Three decades after he channelled his heroin addiction into the cult classic Trainspotting, the Scottish author has discovered the joys of yoga, breathwork and standing desks. But is he quite as \u2018Zen\u2019 as he claims?<\/p>\n
By rights, Irvine Welsh ought to be photographed somewhere gritty, looking grumpy, he says: \u201cThat\u2019s the brand.\u201d Beside a graffitied wall or at the docks, with a beanie pulled low, and definitely not smiling. But here he is, clear-skinned and wholesome in shorts and a T-shirt, drinking tea and \u2013 it\u2019s hard to think of anything more off-brand \u2013 talking about the health benefits of yoga. Given his reputation for having lived in the worlds his books portray, he should or could look a lot worse. He guffaws at this, eyes a delighted blue, and repeats the phrase as if he\u2019s found a new personal tagline: \u201cCould look a lot worse!\u201d<\/p>\n
Over the three decades since his cult debut, Trainspotting, was published in 1993, Welsh\u2019s fiction has explored with humour the darker side of life. Drugs, clubs, alcohol, violence \u2026 often alongside psychological or social deprivation. Despite being 17 novels and four short-story collections into his career, selling more than 6m books globally, he remains best known for his first. It achieved, he says, \u201cwhat most writers want to achieve in a lifetime \u2013 the big zeitgeist book that goes into the culture\u201d.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/3754027b7fad14620d36d9a73b0fab920c3c8b4d\/26_1256_4372_3497\/master\/4372.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=5aeb3662114cda6130654bac6ec21229\" "\\"\u2018Am")
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