While a child, he was bought some
drums by his parents. These ultimately "didn't work out" and he was then given a nylon string guitar at the age of six. In his teenage years, he listened to British bands such as
Blur,
Radiohead and
Oasis. He has cited Blur guitarist
Graham Coxon as an influence on his own playing of the instrument. Pott went to Trinity school in
Stalybridge, Greater Manchester and then to Hillcrest School in
Bellingham, near
Catford in London, later studying
graphic design,
photography and
English for his
A levels at the Brit School of Performing Arts and Technology. He considered attending the
University of Edinburgh, but decided to move to
Deptford,
London, where he formed Athlete with childhood friends
Carey Willetts, Steve Roberts and Tim Wanstall in 1999. Pott appeared on the
BBC panel gameshow
Never Mind the Buzzcocks on 15 November 2007.
Athlete Pott and his band Athlete - formed in 2000 - released four studio albums. These are
Vehicles and Animals in 2003, which was nominated for a
Mercury Music Prize award,
Tourist in 2005, which reached number one in the
UK Album Charts in its first week and included the band's highest charting song "
Wires" at number four,
Beyond the Neighbourhood in 2007 and the latest,
Black Swan, in 2009. Athlete have also released three EPs which are titled
Athlete,
The Outsiders EP and
The Getaway. The band have also released two live albums which includes a live recording from the band's show at Union Chapel performing their main hits stripped back to acoustic and more mellow titled Live at Union Chapel. The band's other live release was a ten-year anniversary live version of their debut album Vehicles and Animals Live recorded during a tour across the country. The band continued to play occasional dates and small festivals. Pott has more recently been working with artists including
George Ezra and
London Grammar in writing songs. Athlete have stated that at this moment they do not intend to create a new album, but have not ruled it out in the future. ==Personal life==