INTERVIEW WITH TOBY OLUBI – RECRUIT NUMBER 2 (BRITISH)

Age: 37

From: London

Occupation: Olympian and Gladiator 

IG -  @tobyolubi TT - @tobyolubi

Toby Olubi is a British sprinter, Olympian, and TV personality best known as “Phantom” on the BBC’s Gladiators, where his 6 ft 5 frame, speed, and strength have made him a fan favourite. Raised in South London, he transitioned from sprinting to Team GB bobsleigh, competing at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, breaking the world record for the fastest bobsleigh run at 97 mph, and helping secure Great Britain’s first-ever gold at the Whistler World Cup. Open about the financial and personal challenges of elite sport, Toby has shown resilience both on and off the track, even working as a supply teacher and appearing on game shows. Now, he brings his relentless drive and “human cannonball” reputation to Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, determined to prove there is no limit to what he can endure.

Why did you want to take part in Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins?

There were a lot of reasons. 

One of the biggest was to show how I approach things, which I think is quite unique. There are different elements of manhood, and I’ve said this before, but especially in 2025, it can feel skewed towards how a man is “supposed” to be. I wanted to express a way of still being majestic and powerful, while also understanding that you have limits and weaknesses.  When those weaknesses appear, what do you do? It doesn’t mean you get it right every single time, but you try to do it right the majority of the time, then re-evaluate, come back, and do it again and again. That’s a process I’ve learned to live by, and it’s worked for me.

I only say manhood because I am a man. Women can apply the same principles, but I can’t speak for their path. That’s something for women to articulate themselves. This is just my journey.

Another reason was to show a different side of myself. Behind the hood and the TV persona, there’s more to me that doesn’t normally get shown. Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins is a perfect outlet for that, because you can’t hide on this show. You can’t fake it. You can only be your authentic self, and I really relished that.

And the third reason is simple: why not? Life is for living.

Did you feel prepared fo this experience?

No. Jessika doesn’t like me saying this because she feels like I’m making excuses, but I was genuinely the least prepared out of everyone and extremely sleep-deprived when we started. It’s not how you want to begin something like Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.  I’m not complaining—it was just part of the story. But for me, it came down to a simple question: can I do it? And my answer was always yes!

What was the hardest task?

I would say the hardest task was the first one, being submerged into the river inside a plane and then having the calm and the composure and the patience to escape and make sure your teammate escaped as well. It was hard thinking that it is something that could happen. I guess we all venture on planes, but it is also something that we all probably dread. And it required a lot of calmness, a lot of patience and it was the beginning of it all and so I wasn't really accustomed to the whole process of it all and we were thrown into the deep end, literally!

Who did you bond with the most?

I loved the whole group, and it was a great experience to enjoy the whole journey with such a solid group of individuals and everyone played a role. We had the jokers, we had the calm people in the group and we had the powerhouses as well and I loved the whole experience with everyone and obviously the TikTokers, Jack and Cole as well - it was great to have them on board - and the girls as well. Gabby, Dani were awesome.

What did you think of the DS? 

The DS, what do I think? I have huge respect for them in terms of everything that they've done and their endeavours. I think that they're there to do a job and they do a job really well and expose you to an environment and a climate that you won't have experienced or probably will never experience where you get to push yourself to your limits and in doing that, you can only grow when you come out the other side. I’m all for everything that they're doing on the show. I wish them the best of luck and hopefully I will get to see them again.

How did the living and sleeping situation affect you?

I didn’t mind it at all. The bunkers didn’t bother me, and the snoring didn’t really bother me either. Mack and I joke about this— after the milling, he snored constantly! Jack or Cole snored too, but it was fine.

I live alone anyway, so knowing I had my own place waiting for me helped mentally. Living with 14 people didn’t bother me—in fact, it was quite nice. It felt like a big sleepover.

What about the toilets and showers?

I’m very scheduled with my toilet habits, so it honestly wasn’t an issue. I’d wake Ryan up at 5am, go, and then I was sorted for the day. Everyone else had some surprises—I heard plenty of stories—but most of the time when I went, it was clean. That was the least of my problems.

As for showers, I showered. Some people didn’t—I won’t name names. One person didn’t even use the toilet the entire time, which is another form of torture in itself. I actually got into trouble for being clean. I washed my shirts every day and left them out to dry, and everyone got punished for it. I like being organised and clean. I showered every night unless we were thrown late tasks.

Did your Olympic background help your strength on the course?

Yes. I did bobsleigh, which is very military-based. A lot of the people above us were military, so I was used to a regimented environment. Characters like Billy were very familiar to me—I’ve had that energy around me for ten years – so shouting in my face has zero effect on me. That probably didn’t help in some ways because it looked like I wasn’t urgent enough, which annoyed them. But I hold onto my autonomy. It’s helped me and my family in life, and I don’t apologise for that. 

How did you find your mirror room experience?

Mine was different. I didn’t get softness—I got tough love. I was challenged hard. I used the space to explain my actions, not excuse them. They demanded more from me, and I assessed myself honestly and thought, yes, I can give more. I came out of that room trying to give a few extra percentage points.

They didn’t know I hadn’t slept. I was sitting there thinking, they have no idea that I didn’t even know this show existed until recently. But I still carried on and tried to extract as much as I could from the experience.

Who surprised you the most?

Honestly, most of them. Nat especially—she was my hero in the tunnels. I was nominated leader, but in that task I was the weakest. Nat’s voice kept me going.

Emily persevering despite not feeling great was incredible. Gabby—tiny, but one of the fittest there. Mack was a slow burner who had an incredible journey. Brad had the funniest demise.

Everyone rode their course for as long as they could. It wasn’t surprising—it was inspiring.