Phil Taylor appears to have unusual blood type: "If I eat chips or potatoes, bread, it kills my stomach"

Phil Taylor is 65, sixteen-time world champion, and no longer a darter for the first time in forty years. The man who defined an era has bid final farewell to the stage and put away the darts. No demonstrations, no show nights, "The Power" no longer throws. But sitting still? That's not in his vocabulary.

‘I’m trying to keep fit a bit more now. I’m cycling a lot,’ Taylor told Metro. I had an operation, I had a new hip and the surgeon, he said, “Phil, I’m going to tell you something now. Keep your legs strong, because when you’re in your 60s, anybody in their 60s, if they fall and break their hip, you’re in trouble.”

The message arrived. The man known for decades for his steely focus at the board has now shifted that same discipline to his health. "So I do cycling, and then I’m in with one of my best mates Bobbie Goulding. He texts me every morning! He played rugby for Wigan, St. Helens, Leeds, England, Great Britain.

At home in Stoke-on-Trent, Taylor has since built his own gym. ‘He’s in his 50s, and he’s fit as a fiddle. He’s getting me into weights now. So I built a gym, put a sauna in and I’m cycling in the morning. I’ve got one of them vibrating plates as well. So I’ll get on there and squat. I’ve got what you call TRX straps, which hold you, so I’ll squat down on it and back up again.’

After years of back and hip problems, Taylor is determined to keep moving. Where he used to spend hours exercising on 180s, he now focuses on balance, strength and nutrition. His diet has changed dramatically, not out of necessity, but out of conviction.

‘Normally for my dinner, I’ll have sour bread, avocado, a bit of olive oil, a bit of balsamic, tomatoes or poached egg, a bit of cheese,’ he said. ‘I’m addicted to it, I love it.

During a recent stay in Spain, he discovered a new dish that has stuck with him ever since. "I was in Spain last week, Marbella area, and one of the landlords says, “Phil, try this dish we’re famous for it, it’s called pil pil.” Have you had it? It’s prawns. I’ve even bought the dishes now, the tapas dishes.

Even though he is no longer on the podium, Taylor continues to think like a top athlete. ‘My favourite sports people have always been winners,’ he said. ‘I love winners, because I know what it takes. Football-wise, I used to love Roy Keane, Stuart Pearce, Tony Adams. Stanley Matthews, he was a friend of mine because he’s from Stoke. ‘I used to chat with him a lot about what he used to do. He said, “I used to go running on the beach when he played for Blackpool, after we finished training.” I asked him why he did it. He said, “because they won’t.” And that gave him the advantage. I thought, that’s clever.’

Taylor adopted that mentality himself throwing five or six 180's before he went to bed. The perfectionism was not limited to darts. Taylor also dove into nutrition, sleep and recovery. "I used to take a lot out of other sports people,’ he said. ‘I even had blood tests, so I could eat to my blood type.

"So my blood group is a funny blood group, mine comes from Mongolia. It must have been when the Mongolians took over the world, so I’ve got their blood group. So if I eat rice, in Chinese food, I get no stomach problems at all. But if I eat chips or potatoes, bread, it kills my stomach, gives me heartburn.

To this day, his drive for control translates to every detail. "‘I take my own cooking stuff to hotels, I take my own mattress topper, I take my own pillow, and I got all this off different sports people."

Then follows another typical Taylor tip, half laughing but meant to be deadly serious. "Another thing as well, if you ever go in a hotel, this will spoil you now,’ Taylor said in a hushed tone. ‘They wash the linen, they wash the sheets, they wash the duvets, they wash the pillow cushions, they never wash the pillow. So just take the lid off and smell the pillow. All you smell is people’s sweat! So I take my own pillow."