| Mike Mitchell -5XWFF World Champion 2X WFF Mr. Universe 11/15/10 BHR Derek McMinn**VIDEO** |
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In his own words:
Since the operation I cant believe how fast I have recovered. I am back doing everything but most important pain free without the limp. Its hard to hold back and not do too much, Take care Mike"
Viceo from the McMinn Centre
Wednesday, 07 October 2009 Fethiye Faces – Capt Mike Mitchell MBAHe’s a local resident and real life action man with a story that could have been out of a Hollywood film.
If you bump into Mike around the area you may, on first impression, be hard pushed to imagine all the things he has done and is doing with his life. With his genuine smile and warm character you’d just think he was just a regular guy, but as we’ll find out, not only is he a man of action but his life story is a bit like a Hollywood movie.
Mike you are now an actor, but you have a life story that seems to almost be a film in itself. Can you tell us about the early days?I don’t believe in miracles but I do believe in the power of the mind. I think if we really want something so badly it is possible to create a mind set to achieve it. I knew I would recover if I focused completely on the subject.I left school at a very early age and joined HM forces initially as a combat frogman where I specialised in explosives and became involved in Special Forces. On reaching the rank of Captain I decided that life was more challenging and more rewarding in the North Sea oil fields so I left and worked my way up from diver to supervisor to superintendent and then to consultant. I then started my own company in Subsea Consultancy and that grew to have offices all over the world and became one of the largest companies specialising in all aspects of deep diving. At the age of 30 I was diagnosed with Leukaemia, so decided it was time sell the company and focus on my health. How did the shocking news of being diagnosed with such a serious illness affect you?
To be honest at first I didn’t really know what Leukaemia but after all the consultancy and advice as to what the illness was I realised the only way forward was to dig deep and fight. I became very ill and lost a lot of weight as a result of the chemo therapy. Fortunately I have been blessed with incredible will power and after a year or so I started to respond to the treatment. As my health started to improve I was advised to go to a fitness centre to take some exercise and get my strength back. At this point I was so weak and thin I thought it was going to be an impossible task. But I met a professional body builder who was the reigning Mr Scotland who said he would help me on to the road to recovery. Remember I had never been in a fitness centre at all so I really didn’t know what to do or expect. The first thing he said I had to do was set a target so we could measure what I was doing and my progress. After a long pause I said OK, I want to be Mr Scotland just like you. He laughed and said it was impossible but never the less it was a goal. To recover from such a serious illness is amazing. Was it all about the medical treatment?I don’t believe in miracles but I do believe in the power of the mind. I think if we really want something so badly it is possible to create a mind set to achieve it. I knew I would recover if I focused completely on the subject. So was your trainer right that you couldn’t become Mr Scotland? I know it was an impossibility in most people’s eyes but after 4 years of hard training I achieved the goal and became Mr Scotland. I then went on to Europe winning competitions all over and then taking five World Masters titles and two Universe titles. This achievement has led to many awards for recognition of my contribution to sport and only this year I have been awarded the World Fitness Federation's highest award and become a 'living legend' in the WFF Hall of Fame. So what did you do after all that?
I came out to the Lykia World Hotel in Oludeniz to do a guest appearance and ended up with a job offer to be the sports director which I accepted. That enabled me to continue my tough training schedule. I fell in love with the area and Turkey as so many of us have here. In 2006 I travelled to Moscow to take part in the professional world championships. I won that but when I returned to Turkey I had a heart attack a few weeks later. My heart stopped for six minutes and I believe if it wasn’t for the professionalism of the doctors and staff at Ege University Hospital in Izmir I wouldn’t be here today. This put a complete stop to my competitive career and my training. Let’s talk about your acting. You have been in films including Planet, Freight, Red Riding, Braveheart and Gladiator. How did this come about?It all came because of my physique and because I was big and strong I was a natural to play certain parts that required looking, well, big. That’s how I was chosen to be an extra in films such as Braveheart and Gladiator. But then things became a little more serious when I was offered a lead role in Mark Stirton’s “The Planet”. After that film I got the bug when I realised I could not only look big and mean but I could act as well. Which role and which movie did you like yourself in the best and which actors were the most enjoyable for you to work with?I think my best role was Captain Morgan in the Planet. Mark Stirton the director allowed me to bring some of my military skills to the set so I was able to play the role in a natural way as if I was back in the military. However I think my best movie was Stuart St Paul’s ‘Freight’ that was filmed earlier this year. It is full of action from start to finish and allowed me to play alongside some pretty powerful actors. I would hate to say which has been my best actor or actress to work with there have been so many. It was a pleasure to work with Sean Bean in Red Riding, Craig Fairbrass and Bill Murray in Freight. All are a delight to work with, so helpful as well as being real good mates. Are there any of your new films out that our readers can get hold of to see you in action?Freight is in production and was bought by icon films - Mel Gibson’s company - and was shown at the Cannes Film Festival this year. It is due for release in November / December. Other films out now are called ‘One Day Removals’ and ‘Red Riding’. Do you have plans to do more films and will you be breaking into the Turkish film industry?Yes. I have started acting in a film called ‘Rough Around the Edges’ with the first weeks shoot taking place aboard a yacht in Fethiye. My home patch! I then move to England in mid October to start filming ‘The City of Hell’ in which I play Sergeant Duane the 2nd lead. The film is about gangster crime in the 1930s. Sadly there are no Turkish movies on the horizon. There were two opportunities earlier in the year but both fell through for one reason or another. It is now my new target to get involved with a Turkish production no matter how small as it makes sense now that I live in Fethiye. As I said I am an action man and I am looking for a film I can use all my skills such as horse riding, sword fighting and more. What do you like or love about Turkey?
