World snooker champion, 53, who used to foul because he was colour blind is now a professional healer
PETER EBDON was nicknamed the Force during his snooker career.
And now he is challenging his energy into his new job as a professional healer.
Ebdon, 53, spent 29 years on the professional circuit, reaching a career-high No3 in the world rankings.
The London-born potter was crowned world champion in 2002 then added the 2006 UK Championships as well as two 147 breaks in his career, retiring in 2020.
But that barely scratches the surface of a fascinating character who certainly bucks the trend of snooker stars…
COLOURFUL CHARACTER
First things first, Ebdon overcame his own difficulties to rise to the top of his sport – because he is colour blind.
Naturally, that presents plenty of challenges in snooker where there are eight different colours on the table.
He particularly struggled to differentiate between red and brown, leading to some accidental fouls when he simply aimed at the wrong colour unintentionally.
Ebdon told the Times Of India: “I have done it at various stages throughout my entire career. On each and every occasion I thought I was potting the correct ball and very often it has cost me frames and probably matches in the past.
“My colour blindness is severe. It is little better than seeing in black and white and probably not too much better.
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“It is quite embarrassing when you think you’ve played a good shot and sometimes the first thing I hear is ‘foul’.
“Very often, I can’t see red for brown or a brown for a red and I do make mistakes. If I do have any doubts I ask the referee where the brown is before I play the shot.”
SLOW TO FAST LANE
Ebdon earned a reputation for his incredibly slow playing style around the table, often infuriating his opponents.
But he is enjoying a significant gear change in retirement as a thoroughbred pedigree horse racing consultancy.
He has bred a number of winners over the years and has now launched his own company, Designer Pedigrees, giving breeders advice on which stallions their thoroughbreds should visit.
Ebdon said to the Racing Post: “I decided to set up a business so that I can share my knowledge with breeders with a view to helping them breed group horses and, hopefully, future champions.
“I’m determined to become a better professional pedigree consultant than I ever was as a snooker professional.”
POSITIVE CAREER CHANGE
But as well as being a professional snooker player and professional horse breeding consultant, Ebdon has also become a professional healer.
Having completed his training, he is now a certified “spiritual and energy healer” at the College of Healing in Malvern, Worcestershire.
On the college’s website, Ebdon says: “I offer healing, distant healing, negative energy clearing and protection when needed.”
In his own two-hour video monologue, he said: “As a trained healer, it’s wonderful for me to be able to use the universal energy life force energy for another person’s highest and greatest good.
“There’s nothing more I can do as a human being than channel that unconditional love. That means more to me than anything I ever achieved in my snooker career.”
He also practices yoga and Reiki, a Japanese stress reduction and relaxation technique.
HEALTH GURU
The sad death of Ebdon’s father from cancer in 2011 prompted the snooker ace to explore his own diet and health.
He eventually was convinced to turn to veganism – as well as various controversial and wild conspiracy theories – and said: “We’re primates after all. If we stay as close to nature as possible by eating as many organic fruits and vegetables, that’s when we’re looking at having the strongest possible immune system.
“If I were to become seriously ill, I wouldn’t even consider the standard treatments.”
Part of his big fitness drive also seems him continue to swim a mile every day.
SINGING THE BLUES, PINKS AND BLACKS
As well as his steady sporting hand, he also has the ear – and voice – for music.
So much so that Ebdon – who emigrated to Dubai from 2005 to 2009 – has released various music singles over the years.
His cover of David Cassidy’s I Am A Clown in 1996 nearly broke into the UK Top 40.
His debut single Fall Of Paradise came out in 2002 before co-producing an acoustic version of Everlasting Love with Steve Ellis in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.
He said: “I wouldn’t discount doing another single or maybe even an album in the future.
“I love my music and whilst unfortunately I don’t have the voice of Andrea Bocelli, I can ‘hold a note’, as my ex-manager, the former pop singer Troy Dante, once commented.”