TV’s Radzi Chinyanganya on how his dog, the gym and relaxing spa sessions keep him sane
The sports presenter tells Lisa Salmon how his dog Olive and tough gym sessions complete his action-packed life.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.As a TV presenter, author and podcaster, Radzi Chinyanganya lives life at a fast pace – but he has three key ways of keeping everything under control.
No matter how busy he is, the energetic 35-year-old – who was a Blue Peter presenter between 2013 and 2019, and now predominantly covers sport – always finds time for the gym, long walks with the dog he shares with his mum, and a relaxing spa session.
“For me, dogs just complete your life, and in this crazy world we live in, which is often very busy and frenetic and we don’t have a lot of time, knowing that when I wake up I’m going to be walking my dog [a Jack Russell cross], and bonding with my dog is great – all they want is to be loved,” he says.
His mum, Barbara McGarrity, lives near him in the West Midlands, and they’ve shared rescue dog Olive for about five years. “We saw her and fell in love with her, and my mum said to me ‘Your life’s too busy to have a full time dog, so instead how about I have a dog and you see her as much as you can?’ It works out phenomenally well,” he says.
“As soon as my life settles down, getting another dog is the first thing I’ll do. Forget about getting a second car or something, a dog is my number one, two and three… I’d love to be in a position to have a dog that lives with me all the time.
“I’ve worked on Crufts for the last few years, and you realise dogs aren’t just cute. They’re great for mental health, they’re the most affectionate things on earth, they’re loyal and they’re always there – when you walk through the door they give you the best love, whether you’ve had a brilliant day or a rubbish day.”
Spending time with Olive isn’t Chinyanganya’s only way of unwinding. “I’ve loved sport and fitness basically since I left the womb,” he declares. “I’ve always done sport, and with my job now in TV I’d be surprised if I’d had more than 20 days off, and as a result the gym is my sanctuary.
“I’m one of these weirdos who goes to the gym six days a week. I love it, and if I could go seven days a week I would, but I need a rest day. It’s not a chore to me at all.”
He recalls competing in the Ninja Warrior UK TV show in 2018 and injuring his hand. As a result, “I couldn’t go to the gym for 10 weeks and that drove me insane”, he says. “So for me, the gym keeps me sane – it’s where I express myself, challenge myself and push myself.”
Chinyanganya says growing up and watching TV shows like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, ThunderCats, Power Rangers and Gladiators (his “all-time favourite show”) had a huge influence, continuing: “I loved watching athletics too, seeing people I thought were inspirational, finding out what they did and repeating it. Now it’s come full circle, and I work partly in some of those sports and I get to interact with some of those people, I get to speak to them and find out their stories. That’s come from seeing people when I was about three or four years old.”
He recently conducted Roger Federer’s last television interview as a professional tennis player, and describes the experience as “humbling”, adding: “Working in sport is my dream job, 100%. I love getting to be on the other side of the camera.”
He has a lot on his plate – with his TV work, writing his second children’s book (his first was Move Like A Lion, about how kids can move like their favourite animals), and a punishing fitness routine – but what else does Chinyanganya – who’s “single and ready to mingle” – do to relax?
“Confession time: I flipping love a spa,” he chuckles. “I’m often the only bloke in a spa, but getting a dressing gown on, having a treatment and using the sauna, steam room, jacuzzi, hot stones, facial – oh my goodness, that’s one of my guilty pleasures.
He also loves listening to hip-hop music and watching Netflix. “My only issue is once I start I can’t stop, so I might start at 8pm and finish at 5 in the morning, and not have any sleep. I’m actually quite sad and I love watching the news too – I like understanding the world around me.”
Another of Chinyanganya’s passions is food – but despite his admirable fitness regime, he admits he’s not a particularly healthy eater. “This is where it’s confession time again,” he says. “I’d love to say my diet is as clean as a whistle, but that would be a lie. It would be as clean as a whistle if you took McDonald’s, chocolate, sweets and Starbucks out, but unfortunately that’d take a lot out, so no, I don’t have a very clean diet.
“I like food a lot, Nando’s is number one, two and three. On the whole I’m not too bad, but I do not necessarily watch what I eat. I eat everything!”
Radzi Chinyanganya is supporting YuMOVE’s (yumove.co.uk) new range of Dental Care Sticks for dogs.