6 Snooker Players With Fascinating Hobbies Outside Snooker

Snooker is a sport that demands enormous levels of concentration, patience and practice. Professional players can spend countless hours around the table perfecting their technique, break-building and tactical play. But away from the green baize, many snooker players have interests that reveal a very different side of their personalities.

From paragliding and music to gaming, running and cooking, these hobbies show that snooker players are far more diverse than their quiet, focused image around the table might suggest.

Here are six snooker players and competitors with particularly interesting hobbies outside snooker.

1. Hijlko Soepboer – Paragliding, Music and Badminton

Hijlko Soepboer is perhaps one of the most unusual examples on this list because one of his hobbies involves leaving the ground altogether.

A Dutch snooker player from Ederveen, Soepboer has spoken openly about his interest in paragliding, which he practices both in the Netherlands and abroad. In an interview with Regiosport Veenendaal, he explained that snooker is only one of several activities competing for his time. He also plays music and takes part in badminton.

His interest in paragliding is more than a passing hobby. Soepboer competed in the 2019 Dutch Flatland Paragliding Championship, finishing third overall, providing further evidence of his involvement in the sport.

For anyone who takes up paragliding as a hobby, equipment care and regular safety checks are an important part of the sport. Specialized providers such as Wolf paragliding service offer services for pilots including paraglider inspections, repairs and reserve parachute repacking. A professional glider check can help identify issues with flying equipment before they become a problem, while rescue repacking is another important part of maintaining emergency equipment. Wolf Paragliding Service, for example, provides paraglider checks, repairs and reserve repacking from its service center in Feldkirch.

Soepboer's interests don't stop with flying. He is also a keyboardist, guitarist and backing vocalist with The Eagles Legacy, an Eagles tribute band. He also took up badminton.

The combination makes Soepboer's life away from the snooker table particularly interesting. Competitive snooker requires long periods of concentration and controlled movement, whereas paragliding provides an entirely different experience involving outdoor conditions, physical awareness and adventure.

Soepboer himself acknowledged that fitting everything in can be difficult, particularly because serious snooker training requires regular practice.

Outside-snooker interests: Paragliding, music, badminton

What makes it interesting: A competitive snooker player who combines the precision of snooker with the adventure of paragliding.

2. Rushina Merhotra – Paragliding

Rushina Merhotra provides another remarkable snooker-and-paragliding connection.

According to a student profile archived by the Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad (MICA), Merhotra qualified for the All India Ladies Snooker Tournament. The same profile lists paragliding among her extracurricular activities and states that she completed a basic paragliding course and five solo flights. It also specifically lists both snooker and paragliding among her interests.

Her experience is particularly interesting because paragliding requires much more than simply enjoying the sensation of flight. Pilots need to understand their equipment, weather conditions, launch and landing procedures, and emergency systems. Regular equipment inspection is therefore an important part of responsible flying. For experienced pilots, services such as a professional glider check can help assess the condition of a paraglider, while rescue repacking helps ensure that reserve equipment is correctly prepared when it is needed. Wolf Paragliding Service also provides inspection, repair and reserve-parachute services for paragliding equipment.

Although Merhotra is not being presented here as a World Snooker Tour professional, her competitive snooker background and documented paragliding experience make her an especially interesting example.

It is also notable that both Merhotra and Soepboer independently combine snooker with paragliding—a sport that demands concentration, confidence and the ability to respond to changing conditions.

Outside-snooker interest: Paragliding

What makes it interesting: She combined competitive women's snooker with formal paragliding training and five solo flights.

3. Neil Robertson – Gaming and Warhammer 40,000

Australian former world champion Neil Robertson has one of the more distinctive gaming hobbies among professional snooker players.

In a World Snooker Tour "Cue & A" interview, Robertson revealed that he was heavily involved in World of Warcraft, including playing in a high-ranking guild. At one stage, he was playing alongside some of the best players in the world.

Robertson eventually reduced his involvement because the game could consume so much time. However, he continued to enjoy another very different gaming hobby: Warhammer 40,000.

His interest goes beyond simply collecting the figures. Robertson said he had competed in a major Warhammer tournament, the Leeds Grand Tournament, and had also won an award for having the best-painted army at the London Open.

That makes his hobby particularly notable. Robertson isn't simply a professional athlete who occasionally plays video games; he has been deeply involved in gaming and miniature wargaming communities.

It also provides an interesting contrast with snooker. Both require patience, planning and concentration, but Warhammer introduces strategy, army construction, miniature painting and competitive gaming into the equation.

Outside-snooker interests: World of Warcraft, Warhammer 40,000 and miniature painting

What makes it interesting: A former world champion who has competed seriously in the gaming and miniature-wargaming world.

