Cullen opens up on becoming a teenage dad and the hand-to-mouth battle that followed

JOE CULLEN has opened up on the “hand to mouth” struggles that shaped his darts career after becoming a teenage dad.

The world No31 revealed he was forced to choose between keeping his job and chasing his dream on the oche following the birth of his son Travis at 18.

Cullen, 37, admitted he and his wife were left facing huge sacrifices as they backed his bid to become a professional player.

He told the Tops and Tales Podcast: “I was 18 and I'd just had a brand new kid. So, there were priorities.

“There were so many things that I had to choose from and so many hard decisions for me and my wife.

“We had to choose between working and darts because work wouldn't give me the time off.

“I've got a young son and it was, right, well, I think I can be good enough at darts. So, my wife and I just backed myself.

“But we went through everything, we were skint, we had to borrow money off parents, you know, just to get by.”

The Rockstar revealed those early struggles forced him to mature quickly while many of his rivals were still enjoying a normal teenage life.

He added: “It's a lot different nowadays, like with kids, as we've alluded to with the academies and stuff.

“Whereas some of them, I had a son at that age, and some of them were worrying about what PlayStation game they're going to buy next or whatever else.

“I think I had to grow up fast and that certainly delayed my progress.”

Cullen explained he spent 12 to 18 months working as a postman before deciding to fully commit to the sport.

He continued: “So, we'd had Travis then and it came to the stage where it was, I need this time off. Well you can have it off unpaid.

“It was like, I need the money.

“But yeah, it just came to the stage where they're just making stuff difficult. You know, my manager, f****** hated her to be honest.”

The Bradford thrower recalled how the pressure of needing prize money changed the way he approached tournaments during those early years.

He said: “I know it was a choice. And like I say, my wife worked all hours. While, I effectively sat at home practising.

“Then it just made things tough. Like if you go away on a weekend, it's obviously different for me now, but it was, I have to win because I need money. Whereas, like, now I have to win for rankings.

“Obviously need the money, but it's more of a secondary thing, especially for the ProTours and things.

“But yeah, just, we had to grow up incredibly fast.”

Cullen has gone on to enjoy a glittering PDC career, winning the World Masters in 2022 and lifting 12 ProTour titles.

But Cullen still remembers the days when he had to carefully pick and choose which tournaments he could afford to enter.

He explained: “When I stopped working, I did give the time, it just, like I say, it was, it got to the point where I was choosing which tournaments I could go to.

“Whereas now people are, you know, sort of the top-end guys, they're choosing which tournaments to go to because they want a bit of time off.

“Whereas I was thinking, well, I can afford that one, but I can't afford that one.

“Then it came, I think I was running out of money. My uncle gave me some money just to... he just said, ‘Look, do what you can with that.’

“Then Tommy Cox rang me, who's a tournament director at the PDC.

“Him and his son wanted to manage me and sponsor me.

“That's when I think I started to, I didn't have to worry about the money side of it, because I was obviously paying entries and things like that. And I didn't have the money to pay it.”

Cullen believes those difficult early years played a major role in shaping the player and person he is today.

He added: “You know, I was going out for meals, just four people for a meal. I think, you know, it's £200, it's £50 each. I'm thinking, I've only got £40 in my pocket.

“I know we're splitting the bill. So, you know, I think it's shaped me into the person I am today.

“My family as well, I think it's shaped them as well, because it was, we don't really take much for granted now, because we've been in the s*** effectively, where it was hand to mouth.

“So yeah, try not to take anything for granted now.”

Words: Phil Lanning

Image: Taylor Lanning