Matt Stephens talks about depression, his police career and travelling in the boot of a car

Former British national road race champion Matt Stephens is a prominent figure in cycling. Following his racing career, he has pursued a media career, commentating on races, interviewing riders and appearing in countless videos for GCN. In the latest episode of Nick Hussey’s FRAHM Jacket Podcast, he also opens up about his life beyond cycling, including his career in the police force and a period of depression when he lost contact with his son.

It’s an hour-long podcast and the tone ebbs and flows throughout. At times it’s jokey, at other times more serious.

Stephens’ on-screen persona is almost relentlessly upbeat and while he says this is generally how he approaches life, he also reveals a different side to himself.

After finding himself on the dole a year after riding the Giro d’Italia, Stephens applied to work in the police force.

He served for 12 years, in the latter stages working in child protection. It was also around this time that his marriage broke up, after which he says he didn’t see his son for about three years.  

Of course he also talks cycling, recalling how as a child he would travel with his dad to time trials. “You know when you’re a kid in the 1970s, when the car was full, your mum and dad used to put you in the boot.”

He also talks a little about how he returned to the sport from his police career, although shortly after that the podcast comes to a premature close because a drunken argument nearby becomes too hard to ignore. It sounds like there may be a follow-up further down the line.