University lecturer to represent Great Britain at 2025 World Cup in gymnastics

In the Unconventional Brits series on Shots! TV, we follow the real lives of some of the most extraordinary people, hobbies and places in the country. In this episode, we meet a university lecturer who has been chosen to represent Great Britain in gymnastics.

Dr Chris Mills is a lecturer at the University of Portsmouth. He’s also a competitive gymnast who is representing Great Britain in Adult Gymnastics at the 2025 World Cup in Germany.

“The key thing for me in gymnastics is that sense of progression. There’s always something to learn. There’s always different challenges.”

Chris says that he’s currently working on perfecting his moves and skills in the lead up to the competition. As the competition gets closer, he’ll begin to put all the moves together and refine his full gymnastic routine.

“It’s not just the gymnastics. Especially as I’ve gotten a little bit older, I have to consider the recovery, the nutrition side, but I also have to complement the actual gymnastics training with elements of strength and conditioning.”

Chris thinks that gymnastics offers a great opportunity to progress at any level. He says that the many apparatus gives people the choice to move on to a different exercise if their body or mind is struggling with one.

“I often say to people, you’re never too old to start gymnastics. (..) You can start at a very basic skill level and then there’s always something new to learn.

“I love gymnastics. I intend to keep training and competing in gymnastics as long as my body will hold up, and I can.”

Watch the full episode to hear more stories from Unconventional Brits, including a chainsaw-wielding artist. You can also tune into Freeview channel 262 and Freely channel 565 for more true crime, football, and quirky UK content . Keep up with our latest videos by signing up to Shots TV! Newsletter here.