Former boxing champion Frank Gilfeather hung up his gloves more than 50 years ago – but now, at 79, he’s winning a different kind of fame.
Gilfeather has become an unlikely online hit over the last couple of years, amassing millions of fans with his no-nonsense instructional and motivational videos.
The Scottish septuagenarian now counts Hollywood star Channing Tatum, heavyweight world champ Oleksandr Usyk and rapper 50 Cent among his many followers.
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Gilfeather, whose TikTok handle is ‘The Noble Art’, says he’s as surprised as anyone about his sudden late-life popularity.
“Surprise is an understatement – it’s kind of overwhelming,” he told Fox Sports Australia.
“It started out with Paul, my son, we were in the gym, and he said to throw an uppercut. I did it. He videoed it and said he was going to put it on TikTok.
“It spread like wildfire. I couldn’t believe it. It just zoomed into the stratosphere.”
Gilfeather’s videos have now racked up many millions of views, as he teaches some of the lost techniques of ‘the sweet science’ that he was schooled in at an early age.
At four years old, his father started a boxing club and would take the youngster along to train with everyone else.
At age 10, Gilfeather had his first serious boxing match and went on to represent Scotland as an amateur and notch up more than 200 fights.
He says boxing taught him some important life lessons.
“The thing I learned from my dad is respect for other people,” he says.
“You’ve got to recognise other people have another point of view. Boxing teaches you to have respect.
“It takes a lot for a person to step into the ring… you respect the guy in the other corner.
“It also teaches you discipline… It teaches you that discipline, that routine.
“It also teaches you a bit of humility. I remember when I first became the Scottish lightweight champion. It was a Saturday night in Edinburgh. I was feeling good about myself. It was in all the papers.
“I remember we were going to mass on Sunday morning and we were getting on the bus and he [my father] said to me ‘remember to keep your feet on the ground’.
“…My dad wouldn’t allow you to be boastful, you’ve got to remember humility.”
Gilfeather is not a fan of some aspects of modern boxing, including the way that fighters trash talk before a bout.
“I think boxing has lost a bit of its dignity,” he says.
“When you look at old footage of weigh-ins and press conferences and you look at some of the great fighters like Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano and ‘Sugar’ Ray Robinson… These guys were dignified.
“They would never be in the face of their opponent at the weigh in. They would never be in the face of their opponent saying I’m going to kill you tonight.
“All that stuff. I absolutely abhor that. It’s totally unnecessary.”
Gilfeather’s recent rise to fame has seen him invited around the world to give coaching seminars. He has also gone into the boxing glove business with his son Paul.
Despite all this, the veteran boxer says touching people’s lives has been the most impactful part of the journey.
“It started out with the boxing stuff… and people are very kind with their comments,” he says.
“But since then, we’ve started a little thing called ‘Never Give Up on Yourself’. It’s a call out to people who are middle aged and older to say that just because you’ve reached a certain age, you don’t have to give up on physical exercise.
“The upshot of that has been gut-wrenching. I get comments from people who say they are now exercising because of me, ‘you’ve inspired me’.
“I have people tell me a couple of times a week that they are a drug addict or an alcoholic, but they’ve left that behind because I’ve inspired them.
“That’s pretty overwhelming for me. That’s kind of more important than anything else.”
Gilfeather says he’s not an expert, or a nutritionist, or a fitness guru. He just does what works for him.
“My number one message is ‘never give up on yourself’.
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“I get these messages from people telling me I’ve saved their lives, so the message is to keep moving.
“Everyone can do something physical, even older guys like me.”