I love Turkey with a passion. I brought the Fifth World Title back to Turkey in 2006 and it was such an honour to see ‘Thank you Mike’ written across the front page of the Turkish Daily paper Hurriyet. I have brought many, many people here from my home country and many have returned time and time again. I love Fethiye, the nature, the people; in fact everything except the roads. What One Thing Would you Love to Do?I’ve got my own yacht and I love to sail. I’d love to sail round the world, but I have so many other things on the cards right now that will just have to wait. And Finally.......May I take this opportunity to thank you for your time and I send my best wishes to the thousands of friends I now have in the Turkish community. I love you all. You can see more pictures of Mike on his website www.iron-mike-mitchell.co Iron Mike’ Mitchell likes to rock the boat
Monday, October 11, 2010
FETHİYE – Hürriyet Daily News
A prizewinner at Altın Portakal last year, Mike
Mitchell’s amazing life story contains the armed forces, lucrative
businesses, life-threatening illnesses and world titles
On Oct. 8, the world premier of “Freight,” a tough film set in the north of England, had its world premier. One of the characters, Mitch, is none other than world-champion fitness and bodybuilder Mike Mitchell, who has been living in Fethiye, southern Turkey, for the last eight years. Known these days as “Iron Mike” by his colleagues in the film industry, there is obviously a lot more to him than just muscle. Mitchell tells his fascinating story to Hürriyet Daily News South Weekly. Born in Keighley, Yorkshire, in August 1955 but a naturalized Scotsman from the length of time he spent in Aberdeen, Mitchell has had a life as full of drama and adventure as one of the films in which he is appearing rather frequently these days, more often than not as a tough guy. Born to an academic father, Mitchell was expected to follow the university path, but as action was more to his style, he left school at 15 to join the army. Later he was to become a member of Her Majesty's Special Forces as a Combat Frogman Bomb and Mine Disposal Specialist. On leaving the forces he went to work at a deep-sea engineering consultancy company in Aberdeen and a farm. “I didn’t want to be a security guard or mercenary like my mates were doing,” he admits. Both the farm and the company grew to be massively successful due to Mitchell’s hard work, commitment and army discipline. “I progressed very quickly through the ranks from diver to superintendent to company director within a matter of years.” Life was looking good for Mitchell. At 31 he was diagnosed with leukemia. “For a long time the medical profession blamed stress. I had to sell the farm because the chemotherapy destroyed my immune system. I didn’t want to sell it. It broke my heart.” But the cancer and the loss of his farm didn’t knock him back for long. “As I responded to the treatment and started to get better, it was suggested that I go to a fitness center. At the time I didn’t even know what one of those was!” While building up his strength he met the reigning Mr. Scotland, who explained to Mitchell that he needed to set himself a target to work toward. “I didn’t know what the hell he was talking about. I wasn’t really that into the fitness regime back then. He said think of something that is achievable so I laughed and said, ‘OK I’ll go for the Mr. Scotland title!’ He laughed too and said, ‘Why not?’ At the time I was a wiry 11-stone weakling so I don’t know how seriously he took me.” At the time Mitchell was a well-known businessman in Aberdeen. He decided to enter the Mr. Aberdeen Granite City competition. “Everybody knew about my illness so I had a lot of support although I have to come clean, all my friends fell about laughing when I told them.” He planned to donate the prize money, in the unlikely event of him winning, to a children’s cancer charity. The press got hold of the story so his fame spread far a wide. He came second to last on that occasion, “I was so bad!”
