Reading FC star used injury to help set-up award-winning business

Releasing a range of shots to help with injury recovery, ailments and illness, they are used by huge teams such as the England men's rugby team and Football League clubs.

The Wales legend played over 200 times for the club having come up through the academy, but the 33-year-old has admitted that it was a serious injury in the reserves that gave him and his dad the desire to set up their business.

Speaking exclusively to the Reading Chronicle, the forward delved back into his story.

"When I broke into the Reading first team, I had gone through two major surgeries as a teenager. And, you know, after the second surgery, after having been two-and-a-half years on the on the injury table the physios and doctors said that it was likely that I would never play without pain and restriction in my knee again," he revealed. "The surgeon said to my dad, privately at the time, that at 16 I should probably look at different career paths. The injury happened against MK Dons and it was a reserve game. As a 15-year-old I was playing up and the tackle was knee-high. There was an image of it and my knee basically snapped in half. It was such a traumatic picture, gruesome, that the Director of Football- Nick Hammond- reached out to the website and said it needed to be removed. 

"I went on to have two surgeries in recovery from this, from rupturing my cruciate knee ligament twice, and I was just constantly hammered with pain, inflammation and swelling in my knee. I would go for a jog with the physio and my knee would balloon up. Reading were very supportive, they felt I had the potential to break into the first team but obviously I couldn’t shift this.

"It got to the point where the physios prescribed the anti-inflammatory painkillers. I began popping these almost like Smarties. After a week or so my body had an adverse effect to them, so I started passing blood in my urine, had nausea and I couldn’t sleep. I remember breaking down, I was staying in Bracknell at the time, and my dad was with me in the flat I was in. I went to walk up the stairs after playing 10 minutes in a friendly match and I broke down on the step and was bursting into tears. There must be a way back."

From one of his lowest points came the climb back, working with his dad to get back to full fitness.

"It was at that point where me and my dad basically went on a research binge. We began looking at natural ways to recover from pain, inflammation and swelling. We went to the library and scoured the internet. We looked at ancient Asian practices in eastern cultures where they would use natural remedies. What we began to find was these natural ingredients which kept recurring, like watermelon, pomegranate, pineapple, ginger and turmeric in the raw format. It wasn’t powder or capsules, what we read was that the raw ingredients were key to having an impact.

"My dad sourced all of the natural ingredients from local markets over the next few days and began to turn these into a blend. At first it didn’t taste too good but after a few days my dad perfected this blend of raw, natural ingredients and it was this golden elixir. It was really potent, knocked my socks off, but it was actually enjoyable. Immediately the additional nutrient and micronutrients and macro nutrients I was consuming from this golden blend really gave me a real boost of energy.

"Within a few weeks, I began noticing that I didn't have as much restriction when I did exercise, but the pain and inflammation was there. It was after about six weeks of of using this blend that my dad was continuously making and waking up, going into the bathroom and into the shower that I realised I had woken up without pain or restriction in my knee. It was a lightbulb moment because up until that point I’d taken everything I was told as gospel. I actually realised if you think outside the box and are willing to try new things then anything is truly possible.

"Within a year I had made my professional debut, a year after that I made my international debut and a year after that I made my Premier League debut. It was almost my secret recipe to recover throughout my career. During the winter season everyone was coming in with colds and flus and I would just never get run down. We began, as a family, giving out to friends and family who have various ills and ailments and after a few weeks of using it regularly, they would report the same benefits. We realised it was something really unique then. It got to a point where, at club level, teammates began using it. I remember Paul McShane and Stephen Quinn asking me what it was."

About to move to a larger premises and hoping to enter large chain supermarkets, the former West Brom forward admits he is enjoying the hard work

"It's extremely hard work. I’m working harder than I did as a footballer in terms of hours and dedication, but this is what it’s all about. We're trying to make a change in society. I remember driving past the Waitrose headquarters in Berkshire when I lived in Ascot and Bracknell during my time at Reading- and now we’re aspiring to work with those types of retailers.

"Our mission is to educate the buyers and the market because delivering truly functional food in the form of our shots is super unique. There are no shots on the market currently who are changing people’s lives, that’s testament to use and the product we’ve brought forwards."

Find out more about The Turmeric Co. here.