MATE AGAINST MATE

Your verdict is in on the two fiercely competitive trainers behind Chris Hemsworth’s fitness app, Centr. Amid a no-holds-barred contest to determine who would grace this month’s cover, Luke Zocchi and Bobby Holland Hanton sat down with Men’s Health to reveal the secrets behind their success. Who knows? Maybe you’re cover material, too

- Daniel Williams

FALL GUY

Having spent 12 years absorbing all manner of knocks and spills for a roll call of Hollywood action heroes, stuntman Bobby Holland Hanton may seem indestructible. Recently, however, his body threatened to pack it in and end his career. His comeback is your inspiration never to surrender in the face of hardship

“I WAS BORN in Portsmouth on the south coast of England. At the age of four, I started gymnastics and eventually competed for Great Britain. Gymnastics puts you in good stead for any sport and I’m so glad I did it, but at 17 I stopped competing and pursued my love of football, playing semi-professionally for two years.

In my late teens, I saw an ad in the newspaper to audition for a high-diving, acrobatic stunt show. I got the part and did live shows for three years. At 21, I spotted the name of an ex-gymnast in the credits of Casino Royale for stunts. I knew I wanted to take my talent into this area, so I found out the criteria for becoming a stunt performer in TV and film. I needed to make myself elite in six out of 12 disciplines.

I was already over the line in high-diving, trampolining and gymnastics so I took the test for those straight away and ticked them off. That left three more and I chose kickboxing (which meant becoming a brown belt), swimming (taking the equivalent of the SAS swimming test) and scuba diving (divemaster). The swimming – a lot of breath-holds, treading water and swimming in clothes – was the hardest. I hadn’t done much swimming and it wasn’t natural for me. The training for that alone took me six months.