4. Steve Davis – DJing, Music and Radio

Few snooker players have reinvented themselves outside the sport quite like Steve Davis.

The six-time world champion became one of snooker's biggest stars during the 1980s, but his interests away from the table eventually developed into a second career in music.

Davis has a deep passion for electronic and alternative music. BBC Sport documented how he became involved in DJing and hosted his own radio show, The Interesting Alternative Show, on Phoenix FM. He even performed DJ sets at music festivals.

His interest in music goes back decades. Davis became fascinated by progressive and experimental music after discovering bands such as Magma, and his enthusiasm eventually led him to help bring the band to London to perform.

His transition from world-class snooker player to music enthusiast and DJ is one of the most unexpected stories in the sport.

When Davis retired from professional snooker in 2016, BBC Sport noted that he had moved on to spend his time as a music DJ.

For someone who was once stereotyped as the archetypal serious snooker player, Davis' musical interests demonstrate just how different an athlete's private passions can be from their public sporting persona.

Outside-snooker interests: DJing, electronic music, radio and music collecting

What makes it interesting: A six-time world champion who developed a genuine second identity in the music world.

5. Ronnie O'Sullivan – Running and Cooking

Ronnie O'Sullivan is arguably one of the most naturally gifted snooker players ever, but his interests outside the sport are surprisingly ordinary compared with his extraordinary career.

In an interview with the WPBSA, O'Sullivan said that when he isn't playing snooker, he enjoys cooking, running and spending time with his children.

Running has been particularly associated with O'Sullivan over the years. He has spoken about it as a way of keeping fit and getting away from the mental demands of professional snooker.

That makes running an especially appropriate hobby for O'Sullivan. Snooker is often described as a sedentary sport, but elite competition can be mentally exhausting, with players spending hours maintaining concentration under pressure.

Running provides almost the opposite experience: physical movement, fresh air and an opportunity to switch off from the table.

His interest in cooking offers another contrast. Rather than another competitive pursuit, it is a more relaxed and creative activity that gives him something completely different to focus on away from tournaments.

Outside-snooker interests: Running, cooking and family time

What makes it interesting: One of snooker's greatest-ever players uses physical exercise and cooking as ways to spend time away from the table.

6. Peter Devlin – Rap and Songwriting

Former professional snooker player Peter Devlin has an especially unusual hobby: rap music and songwriting.

Devlin qualified for the World Snooker Tour through Q School in 2020 and subsequently produced one of the best results of his early professional career by reaching the last 16 of the European Masters after defeating former world champion Mark Williams.

Away from snooker, Devlin describes himself as a keen rapper and songwriter.

His interest in rap began when he was younger. According to an interview with All Sport Insurance, he initially wasn't particularly interested in rap but eventually discovered that performing freestyle rap gave him a way to express himself and connect with other people.

His musical interest eventually became an important part of his life away from snooker. He even returned to songwriting after winning the English Under-21 Snooker Championship, writing a humorous rap about a Subway sandwich while he was in hospital.

Devlin's story is a good reminder that competitive athletes don't necessarily have to live entirely within the sporting world. His interests in songwriting and performance provide a creative outlet that is very different from the precision and repetition required by snooker.

Outside-snooker interests: Rap, freestyle performance and songwriting

What makes it interesting: A former professional snooker player who also developed a passion for creating and performing music.

Snooker Players Are More Than Just Players

The six players and competitors above demonstrate just how varied the interests of snooker personalities can be.

Hijlko Soepboer and Rushina Merhotra share perhaps the most unusual combination on the list, with both having documented connections to paragliding. Soepboer combines flying with music and badminton, while Merhotra completed formal paragliding training and solo flights.

Neil Robertson has explored competitive gaming and miniature wargaming, while Steve Davis turned his passion for alternative music into a genuine second career as a DJ and radio presenter.

Meanwhile, Ronnie O'Sullivan has used running and cooking as outlets away from the pressures of elite snooker, and Peter Devlin has pursued his creative side through rap and songwriting.

Perhaps that is part of what makes snooker players so fascinating. The sport rewards concentration, patience and discipline, but those same people can have remarkably adventurous, creative or unexpected interests once they step away from the table.

From flying through the skies to performing behind a DJ deck, painting Warhammer armies or writing rap lyrics, the lives of snooker players away from the green baize can be every bit as interesting as what happens on it.

Author Bio:

Dr. Robin Alexander is an MD Pathologist, passionate guitar enthusiast, and lifelong snooker fan. He combines medical precision with a love for music and sport. Connect with him on LinkedIn.