NEIL PICKUP

27, British and European arm wrestling champion MEMORY: I got a toy fire engine for Christmas and I was really excited. As I leaned down the ladder poked me in the eye. It frightened me and for a minute I couldn't stop blinking. It was the first time I can consciously remember blinking.

DRINK: When I was about eight or nine years old I was with my dad and some of his friends at Mallory Park race track. My dad gave me a taste of his beer and it was awful.

HOLIDAY: Paignton in Devon, with my mum, dad, sister, aunties, uncles and cousins. I'm Blackburn born and bred and it was a six-hour journey but my dad kept me quiet with Isle of Man TT racing commentary tapes.

JOB: I was a petrol pump attendant at the Ewood Service Station in Blackburn and later became a cashier, while I was at school.

HERO: My dad has always been my biggest hero, but my first famous hero was Cassius Clay (now Muhammad Ali).

LOVE: The first girl I really felt strongly about was my current girlfriend, Alison Cox. I was only 15 and she was the first girl to make me think "wow".

CAR: A Rover 213. I had saved up for a long time, money I had made at the petrol station, and my dad threw in some money to help with the insurance. I thought it was the best car in the world.

PET: Two dobermans when I was a child, Sinbad and Sultan.

HOME: The first one I bought was the one I still live in, in Oakmere Close, Blackburn. I bought it five years ago and I was the first person on the whole estate. I used to make the workmen cups of tea.

ARM WRESTLING TOURNAMENT: When I was 13 or 14 I entered the Over The Top tournament in Manchester. I came sixth. RECORD: Like A Virgin by Madonna. I was 13 and thought she was absolutely gorgeous.

LIE: A girl I was seeing asked me if I fancied a girl called Kathryn Gerard, from Darwen. I said I didn't -- but I fancied her rotten, and she knew as well. We were very good friends.

EMBARRASSMENT: When I was young some lads pulled my pants down at Tockholes Youth Club when there was a load of girls around and put snow down my pants.