"I was 18 and I'd just had a brand new kid": Joe Cullen had to make tough choices to choose between working and darts with major financial consequences
PDC
Joe Cullen offered a strikingly candid look into his life, both inside and outside the darts world, on PDC caller Huw Ware’s Tops & Tales podcast. The former World Masters champion spoke openly about the financial struggles he faced at the start of his career, the sacrifices his family made to chase his dream, and his current doubts about life as a professional darter.
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Now 37, the Englishman, currently the world number 31, has been a mainstay on the PDC circuit for nearly two decades. Yet he admits that if he could earn the same salary elsewhere, he would swap his darts for another job straight away.
“I think it's because I've just been doing it for that long," Cullen said. "Like you said there, it feels like I've been about for donkey's years because I started so young. I just think if I could maybe find another job that paid as well, I would definitely do it."
That doesn’t mean ‘The Rockstar’ is ungrateful. Far from it. “I'm not stupid enough to think that I'm not lucky to be where I am and do what I do. I can name 100 things I'd much rather do than play darts, but it's darts that pays the bills, I suppose.”
Father at eighteen: tough choices
That statement contrasts sharply with the tough path Cullen had to take just to build a livelihood as a professional darter. He became a father to his son Travis at eighteen, which forced major decisions at a very young age.
“I was 18 and I'd just had a brand new kid. So, there were priorities. There were so many things that I had to choose from and so many hard decisions for me and my wife."
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His employer barely gave him the freedom to play tournaments. “We had to choose between working and darts because work wouldn't give me the time off. I've got a young son and it was, right, well, I think I can be good enough at darts. So, my wife and I just backed myself."
That decision had major financial consequences. “But we went through everything, we were skint, we had to borrow money off parents, you know, just to get by.”
Cullen claimed his last major PDC title at the World Masters in 2022.
From postman to professional darter
Cullen worked as a postman for twelve to eighteen months, but ultimately decided to go all in on darts. That was anything but easy.
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“So, we'd had Travis then and it came to the stage where it was, I need this time off. Well you can have it off unpaid. It was like, I need the money. But yeah, it just came to the stage where they're just making stuff difficult. You know, my manager, f****** hated her to be honest.”
Meanwhile, his wife kept the household going. “I know it was a choice. And like I say, my wife worked all hours. While, I effectively sat at home practising."
Where he now mainly plays for the ranking and sporting success, back then it was pure necessity. “Then it just made things tough. Like if you go away on a weekend, it's obviously different for me now, but it was, I have to win because I need money. Whereas, like, now I have to win for rankings.”
Even entering tournaments wasn’t a given in those years. Cullen constantly weighed which events he could even afford. “Whereas now people are, you know, sort of the top-end guys, they're choosing which tournaments to go to because they want a bit of time off. Whereas I was thinking, well, I can afford that one, but I can't afford that one."
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As his financial situation became more urgent, he received help from family. “ My uncle gave me some money just to... he just said, ‘Look, do what you can with that.’”
Not long after, a phone call gave his career a decisive turn. “Then Tommy Cox rang me, who's a tournament director at the PDC. Him and his son wanted to manage me and sponsor me. That's when I think I started to, I didn't have to worry about the money side of it."
“We don’t take anything for granted anymore”
According to Cullen, those difficult early years had a lasting impact on his character and that of his family. ““You know, I was going out for meals, just four people for a meal. I think, you know, it's £200, it's £50 each. I'm thinking, I've only got £40 in my pocket.”
Those experiences mean he takes little for granted today. “I think it's shaped me into the person I am today. My family as well, I think it's shaped them as well, because it was, we don't really take much for granted now, because we've been in the s*** effectively, where it was hand to mouth."
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Despite his successful career, Cullen has more than once considered walking away from the sport. It also came up regularly with his wife. " ‘Well, just stop playing then.’ I'm like, ‘Well, it's not as simple as that, is it?’"
Cullen says there are many more factors at play than just his own motivation. “You know, like what if in a couple of years I want to come back? It's going to be so hard. Then obviously you've got sponsors and things like that and commitments. And like I say, I think obviously the pay is pretty good if you can get good at it."
Still ambitious
Although Cullen admits he’s far from his best spell, he refuses to accept a quiet end to his career. Since his Premier League final and his World Masters win in 2022, he hasn’t captured another major title and hasn’t reached a major quarterfinal since the 2024 World Grand Prix.
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Even so, he still sees plenty of upside. “I don't want to be one of them who just sort of fizzles out and no one ever hears from again. So, there's only me that can correct that and put that right."
He’s also bothered by how some analysts assess players. “It's strange when I hear the way certain people, pundits, talk about certain players and how good they are. I think all they do is qualify for the Worlds and the UK Open area. They're never in the [World] Matchplay."
He prefers to look at the bigger picture. “So, I think I've had probably the last four years that have been s*** and I'm still in all the TV events. I'm thinking I must do something right."
The Englishman closes with a telling message. “Imagine putting a bit of effort in and, you know, rather than just turn up to the TV events, I can do some damage and, you know, maybe win one again.”
Lucas MichaelDarts Journalist
Lucas Michael is a darts journalist and reporter based in Cambridge, UK, and has been part of the DartsNews team since 2025. He covers professional darts through reports, analysis, round-ups, and live coverage, with a focus on clear context and accurate reporting across the PDC calendar.
A key part of his work is liveblogging major tournaments throughout the year, providing real-time updates, match coverage, and contextual reporting across the professional circuit. He also reports regularly from events on site and has covered the PDC World Darts Championship from the venue, delivering first-hand insight throughout the tournament.
Within the newsroom, Lucas works closely with the editorial team and supports coverage alongside Chief Content Officer Samuel Gill and reporter Kieran Wood.
Lucas holds a BA (Hons) in Sports Journalism. In his work, he places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating content promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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