Soutar reveals how experience in Armed Forces helps PDC career: "One thing I’m very good at is blocking out everything else"

Alan Soutar has been one of the leading lights during his opening year on the PDC Tour with the Dundee fireman producing some utter brilliance after claiming his Tour Card.

But his calm and collected persona comes from a different place, his time in the Armed Forces and his career as a Dundee fireman.

Speaking to The Courier, the Arbroath ace revealed his harrowing experiences on the front line over in Kosovo, Bosnia and Northern Ireland before choosing a career which sees him save lives as a firefighter.

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“The feeling you get from that and from spending six months away in the likes of Kosovo, Bosnia, Northern Ireland is like no other,” said Soutar to The Courier.

“I’m quite the military geek. I still read books about it. World War II is one of my favourite things to read about.

“I like the history of the military. I love reading about the 7 Commando Battery regiment I was in – the marines, the paras. I love reading about what the guys did in the Falklands.

“Some of the stuff I did was as you’d expect from the military. I think it gives you something up top that helps you to shut off from the reality of what is going on around you.

“I’ve always had that ability and the rest of my life has blended into a career that’s exactly the same – where you need to block out things that you see.

“One thing I’m very good at is blocking out everything else. I tell myself that I’m just there to do a job.

“It’s the same at the fire brigade. A lot of my colleagues won’t talk about what they do and what they see. I don’t talk about it at home with my long-term partner Amanda.

“I’ve always had the ability to switch on and off. When I finish my shift, I leave my work in the Fire Station.

“It’s the same with darts. No matter the stage, I’m just there to play darts. I can just block it all out and play.”