Neuff Ambassador Fact File: Damaine Benjamin

Damaine Benjamin never gave up on his dreams of becoming an established athlete, and he is now a highly respected competitor by many in the masters community!

Firmly the one to beat in many of his competitions, Damaine has always been a grafter in everything he does, and there’s no slowing this guy down anytime soon, which is why we love having him on board with us as a Neuff Ambassador!

Even on his rest days, you will probably find Damaine either coaching athletes currently under his wing or restoring mobility to others at his well-known massage clinic in Aylesbury.

Outside of the sport, Damaine is wholly committed to his kids. That being said, he loves to get his gamer head on when he finds the time to relax, playing games such as FIFA or anything related to Mario!

Speaking of FIFA, football is also a big passion of Damaine’s and a sport which he has thoroughly enjoyed playing in over the years through his local clubs.

With all the above in mind, it’s also no surprise to see an abundance of excellent training tips and drills for athletes on his social media channels, with some of his videos exceeding one million views!

Keep scrolling to read more of Damaine’s story...

How did your upbringing in Jamaica inspire you to become the athlete you are today?

“It’s been a hard and rocky road.

No one would have expected me to become the athlete that I am today. No one would have expected me to even leave my community.

I was never the fastest, biggest or strongest child growing up. I was never the first to be picked for sports either. However, I built up resilience through hard work. When the other children were playing, I would go for long runs. I tried to do everything to ensure I was ahead of my peers. 

In primary school, I couldn’t run at all! I had no technique. In high school, it was much of the same.

I was really good at cricket, but I hated the sport. It was what my dad wanted me to participate in, but I much preferred running and football, as that’s what my friends were doing. 

I got back into running when I was in year 10, but I was still really slow. I’d even gotten lapped in the 800m at sports day! I had tried to run the longer distances, but I wasn’t fast or fit enough for them. 

I then discovered the long jump and triple jump. I was able to jump 7m in the long jump and 14m in the triple jump back in high school. And that’s what really kick-started my athletic journey.”

What Are Your Secrets For Maintaining A Good Lifestyle As A Masters Athlete?

“I stopped partying. No more late nights, and no alcohol.

I do still eat chocolate, ice cream and pizza, but I just limit them now. For me, less is more.

I now shorten my workouts, but perform them at a higher intensity to preserve myself. I work on my speed a lot more regularly as well to ensure I don’t lose it. The endurance is easier to build, whereas the speed is something that you lose as you get older.

For example, on Mondays, I have my set speed day. This doesn’t change, and since implementing this, I’ve improved.”

What’s Your Training Schedule?

“I have to schedule my training based on my job. I'd love to do different things on different days, but I’m unable to due to my commitments.

On Monday’s, I’ll focus on acceleration and speed.

For Tuesday’s I work on speed/special endurance, paired with the gym.

Where Wednesday’s are concerned, I’m also in the gym working on my plyometrics and Olympic lifts.

Thursday is another track day… 

On Friday’s, I rest… 

Saturday’s are primarily for hills throughout the winter, but as the season progresses, I’ll start to add in some hurdle work. 

And finally, I treat Sunday’s as a rest day.”

What inspired you to start posting training and coaching content online?

“I’d wanted to create content for years, yet due to my nervousness in relation to potential online backlash, I didn’t do it.

The backlash is something I still deal with now, but I no longer pay any attention to it. 

I started posting in 2024 with clips of my races, tips and drills to begin with. I then went to The World Masters Championships and competed in both the 400m Hurdles and 400m flat, where I came 5th and 7th place for both. I then stopped posting shortly after that for a couple of months due to the performances I was having.

Upon returning, I began posting more strength and conditioning orientated content for my viewers, as it was something that I was good at. My profile then began to grow.

Ever since I started coaching myself at the end of 2024, I would always have new ideas for content that would come to mind every single time I trained. I don’t have any sort of diary or exact structure for when or what I post, the ideas just come to me naturally. I’ll always test whatever it is I want to post before uploading to ensure that it works. 

Since posting content, I’ve now had the opportunity to coach other athletes and help them on their journeys. Doing this alongside coaching myself has been a huge inspiration to continue making content. One of my posts has reached 1.5 million views, so I know that my content is now reaching a wide range of people.”

What’s your favourite pastime away from track?

“I honestly don’t have one. Other than going home to my family, I wouldn’t say I have one.

I used to play a lot of video games in the past, but due to my schedule, I no longer have the time.

So, with that in mind, I’d say posting my content on Instagram is my main pastime.”

What was it like becoming a father, and how did that change things for you?

“When my son was 3 months old, I split up with his mother. At the time, I had just joined Harrow Athletics Club and didn’t really know many people.

That summer, I started going to competitions and had to take my son with me, as he would be living with me on the weekends.

As most competitions tend to fall on the weekends, I had to take him with me to my races. I remember the first time I took my son with me to a race, I had to ask the officials if they could watch him in the push chair as I went over for my event. They obliged, and I ran my race and returned to him afterwards. 

Two months after that, I met my former coach and his wife, who then became godparents to my son. This was a huge help, as now I was able to bring my son along with me to training and know that he would be well looked after for the duration of the sessions. My son is turning eleven this year, and the support is still there, which is very helpful once again.

There would be some scenarios for certain competitions (such as The National League) which would require me to stay in a hotel overnight. Knowing that I would still have their continued support to help in watching over and caring for my son, even whilst being away, was a huge help. 

I just try and get as much work in as I can, which often means having to sacrifice spending time with my family.

In my mind, I want to become one of the greatest masters athletes to have ever lived. So, with that goal I’ve set for myself, I know that I have to train a lot and make these sacrifices."

"Ever since I was young, I have always been training and looking to better myself. Now, as an adult and a parent, I still continue on as I always have.”

Interviewers: Destiny Ogali & Jack Henderson

Transcription: Destiny Ogali

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