‘A belief in myself was born from giving up alcohol’

Former reality star turned endurance athlete Spencer Matthews, 36, has opened up about how cutting back on alcohol, which previously ‘controlled’ his life, has unlocked a world of new opportunities. Matthews first rose to fame by appearing on reality TV show Made in Chelsea between 2011-2015 and says years of heavy drinking had damaging consequences on his health and relationships. “I was a confident kid, and then I lost my way as a teenager and throughout my 20s and felt a deep sense of shame and regret around a lot of my general behaviour,” shares Matthews. “I made incredibly bad decisions around alcohol to the point where I felt like it controlled my life.

“When I used to drink, sometimes to excess on a daily basis, I could barely run a kilometre. I would sweat tying up my shoelaces. I would be panting walking up a single flight of steps.” However, after becoming a dad in 2018 to his first child Theodore, now aged six, he decided to turn a new leaf and focus on his health and fitness. This decision has allowed him to achieve incredible milestones over recent years, including achieving a new Guinness World Record for running 30 marathons in 30 days across the Jordanian desert in August 2024. “The ability to do three years of total abstinence and have a far better understanding of alcohol and a balanced relationship with it, has allowed me to become quite athletic,” reflects the dad-of-three. “I recently was able to run 30 marathons in 30 days in the Jordanian desert and I think the majority of that ability came, at least initially, from a belief in myself that was born from giving up alcohol.

For Matthews, cutting back on drinking has been life-changing, mentally and physically. “The benefits are in many ways endless; a clearer mind, a greater desire to be outdoors, to be exercising,” says the marathon runner. “You look less tired and more naturally glowy. “I dropped an awful lot of weight that I was carrying from excessive drinking. You also become a naturally better person, in my opinion, or less truculent.” He thinks going cold turkey for Dry January is a great way to kickstart your health goals in the New Year.

“Doing 31 days of no drinking, if you’ve never done it before, could change your life,” says Matthews. “If you are somebody is drinking a lot, you owe yourself the understanding of also just being sober for a while, in my opinion. “You will be very pleasantly surprised if you’ve not done it before.”

When Matthews decided to go sober for a few years, he felt isolated in social settings where others were drinking and this experience inspired him to launch CleanCo, a brand offering alcohol-free spirit alternatives, in 2019. “If you’re the kind of person that has a drink every day or who lives in a cycle where alcohol is relatively present throughout your life, try replacing your alcoholic drinks with a CleanCo cocktail and see if that does the trick,” suggests the entrepreneur. “No one’s really going to bother you with why aren’t you drinking? because it looks the same, feels the same and can help you fit in.”

Over the years the CleanCo founder has discovered that when setting a new goal, or embarking on a new project, consistency is key. “I find that when building anything, whether it be your health or a relationship or your confidence or a business, that when you give consistent time to it and you care about it, you’ll start to see improvement,” says Matthews. “And when you begin to feel improvement, you start to feel a bit proud of yourself, and that is a feeling that you can really capitalise on.” In 2025 Matthews says he wants to continue to build on his fitness and health, and push his body to new limits. “I’d like to just stay on top of my health, I want to be as healthy as possible and am always keen to explore my physical boundaries,” says Matthews. “I think that a lot of boundaries are just perceptions. “I think it’s possible to do all kinds of incredible things that you haven’t been done before. Doing the 30 marathons in 30 days was an incredibly special time in my life and I’ll be looking to achieve more in that space for sure.”

Matthews recently announced his next world record-breaking attempt Seven in Seven challenge, where he will try and complete seven full Ironman triathlons in each of the seven continents around the world as quickly as possible. Each triathlon will see Matthews complete a 3.8km swim, 180km bike ride and a full 42.2km marathon in each of the seven continents. If successful, he will hold the Guinness World Record for completing a 140.6-mile triathlon distance on seven continents (male). “This is without a doubt the most mentally draining, physically demanding, and most dangerous challenge I’ve ever undertaken and will push me to my breaking point,” recognises Matthews. “But, what I have discovered is a love of pushing myself, and of achieving what would have previously been unachievable to me.”