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Steven Hopwood used to be a director at a major investment bank in London.

For 13 years he traded equities in stock markets across the world, working up to 18 hours a day.

He is a veteran of financial meltdowns and hard knocks: at 15 he left school to join the army, became homeless at the age of 21, and, as he puts it, “was going nowhere fast”.

Yet, within a couple of years, he was moving the FTSE 100.

“I grew up quite lonely, certainly as I got older. One of the reasons I joined the army was I wanted my own independence. I wanted to go away and be a hero,” Hopwood explains.

With this in mind, he joined the parachute regiment in 1988, but was discharged after three years due to stress injuries and fractures.

Returning home was difficult after living alongside men who had fought in the Falklands War.

His medical discharge outlasted the Gulf War and he never returned to the army. Instead, Hopwood remained in his office job.

His family life deteriorated and by the age of 21 he left home. Without enough money to rent a place, he took up residence in the local park.

“I’d get dropped off after work, and would walk around for a couple of hours hoping I wouldn’t get spotted. I slept in the park with a plastic bag stuffed with leaves for a pillow,” his voice drops.

“I was lucky. I was found and moved to friend’s house. I have had a lot of help from my friends over the years.”

When Hopwood started working in the city he says he had no idea what went on in the square mile. Finance amounted to “some numbers coming out on the news at 10.” 

He says he was “fortunate” to land a job on the trading floor of ANB (Australia and New Zealand Banking Group) within a year or two.

“The city can be hostile and high in politics... I’ve seen many good people laid off.” He continues modestly, “I had a certain amount of luck to survive.”

Cage Fighting

Hopwood’s debut in the UK cage fighting championships was perfectly timed. Shortly after leaving the City his friend, training partner and now heavyweight cage fighting champion Neil Grove, told him the Cage Rage promotion had offered him a fight.  

“It was a challenge,” Hopwood laughs. “After all that talk about being tough, it was like, let’s see if you have the courage to do this!”

Preparation was brutal. In the run up to the fight, he accumulated injuries from head to toe, to the great concern of his girlfriend Sophie. 

“I had to shut myself off, but she was cool about that”, Hopwood recollects. He is grateful to his coach, Luiz Ribeiro, and his team at the London Fight Factory.

“Thanks to the dedication of the boys at the Factory I learned never to give up. I wanted to do it for Luiz, and all the rest of the guys.”

Hopwood did better than go through with it – he won the fight in the second round, submitting his opponent with a rear naked choke.

“Luiz jumped over the fence and picked me up!” he laughs. “It was incredible to do that in front of 3,000 people.

When I saw my girlfriend she just burst into tears. Then it all dawned on me. I finally had a sense of achievement because I’d done something I’d talked about from start to finish.”

What did his mates back in the city think? Apparently, they weren’t too surprised.

“They all wished me luck and said they’d always known I was a nutter!” Hopwood says.

According to him there are parallels between the cage and the trading floor: to succeed in either place, it’s important to listen, rather than just give your opinion.

“The difference is that in the market, you might have some control of the things around you, but you can’t change the big picture. In the cage its up to you.”

What Came Next?

Neil “The Goliath” Grove won the UK heavyweight Ultimate Challenge title in December at the Troxy in London. Steven was there to cheer on his friend and film the event.

Steven Hopwood says he will be returning to the cage in the summer.