At the same time he studied for a sports science degree and later an MBA. It appears that in everything Mitchell has tackled he has rocked the boat, never taking the easy road, questioning his lecturers, learning with an unquenchable passion and yet finally coming out on top. He finally started his own fitness center in Aberdeen. It goes without saying that this was successful too. But in the meantime his private life took a surprising turn when he was offered the post of sports director at Lykia World in Ölüdeniz. “I was there on holiday and giving a series of talks on fitness. As I wasn’t getting any younger I thought this would be a good idea and a great life style,” he said. “I was on TV chat shows by this time and preparing for the 2006 world championships in Moscow [which he was to win for the fifth time at 50 years old.] I had been training very hard with my brother and pushing myself to the limits. I realized that this competition was going to take every ounce of my discipline but somehow I did it.” However, on his return to Ovacık, Fethiye, two weeks later he suffered a massive heart attack when his heart stopped for nine minutes and underwent radical surgery to repair the damage. He had already had one heart attack in 2004, but admitted that he had ignored the warning signs. “It was a matter of touch and go as to whether I would survive the operation. My brother told me later that the surgeon said that there was a 70 percent chance I would not make it. I wondered why he was crying. Sam, my brother, made a decision to move to Turkey to look after me, I believe that without his love, support and dedication to helping me recover I would not be here to tell the story,” Mitchell said. “The hospital in İzmir was amazing, like a TARDIS, and the surgeon was one of the best in Europe. He had told me to take it easy but I started training again because I couldn’t live any other way. I resigned from Lykia World, bought a yacht and a year later when I went back for a checkup he couldn’t believe I was the same man,” he said.
It seems the elite armed forces, running lucrative businesses, recovering from two life-threatening health afflictions and achieving world titles for fitness when most others of his age were winding down was still not enough for this superman: Mitchell then entered the world of TV and cinema. “With my background it was not difficult to find an agent.” Building on the success of his bodybuilding achievements and strong physique, Mitchell has now acted in many stage plays, television programs and films and also works as a model. These include appearances on Turkish TV from 2002, as well as theater productions such as a re-enactment of the film “Gladiator.” In 2009 he won an award from the prestigious Altın Portakal Film Festival in Antalya for services to Turkey. Other films in which Mitchell has appeared include “Life on the Line” (2003) in which he plays the part of an FBI Agent and “Unleashed” (2004). Mitchell also played the role of Commander Captain J. Morgan in the science-fiction/horror film “The Planet,” which was released in 2006. Later, Mitchell returned to Aberdeen to work with local film producer Mark Stirton on his new dark comedy, “One Day Removals,” in which he plays a police officer. After that, Mitchell received rolls in the famous soap opera “Emmerdale,” “Red Riding” with Sean Bean, a leading role in “St. Nick” and a supporting role to British TV Icon Brian Croucher in “City of Hell.” “Freight” is about kidnap, the sex trade, cage fighting and organized crime. It gave him the opportunity to act alongside famous names like Bill Murray, Craig Fairbrass, Andy Teirnan and Danny Midwinter to name but a few. “Freight” is written and directed by Stuart St. Paul and produced by St. Paul, Martin Campbell, Luke Aikman, Andy Thompson and Billy Murray for Icon Films.
A tough, hard-hitting film, shot on location in Leeds, Mitchell is
hopeful tha A new and rather romantic chapter in Mitchell’s non-stop, almost surreal life is his recent engagement to Işıl Kaleli. “I asked her to marry me on my birthday last month,” said Mitchell. “I am delighted that she accepted my proposal! We are both very busy at the moment so I am not sure when the wedding will be. We haven’t made any definite plans yet as we both have commitments we need to complete first,” he said. But it is certain that whenever and wherever the couple ties the knot, it will be a celebration that Mike Mitchell makes sure will truly reflect his extraordinary life."
You can see more on Mike at his website http://www.iron-mike-mitchell.com/
and his Pro site http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2396944/ |
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Mike Mitchell has an incredible and inspiring story. Diagnosed with a life threatening illness, he fought back to beat it and went from being weak and thin from the chemo he had indured, went to a local gym, met a bodybuilder and went on to become a successful Action Actor (with movies such as Braveheart and Gladiator) and world class body builder, winning 5 time WFF World Champion Titles and is a 2 time WFF Mr. Universe! I have posted links to articles written about him below along with excerpts from those links and a recent video done by the McMinn Centre. After a fall on a set in early 2010 he was diagnosed with OA and he started researching hip replacements. Luckily a friend told him about the McMinn Centre and had his hip resurfacing on November 15, 2010.
But he loved the experience so much he carried on, eventually winning
Mr. Granite City, and Mr. Scotland three times. “I went on to win
Britain, Europe and then the world championships a staggering and
unbeaten five times. This was bodybuilding and fitness and I went to the
best trainers. It was all about diet and training.”
Once again, Mitchell had proved the skeptics wrong.
t it will come to the cinema in Fethiye sometime soon.
Mitchell is currently filming the lead role in “Rough and Ready,” again
with many top stars. He also is currently starring and producing
“Revenge: the Movie” with his great friend and star of Braveheart, Bill
Little. Three other action movies are on the cards for 2011.
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