Watch: Professional Boxer Andy Gatenby's Journey to Film Stardom and Stella Aster's Zebra Crossing Soundtrack

In the Unconventional Brits series, we follow the real lives of some of the most extraordinary people, hobbies and places in the country. In this episode, we meet a boxer and plumber turned film star, a woman showcasing the history of her house and an artist who composed a sound track from her zebra crossing.

Professional boxer turned actor

Andy Gatenby was an undefeated, licensed, professional boxer, until sadly failing his medical examination just before his fight for the English title. He was forced to quit his profession overnight, after training as a boxer from the age of 14. Andy said, “At the time, I remember feeling lost. I didn’t know what route I’d take after that.”

While watching a film with his wife one night, he became unimpressed by the acting. Andy suddenly had the thought that he could do that, but his wife disagreed. He and his wife then made a bet that sparked his acting career. Andy joined a drama school and later landed his first acting job in World’s Most Evil Killers, where he played the role of a real-life serial killer who is currently on death row in America. He’s worked with a variety of high end actors such as Billy Murray, Nick Moran and Louis Mandylor, and dreams of taking his new career to Hollywood.

Zebra crossing sound track

Artist, Social Researcher and Activist, Stella Aster, was in Vienna when she noticed the rhythmic ticking sounds of the zebra crossings on the road. She thought it was a pleasant, subtle sound of the city, and wondered what it would be like to hear all the zebra crossings at once.

Stella decided to bring the idea back home to the UK, and started collecting data from the beacon lights at zebra crossings in her area, to measure the times between the different light flickers. She used the data to create a soundtrack which matched the rhythm of the lights. The track lives online and is frequently updated with songs inspired by zebra crossings from different towns in the UK.

Shots! TV

Watch the full episode to learn more about Unconventional Brits, including a lady who re-painted a piece of history onto her house. 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.