Pole vaulter Steve Lewis loves his electric guitar

British pole vaulter Steve Lewis likes nothing more to mimic rock legend Jimi Hendrix. The Commonwealth bronze medallist shoots the breeze with spikesmag.com about his passion for strumming the electric guitar.

“I started playing about 18 months ago through a love of Jimi Hendrix. I got a Squier guitar as a birthday present and I got into it massively. I started having lessons with one of my friends from the track, Adrian Hemery [son of 1968 Olympic 400m hurdles champion David]. He is a really good player and he came over and said I’ll teach you some stuff.

"I love guitar and Hendrix, Pearl Jam and all that kind of stuff – all that kind of music... you just want to rock to it. But with Jimi he’s kind of different, you feel it a lot more. I’m not quite as cool as Jimi, though. I don’t play it upside down with the wrong hand!

"Adrian is a great teacher. He’s got a great eye for it. When you pick up a guitar for the first time your fingers are uncoordinated and your dexterity is terrible. I couldn’t believe how difficult it is, especially wanting to play lead guitar. Trying to do what Hendrix does takes forever. You could never repeat what he does.

"You start by doing simple blues scales. Then when you are competent with that you can pick up simple riffs. Tracks like Purple Haze are pretty simple riffs and they sound really cool.

"The best thing about guitar is, say you have an afternoon off and you're a little bit bored, it passes a few hours without thinking about it. I get a real release from playing guitar in the same way that some people get from reading or doing other things. It’s a complete relaxation tool.

"I have no aspirations to be in a rock band, I literally do it for personal pleasure. I like watching DVDs of Jimi and I like hanging out with friends that do the same thing. I’m sure people living in a quiet town like Loughborough will know you need a few more things going on. It’s good to have a release.”

Steve will be competing in Glasgow this weekend at the Aviva International Match.