13 January 2024 , 06:45
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Alan Shearer is best known for banging in goals and analysing others as a TV pundit – but he is also involved in the business world.
The Premier League ’s record goalscorer is an investor in Speedflex, a fitness machine which aims to provide a “low impact, high intensity” workout. The Speedflex blade will set you back a whopping £3,594, but Shearer is convinced it’s worth it.
The 53-year-old uses the machine two or three times a week to stay in shape, which might be something he’d struggle with otherwise, having suffered ankle, knee and back injuries during his stellar career. Shearer came across the business by coincidence but is now one of the company’s four directors, alongside Paul Ferris – a former Newcastle United physio.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Shearer explained: "I've got a share in a company called Speedflex, a fitness concept machine. A good friend of mine who was the physio at Newcastle United, Paul Ferris, left many years ago and decided he wanted to be a lawyer.
"He went right into it, did six years and was about two or three months off completing his course and becoming a lawyer, he was actually ready to go onto the bar. I got the Newcastle job – and I liked him that much because I'd spent that much time with him with my injuries – that I asked him to come into Newcastle with me as the head of the medical department.
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"He had a huge decision to make – he was six weeks away from completing his six-year course and he left it and came in with me to Newcastle. Of course, he came in for two months and that was it, he couldn't go back.
"Then my friend was looking for somebody to help him with the company Speedflex and I asked him (Ferris) to go over to America. So he is now chief executive of the company Speedflex. So I managed to get him back in, otherwise I'd have felt so guilty."
Alan Shearer uses the machine two or three times a week (YouTube / Speedflex)
Alan Shearer works as a pundit (Simon Stacpoole/Getty Images)Shearer was appointed manager of his beloved Newcastle in April 2009, but he lasted just a few months, with the club relegated to the Championship. Both he and Ferris were left without a job and while the former striker went into punditry, his friend landed on his feet with Speedflex.
Shearer is the face of the company, appearing in its promotional material, but he is only a minority investor. Nevertheless, he is listed as a company director and is involved in decision making. “I like meeting the different members of the team and seeing how it’s being set up,” he told Health Club Management. “We’re happy with the business we’re doing, but we want to expand Speedflex, not only in this country, but also around the world.”