Scottish Badminton Player with Hollywood Ties

Scottish Badminton Player with Hollywood Ties

He might be about as far from home as anyone at the tournament but Scotland’s Alistair Casey is one of the more colourful, energetic and well known characters at the SKYCITY NZ Badminton Open this week. But there is another fascinating side to Casey, when not playing or coaching on tour, he is a personal trainer to one of the leading lights in Hollywood.

35 year old Casey is personal trainer to Film Director Zack Snyder, whose credits include Dawn of the Dead, Watchmen, Legends of the Guardians, Man of Steel, and the just released Superman versus Batman blockbuster.

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He is understandably wary of being misinterpreted when talking about Snyder and his work for the action film director, knowing that the industry is rife with people looking to capitalize on such associations. Casey though chooses his words carefully when talking about someone he describes as being just a ‘cool guy’.

“He is incredibly down to earth, we interact well and easily, there is no pretension in the relationship, he is great. He used to play badminton and went to watch around the 1996 Olympics, he loved it and played and trained for a time. But he stopped for ten years and recently wanted to get in shape generally, he decided that badminton is the way to do it. He trains for an hour and annihilates himself on court and I have to tell him to slow down.

“His personal assistant called the club I was working at in LA looking for a coach, nobody had any idea who it was for, but I fitted the demographic – an English speaking coach in Los Angeles and I think I was about the only one – so it just happened. For the first month or so, I really didn’t know who he was, I just thought of him as this cool guy, it has been going for about a year now.

While a long way from that part of his life in the States, Casey is in essence back ‘home’ – at least he is back in the city he called home for over three years when contracted by the North Harbour Badminton Association as their High Performance Coach back in 2008. Here to play in the mixed doubles with Australian partner Melinda Sun and to coach women’s singles number six seed Iris Wang (USA), Casey is enjoying the chance to catch up with old friends and revisit a few local haunts.

“It was nearly four years – and you used the right word, it is home for me. New Zealand is home, I don’t know how it happened. I came here after selling a bar in Scotland – that was how I was making my money. I am not sure how to describe the feeling of coming back this week, it feels like family, there are a lot of people here happy to see me and I am not sure I deserve it, I didn’t necessarily leave on great terms during a troublesome point in my life.

All of that has gone though, coming back has been interesting, I feel very centered and focused on what I want to do in my life, I can see myself coming back here regularly, not necessarily for badminton, but just for holidays. I have the resources now to be able to do that, to split my time, I am in a good space.”

The effervescent and always moving Casey bowed out of mixed doubles action this morning, losing a close contest against an Australian pairing, but he will be around throughout the week coaching Wang and other players in the tournament, and no doubt enjoying a catch up or two with former friends and colleagues on the back of his spell with the North Harbour Association.

Alistair Casey is available for interview at the SKYCITY NZ Open today, contact Andrew Dewhurst for further information.

SKYCITY NZ Badminton Open
North Shore Events Centre
Event schedule:
Wednesday 23, Thursday 24 March - preliminary rounds all events
Friday 25 March - GOOD FRIDAY - Quarter-finals
Saturday 26 March - Semi-finals
Sunday 27 March – Finals
Tickets and further information at www.nzbadmintonopen.com

ENDS

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