JUST WHO THE HELL IS BOB SPOUR?
Bob Spour is a name synonomous with the world of martial arts, Muay Thai and of recent years NLP Trainings and Seminars. However this would be doing the man a disservice as he has a much more varied background than just these two disciplines. His early years saw an intense involvement in all things oriental. Studying Karate firstly under Sensei Danny Chaganis (Wado ryu) and then the infamous Sensei Harry Cook (Shotokan and Goju ryu) meant that he would enter the world of Asian martial arts with his eyes open. Studying Buddhism and meditation under the famous Akong Rimpoche and then Kalu Rimpoche, Bob nearly went the whole hog and took ordination as a Buddhist monk in the Kargyupta Tradition. This was not to be and marriage and children intervened. Abetter choice if you want to learn about yourself and the world in general. But even to this day his early studies left an impression on him. Bob continues to study the subject and follows the writings of a more up to date philosophers such as Robert Anton Wilson and Alan Watts. Upon leaving school life would only continue to get less orthodox!
Bob originally served a Marine Engineering apprenticeship in the Ship Repair Yards of his native North East in the early '70's before serving in the Merchant Marine as a sea going engineer. Following that a stint with the British Army (QLR) as an infanteer (reaching the rank of Corporal) saw him eventually passing selection and serving with the now well known and infamous Special Air Service.
Upon the leaving the forces he did what every SAS trooper would do and embarked upon a new career as an actor and studied for a degree at The University of Birmingham. To finance himself through University he set up a successful sandwich bar that would offer the students good, cheap food and entertain them during the selling process! In fact Bob is still recognised occasionally as 'The Sandwich Man' by alumni that he sees from time to time. After that 3 year period and armed with a degree in Drama & Theatre Arts he worked on and off as an Actor. It was also during this time (1984 - 87)that he formed the short lived, but well liked 5 man act The Vajrapani Brothers. They had three gigs but due to the expenses incurred and the high wages bill they disbanded and Bob teamed up with friend and actor Howard and started what was to become a phenomenon in Coventry and London. Reg Cattermole Stoleme Pig. This was a three man comedy act...the third man cannot be named because he simply was not funny! They toured the London Circuit and regularly appeared at Edinburgh working alongside such luminaries as Bill Bailey, Mark Lamarr, Sean Lock, Mark Bilingham etc until they split up in 1989 when they got rid of the guy who could not be named...
...and then The Mike Pinder Sextet was born. Rising like a phoenix from the ashes they became an overnight success . Check out their biography elsewhere on the website.
During all of this time Bob had worked in Sales (1987-92) selling everything from Vending Machines to Software to Telephone Exchanges but realised very quickly that he'd make more money and be better off working for himself teaching his first love Muay Thai. Bob had already been setting out his store by writing for Combat magazine. In fact his first article was published in 1986 under the editorship of Bey Logan. He continued to write successfully for Combat and its sister publication Traditional Karate right up to the late 90's and then writing intermittently for Martial Arts Illustrated on a number of topics including NLP and Self Protection. The Phraya Pichai Muay Thai Camps started their expansion in the early 90's and now boast 70 clubs worldwide. It was never set up as a franchise unlike most other groups because (much to Bob's accountants disbelief) he prefers to keep it as a family feel. Bob monitors the development and the standards within the group closely through seminars and gradings. Where does he get the time?
In 1992 when he wasn't gigging in London, teaching Seminars, running workshops and his classes Bob started his journey into NLP. At first he used it to help his students gain more confidence and to help them build motivation. But it became apparent to his students that he was able to do much more than that. He worked with one or two people with issues going much deeper and it was decided that he should become qualified in NLP. In other words formalise his already more than capable abilities. This he duly did and qualified with Dr Richard Bandler one of the co-developers of NLP eventually qualifying as a Trainer under Richard at the turn of the century. Bob continues to see clients but more importantly teaches NLP putting his life experiences and his attitude into his seminars. Bob remembers the first time he saw Richard teaching and the words he uttered as being significant but familiar. Richard spoke of NLP being an Attitude rather than just a list of techniques. Unfortunately most students learnt the techniques and missed what Richard was saying. Not Bob. To Bob attitude is what it is all about. From an early age Bob has had this 'go for it!' attitude and this is what endears him to so many people and has made him successful. The great thing is...he also has the ability to teach most people how to achieve this...'attitude'...so that they too will 'dare to win' as they say in the SAS.
So what is he up to now. What is happening in the world of Bob Spour?
When he is not teaching Muay Thai or Self Protection he will be teaching NLP or Contact Drills! When he's not doing that no doubt he will be writing for one of the many magazines that feature him. Mens Health, Zoo, FHM, Arena, Time Out (this was in the past two months). He is currently working as a co-presenter with Tim Shaw on the very successful Asylum show on Kerrang Radio and is also working with RDF TV on a new programme idea as well as Monkey Television with a new series starring Dom Jolly. He was until recently working with the Executive Producers for a programme for National Geographic TV and is working on the new programme The White Room with Tim Shaw. This will be a groundbreaking series of Interviews. He is in demand with various blue chip companies (Diageo, Deutsche Bank etc ) for public speaking and works very closely with Business Pursuits an Events company that Bob works with providing SAS style events through his company SAS Survival.
Did we mention his motion capture? Well over the past 4 years Bob has been involved with the development of many computer games as both an advisor and as a Motion Capture Artist. His most recent games include: Killzone, Delta Force, Black Hawk Down, Rogue Trooper, Cold Winter, The Regiment, Operation Flash Point 2, Killzone 2, and many more. He is currently working with Swordfish Studios to produce a new groundbreaking computer game and has just completed filming two episodes of a new series for National Geographic. In September he will be working alongside Yorkshire TV on an outdoor broadcast.
For trainings and courses with Bob:
BOB SPOURS WEBSITE: WWW.SASSURVIVAL.CO.UK
SAS Fight Secrets Ebook now available
