From work of art to fashion model

I'm due at the Stadium of Light to make my first appearance as a model - and probably my last - for Sunderland Football Club's official charity. The SAFC Foundation is holding a "Fashion Strikes" show to raise money for the good causes it supports. The Foundation does a lot of good work for the local community and as a Sunderland fan I'm really pleased to help them out.

Obviously the person who asked me to do it hadn't seen a picture of me. I've actually put on a stone-and-a-half since the Olympics because I've been out of training.

Quite a few of the Sunderland players will be joining me on the catwalk. Djibril Cisse, Anton Ferdinand, Nyron Nosworthy, Danny Collins, El-Hadji Diouf and Phil Bardsley have all said they will be there. It should be quite a good experience and I'm quite looking forward to meeting the footballers. As regular readers of this blog will know, I ducked out of the chance to meet them the last time I was at the Stadium of Light because they had just lost 3-0 to Manchester City and I didn't think they'd be in the mood to have a chat.

There's no one in particular I'm more fussed about meeting because I'm not one to get star struck. I just hope they're all right lads. I've heard so many stories about footballers being big-headed and if they are I won't give them the time of day.

I lost my phone recently so I wasn't able to sort out a ticket for the derby game and had to watch it from a pub in Sunderland. It was class! I wasn't born the last time Sunderland won a derby match at home. I just wish I could bump into some of the Newcastle fans who were giving me stick at the Birtley boxing show the night before! We had a bit of banter on the night but not surprisingly I haven't heard from any of them since.

Last Sunday I was in the Baltic on the Quayside as an "exhibition". I was there with Jim Lloyd, who won a welterweight bronze medal at the 1960 Olympics. We were in a room at the Baltic, he brought some cuttings and I brought some pictures along, and we just chatted to the people who came in to see us.

I had a chat with Jim and it was interesting to see his medal and compare it to mine. Mine contains a bit of jade, which the Chinese believe brings good luck, whereas instead of a ribbon, his was on a metal chain.

He was also telling me about how things have changed. We got tons and tons of kit and all he had to make do with was a tracksuit and a suit. It makes me realise just how lucky I was in Beijing.

* The Fashion Strikes event, in association with "Beauty for a Good Cause", is at the Stadium of Light Banqueting Suite on Monday, November 3. The event, hosted by Lauren Laverne, commences at 6.30pm, with the catwalk show at 8.45pm.

If you want to see Tony modelling clothes provided by Jules B, tables of 10 cost £1,000 or individual tickets are £110. This includes a champagne reception, a three-course dinner, spectacular entertainment and the chance to bid on exclusive prizes in the charity auction. For further information or to make a booking, call 0191 551 5311.