a car hit him and left him at the side of the road. He offers a picture of himself in hospital to show the injuries and says that if it weren’t for the physiotherapists at Pittodrie, he would never have walked again. A gross contrast to the broken knuckles, fingers, few cuts in the eyes and burst noses he has suffered in the ring.
He was out a mere eight months before he fought again and plans to fight again next year. The assassin will resume training and follow a strict regime with determination and dedication, without which he says “You can’t skip training or you will doubt yourself in the fight. It eats away at you inside if you lose, which has happened a couple of times to me in my younger days. It’s hard to watch all your friends out drinkin’ when you want to.”
McAllister is director of A – Team property maintenance and construction company, he also manages and promotes himself as a boxer and two others, one of which is his younger brother, for his company Granite City Boxing Promotions. He juggles all this while being a full time single parent to his two children. He wears a ring on his wedding finger and is engaged to be married a second time. Family is a huge part of McAllister’s life.
The assassin’s dad was the main influence in his boxing career and proceeded to be his coach, this role has since been passed on to his brother, both of which train in their father’s gym. His father and uncles were all boxers to which he says “None of them as good as me, or as good looking as me... And nane o them wear cool hats like me!”
McAllister’s unique fighting technique is summed up in his own words “Most of my fights I make quite easy for myself with my technique of hit and don’t be hit.” He is the first Scottish boxer to hold two commonwealth belts simultaneously for two different weight categories
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