Former Soccer AM star Tubes bravely opens up on his ‘life-ruining’ alcohol addiction after death of his dad

FORMER Soccer AM star Tubes has opened up about how golf saved his life after battling an alcohol addiction.

Tubes was speaking on Beef’s Golf Club which is hosted by golf star Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston.

Tubes, whose real name is Peter Dale, left Sky Sports this year after the much loved Soccer AM was cancelled.

He was a cornerstone of the show from its early days and had spent a total of 21 years working for Sky.

He now hosts Tubes and Ange Golf Life on his YouTube channel with celebrity guests including the likes of Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston, comedian Tom Davis and Arsenal star Declan Rice.

And in his podcast alongside Beef, Tubes bravely opened up about how golf “saved his life” after suffering from a crippling alcohol dependency.

Beef asked Tubes about how golfing had helped his mental health generally and Tubes replied: “It’s been amazing. [It’s helped] since I finally admitted that I was addicted to alcohol. Which I should have done years ago. I knew from about 16 that I didn’t have a normal relationship with alcohol.”

He described how the “buzz” of alcohol “was the most uplifting thing,” before comparing the feeling to a kid waking up on Christmas morning, saying: “You know when you’re a young boy and you’re so excited about the buzz of Christmas. That Kronenbourg would go down and I’d be like ‘yeah’, and I just wanted that feeling the whole time.”

Tubes said that initially, his need to drink was to cover up his shyness in social settings, but it took a darker turn as the years went on.

He explained that as he got into his twenties his “whole life revolved around alcohol” and he would plan his drinking around work commitments.

He said: “I would look at the Chelsea fixture list and it wasn’t like ‘ah amazing, Chelsea Vs United’ it was like, brilliant, Sunday game, that means I can go out after Soccer AM all day Saturday, get p***ed, get up in the morning, first thing, go and do it all again on Sunday.”

Tubes said that the turning point in his drinking came after he struggled to process the death of his father.

He said: “When my Dad passed away, for a year after that I was quite good. I was still drinking but I was quite good. But then six months to a year later I had a real dip.”

He said he suffered from PTSD in relation to his father’s passing which caused his drinking to “step up”.

He said: “The drinking wasn’t fun anymore. My whole life became planned around drink. I’d be buying little vodkas just to have them with me at all times.

“I was constantly chasing that buzz. It was a mess. I was so addicted to alcohol it was unbelievable. First thing I’d do in the morning was pick up a little bottle of vodka and bang. I’d call it a little leveller.

“So when I finally admitted I was ruining other people’s lives I said one day ‘enough is enough.’ I’m not upsetting my mum anymore, she’s just lost her husband six months ago, it’s not fair.

“I thought right I need to do stuff which allows me to see my friends and doesn’t involve going to the pub. So I was like golf! Golf!”

He said that his co-host and brother Ange was the biggest golfer he knew so he asked them if they could play together.

Tubes said that while he initially found golf boring, playing after giving up alcohol allowed “something to click in his head.”

He said the social aspect of golf was particularly important to allow him to break his dependency on the substance, saying: “Golf was just so good. I thought, I’ve got my friends, I don’t need to be drinking alcohol. I’m having such a laugh.”

“There was an addiction there [with golf]. When I hit a good shot I got such a buzz and I was celebrating my shots like goals.

“It really helped me stay off the alcohol ’cause once you get past six months and you transform your life it becomes a lot easier.”

As well as helping him to break his drinking habit, golf ultimately gave Tubes the platform to go full time with YouTube after leaving Soccer AM.

Tubes and Ange’s Golf Life has gone from strength to strength since its launch, and its weekly episodes feature interview with celebrities ranging from golf pros, to musicians, to professional footballers.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk