John Gillies

John Gillies and 4 Corners - Home of Champions.

Q: WHAT DOES “NEVER CONFORM, ALWAYS EVOLVE” MEAN FOR YOU?

To move forward, always. Don’t settle where you are and always push on for better, whatever that better is for you. Not better than someone else. I never compete with anyone else. You just compete with yourself and keep evolving.

I've never conformed in my life, ever. Never. I’ve never wanted to fit in. I’ve always wanted to be me as a person. I've always gone against the grain about what people think they all should do. Not deliberately, not in a bad way. For example all my mates would go out partying and I've never done that. I've always gone and done my own thing. I don't follow the crowd. It’s just my mindset. I’ve always had a good, strong mindset. So don’t settle, move forward.

Q: WHY ARE YOU A VOICE OF DEFIANCE?

It’s like this, with my job, sometimes I'm getting up in the morning and my brain is telling to stay in bed and I'll defy against that and get up and go to work. Sometimes my body is in bits with work and I'll be fighting against that and switch myself back on to push through it.

That’s my inner voice of defiance that pushes me through to do what I should be doing. I’d say also not listening to other people when they say ‘I wouldn't do this’ or ‘I wouldn't do that’, whether it’s business-wise or life-wise.

Q: WHAT’S ONE WAY YOU HAVE DEFIED THE ODDS?

Bloody hell. There’s a lot of them. If I had to pick one I’d say it’s definitely the gym. No matter what’s gone on on in my in life, and I've done a lot of things where I’ve defied the odds, but what I’ve done with the gym in the last six years is the one that was against it. We’ve had a fire, we had the Covid, we’ve been booted with all kinds of stuff …so the growth that we've got has been unbelievable. But you know, it all comes back to mindset.

Q: WHAT’S THE HARDEST CHOICE YOU’VE HAD TO MAKE?

I haven’t got one. I don’t find choices difficult to make. I would never look back and think ‘that was a bad choice’ because I just believe that whatever choice you make you've got to deal with it.

It’s the actions that are hard that come with making that choice isn’t it? We all sit there and say ‘that decision making could've been a bit better on that’ and ‘that might have been better’ but making the choice isn’t hard. It’s what comes after the choice.

Q: WHAT LESSON DO YOU LIVE BY?

I've learnt my lessons the hard way. Everything I’ve ever done I’ve done the hard way. Mistakes you make, you learn the hard way. One lesson is that you get what you give. If you help people you get help back, if you’re not nice to people, people are not nice back. Its all one big circle.

Q: WHO OR WHAT SHAPED YOUR APPROACH?

Myself. Definitely learning the hard way like I said earlier. I’ve had zero guidance. I’ve guided myself through learning the hard way. I’ve always stood on my own two feet since being a kid. We never had a father figure. So I shaped my own approach and I did it the hard way.