Elgin Amateur Boxing Club star Lukas Vaitekunas uses experience from Scottish title and international bouts to become personal trainer in pursuit of Commonwealth Games dream

He’s a boxer with a Commonwealth Games dream who’s teaching other to be the best they can be.

Lukas Vaitekunas may be only 18, but he’s a multiple Scottish champion who has boxed for his country eight times in internationals.

Boxing is his life, and he has a vision of helping to develop his skills in the sport after starting his own personal training business.

Lukas does one-to-one training with fellow members at his Elgin Amateur Boxing Club, as well as general fitness sessions with those who want to get in shape or get fitter for other sports they take part in.

He does female-only classes and group sessions with boxers, passing on the skills he has picked up as part of Boxing Scotland’s elite programme.

“I'm currently on the Boxing Scotland elite team. That's basically given me the chance to potentially go to the Commonwealth Games next year - which is like a massive dream of mine.

“So the reason I wanted to do my own personal training is that it gives me that little bit more free time to train as much as possible. I'm kind of training full time, but then it also gives me the opportunity to work in a space that I obviously love because my life is boxing, really.

“Being able to do that as a job is like a dream, really.

“It also gives me a chance to pass on what experience I have to a lot of the lads at the club, as well as general fitness stuff because I've been doing it all for so long to people that aren't even involved in boxing.”

Former Elgin High pupil Lukas, whose father is from Lithuania, was a promising footballer in his youth but followed his brother Lewis into boxing. “I just became obsessed with it,” he recalls.

“After a month or two I got sparring and ended up just getting beat up all the time - but I absolutely loved it.

“These lads that were getting the better of me all the time, after a few months I was starting to give it back and then eventually it was almost like the opposite way around.

“It was like the best feeling ever, that feeling of improving. There's nothing worse than going in a gym and getting beat up by another man, but then when you start giving it back it's just awesome.

“Boxing is basically my life. I absolutely love it.”

He was 11 when he first started training at Elgin ABC and had his first competitive bout within a year.

He progressed to winning two North District titles and three Scottish titles, known now as the Golden Gloves.

His title successes earned a call-up to the Boxing Scotland elite classes, and he has fought in eight internationals including three British Championship titles, which he has yet to win.

Looking back to when he first started, Lukas seemed destined to be a footballer after playing for Ross County and Elgin City.

But after his aggressive style sometimes drew criticism from his football coaches, there was only one sport for him.

Lukas remembers enjoying school but being unable to shake off the feeling that he could be doing even more boxing.

He left school to try and pursue a sporting career, but his first job as a lifeguard involved hours which clashed with fight weekends.

He then landed a job with local firm RCJ Joiners. “They were amazing. The boss Rob is just a cracking guy.

“But the work there was a lot. I was working 50 hours a week for them and it’s not an easy graft. It was training before and after work and I was just done in.

“I left there on very good terms with Rob, and he ended up sponsoring me.”

Lukas’ progression in boxing owes a lot to the guidance of Elgin ABC head coach Paul ‘Ratch’ Gordon, and when the boxer came up with the idea of doing his own coaching, he was actively encouraged. “We had chatted about it a few times and he was like ‘yeah, it's a great idea’. So I just kind of went with it to see how it would go.

“Loads of people were interested so I just cracked on with it.

“I work with people who maybe just want to use boxing to get fit for their sport or just lose a bit of weight, stuff like that.”

“I’ve had to make weight 30 times, so I kind of know what I'm doing and I'm always giving tips and stuff for that side of thing.”

Lukas has his own PT account on social media (Instagram/Facebook, and can also be contacted by calling 07526 232776 for more information on his coaching.