If you have an ache or pain, or if you don't feel well, get yourself checked.
— Rob Cross
The only thing I wanted to buy was an Audi R8 - but my missus won't let me get it because she says it's too fast!
Without my family, it wouldn't have been possible to do what I have done. They know I play darts for them - that everything is to give them a better life.
If you want to do well you have to sacrifice certain things.
I might play darts on TV now but really I've not changed.
I've never cheated at anything.
We used to have seven or eight pots at home. One pot would be the water bill, that'd be the electric bill, the gas bill. Every week when I got paid, I'd chuck #20 in one pot, #50 in another. And I'd do this religiously, every month. Now I go home and look for the pots, and they're not there anymore.
I had to get used to the TV tournaments and the big stages.
Darts is a proper job now. There are a lot of people earning some very good money playing this game and we have to thank the PDC and all the sponsors of our tournaments for backing us.
I have been able to buy a house with a swimming pool and everything we do now is completely transformed compared to what it was like when I was an electrician.
It doesn't matter what that crowd's doing. You've still got to go up there and do your stuff to win.
This game is a profession now, it's not a hobby any more. You can earn great money and there are loads of people earning a living out of the game.
I was never a big traveller - if I wasn't working, I would have a job to get out of my own postcode.
Obviously going from an electrician to doing what I do now, the money is great. I can go on holidays now and do different things.
The money financially is more for the family because I just enjoy playing darts. It's great situation to be able to earn money out of it.
I was someone who used to live a sheltered life.
I'm really happy in the Premier League, everything's good at home with the family and sponsors and everything. Life can't be any better.
My target has always been world No.1, I want that.
I always try to conduct myself in the right way - I always speak honestly and from the heart.
I missed the birth of my third child through darts. I saw her three times in eight weeks. It was very hard. You head does get a little bit scrambled because you are not there.
I actually gave up playing darts for three years after my little boy was born.
Being a world champion was great, don't get me wrong, but it also caused me a lot of problems.
I would say darts is probably 15 per cent throwing. The rest of it is mental strength. Being able to hold your nerve.
As long as I feel good in myself I think I will perform better.'
I get to see great places like Vegas - there's a lot to take in, isn't there? - and to have big names tell you that you're great, it's amazing.
Winning the worlds changed everything for me and my family.
If you can deliver the big shots at the right time, they hurt.
Ability gets you so far, but having bottle and staying strong when you're getting pounded, staying in a game, that's a mental quality.
When I used to work, I used to come home every evening and see my kids. Now sometimes we can be on the road for six days a week or three weeks at a time.
Don't get me wrong I believe in my own ability.
You always get to stages where you need to hit something with one dart left in your hand. That determines all of us, whether we win or lose. Obviously it's all mental, how mentally strong you can be to deal with that pressure.
There is no reason why women cannot be as good as the men.
Since having three kids, and the responsibility that goes with it, I know what it's like to graft for money.
Just in myself the motivation side of it, maybe just being a little bit more aggressive to get something out of myself a little bit more. I definitely play better with it.
The money is obviously life-changing in lots of ways. But I'll always be the same Rob Cross.
I only play to win. I don't like losing. I never look at the money or the bigger picture.
My old life was really hard. I had to get up at 4:30 A.M. in the morning to pay the bills. You know that if you don't turn up you don't get paid. It has really helped me knuckle down as a dart player and treat it like a job.
I've got a good backing behind me with my management team, and my family are all down to earth.
My wife looked after children with disabilities. She is brilliant at it. I admire her because I could not do it, it would be heart-wrenching. It takes a real sort of person to do that and not get attached because I would.
I'm not a massive spender. I look at the bank balance building, but it just looks like Monopoly money, really.
I think I've lost important games at certain times through not having the stamina for a day. That's 100 per cent evident that those things have happened.
Darts in such a little time has really changed my life.
Having a house with seven-and-a-half acres of land and a swimming pool wasn't really on my agenda when in my old job and while I haven't spent too much money on cars or any other expensive gadgets, I did treat myself to a JCB digger.
When the crowd's against you, sometimes that can spur you on alone.
I think I didn't realise the commitment that came after winning the Worlds.
I always had a phobia of heights, but since I've been flying more regularly I have no problem with it now. I just go to sleep.
I was just a working boy from a normal household.
Darts is more psychological than anything... staying mentally strong.
I always felt I could play well.
I won the World Championship as a novice. They're strong words and most people probably won't like that but I couldn't care.
