Jay Michael Conroy (born 2 March 1986) is an English semi-professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

, model and actor who plays for Isthmian Division One South side Three Bridges. Having started his footballing career as a trainee at

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

, he spent almost ten years in non-league football with his most notable spells coming for

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional association football club based in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton, London. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in ...

, Chelmsford City,

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...

and Farnborough. He has won the

Isthmian League Division One The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

and

Conference South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 of the NLS and sixth-highest ti ...

during his career. As a part-time model, Conroy has worked alongside brands including

Nivea Nivea (, stylized as NIVEA) is a German personal care brand that specializes in skin and body care. It is owned by the Hamburg-based company Beiersdorf Global AG, who also makes the Eucerin brand. ''Nivea'' comes from the Latin adjective ''ni ...

Gillette Gillette is an American brand of safety razors and other personal care products including shaving supplies, owned by the multi-national corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G). Based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, it was owned by The Gil ...

and

Abercrombie & Fitch Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (A&F) is an American lifestyle store, lifestyle retailer, founded in 1892 which focuses on contemporary clothing targeting customers in their early 20's to mid 40's. Headquartered in New Albany, Ohio, the company operate ...

, while fronting a national

Breast Cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

campaign and featuring on

Men's Health ''Men's Health'' (''MH''), published by Hearst Communications, Hearst, is the world's largest men's magazine brand, with 35 editions in 59 countries; it is the bestselling men's magazine on American newsstands. Started as a men's health magazin ...

Men's Fitness ''Men's Fitness'' was a men's magazine published by American Media, Inc and founded in the United States in 1987. The premier issue featured Michael Pare from the television series '' The Greatest American Hero''. The magazine's slogan was "How ...

and GQ Fitness magazine covers. He also appeared in

Series 1 The IBM Series/1 is a 16-bit minicomputer, introduced in 1976, that in many respects competed with other minicomputers of the time, such as the PDP-11 from Digital Equipment Corporation and similar offerings from Data General and HP. The Seri ...

The Only Way Is Essex ''The Only Way Is Essex'' (often abbreviated as ''TOWIE'' ) is a British reality television series based in Brentwood, Essex, England. It shows "real people in modified situations, saying unscripted lines but in a structured way." Broadcast on ...

, building a close relationship with TV personality

Amy Childs Amy Andrea Childs (born 14 June 1990) is an English model and television personality. In 2010, she appeared in the first two series of the ITV2 reality series ''The Only Way Is Essex'', and subsequently starred in her own reality series '' It's ...

Football career

Crystal Palace

Conroy began his career as a trainee at

, but was unable to break into the first team and failed to make his professional debut. On 11 May 2004, he lined-up at

Selhurst Park Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst, in the London Borough of Croydon, England, which is the home ground of Premier League club Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted interna ...

as part of a Crystal Palace XI for

Steve Kember Stephen Dennis Kember (born 8 December 1948) is an English former footballer who played in the centre of midfield during his career, before going into management. He has a long affiliation with Crystal Palace, where he is currently the chief s ...

's testimonial.

AFC Wimbledon (loan)

After appearing for

during pre-season, Conroy joined the club on loan during the 2004-05 season. Extending his initial short-term deal with the Dons, he totalled 22 appearances for the club in the season which saw them crowned champions of the

. His successful spell at the club was hindered in his final game before being recalled by

Iain Dowie Iain Dowie (born 9 January 1965) is a football manager, former professional footballer and sports television pundit. He played as a striker from 1983 until 2001, notably in the Premier League for Southampton, Crystal Palace and West Ham Unit ...

, which saw the youngster suffer a broken fibula, fractured tibia and ruptured ankle ligaments against

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

. The injury kept Conroy out of action for 11 months.

Canvey Island

In August 2005, Conroy completed a move to

Canvey Island Canvey Island is a town, civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames Estuary, near Southend-on-Sea, in the Castle Point district, in the county of Essex, England. It has an area of and a population of 38,170.Office for National Statistics. ...

following his release from

. Despite lining-up for

Aldershot Town Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spr ...

on trial during the summer, he signed a one-year deal with the Gulls in the

Conference National The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National League (English football), National Le ...

. However, after struggling to break into the first team the 19-year-old was placed on the transfer list in November. He managed 10 appearances before his release at the end of the season.

Sutton United (loan)

Unable to seal a permanent move away from Park Lane, Conroy joined

club

Sutton United Sutton United Football Club is a professional association football club from Sutton, South London, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. Sutton started out playing in junior, ...

on a one-month loan in December 2005.

Chelmsford City

He later signed for Chelmsford City, where he spent the complete 2006–07 season. Netting his first and second goals in senior football, the defender made 31 appearances as he finished third in the

Isthmian League Premier Division The Isthmian League () is a regional football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 88 teams in fo ...

Lewes

Conroy joined

ahead of the 2007–08 season, and went on to make 35 appearances as his side clinched the

title. On 20 October, Conroy was involved in an incident which saw Lewes manager Steven King "fear for his player's life". Playing in a 3–0 defeat to

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the United Kingdom 2011 census, 2011 census. The town ...

, Conroy was knocked unconscious and suffered convulsions following an aerial challenge with striker Paul Sales.

Havant & Waterlooville

In May 2008, Conroy became one of five players to join Havant & Waterlooville from Lewes. However, his contract was terminated by mutual consent in January 2009, having made 15 appearances in his second season with the club.

Northwich Victoria

Shortly after his departure from West Leigh Park, Conroy agreed terms with

Northwich Victoria Northwich is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire West and Chester borough of Cheshire, England. It lies on the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers River Weaver, Weaver and River Dane, Dane, east of Chester, south of Warr ...

and completed a move on 23 January. He remained with the club for two months as The Vics were later relegated to the

Conference North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 o ...

at the end of the 2008–09 season.

AFC Wimbledon

Conroy then re-joined

on a permanent basis in March 2009, after Luke Garrard and Andy Sambrook were ruled out of action due to injury. He made eight appearances in the closing weeks of the

winning season, before become a first-team regular during the 2009-10 season. Making 37 appearances for the first team, as well as a single game for the reserves, he picked up two red cards during the club's inaugural season in the

. During his time at the club, he also worked as a fitness coach and nutritionist for the first team. In April 2010, manager Terry Brown announced that Conroy would be one of 12 players released by the club at the end of the season. Following his departure, he admitted he would have liked to have remained with the club. Conroy also thanked Brown for "rescuing his career" after his former club's financial difficulties.

Farnborough

He joined Farnborough for the 2010–11 season, but suffered a broken ankle in the opening weeks of the campaign. After a short spell on the sidelines, Conroy returned and went on to make 28 appearances for Boro. His final appearance came in a 1–0 victory over

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...

in the

play-offs.

Sutton United

Conroy then made a return to

side

for the 2011-12 campaign, and saw the club finish fourth before falling to

Welling United Welling United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club, based in Welling in the London Borough of Bexley, England. The most prominent aspect of the club is its men's first team, who play in the , the seventh level of the E ...

in the play-off semi-finals.

Modelling career

Joining

Select Model Management Select Model Management is a global network of model and talent agencies. It was established in London in 1977, by founders Tandy Anderson and sisters Clare and Chrissie Castagnetti. Company In their early days, Select was one of the first model ...

in December 2009, Conroy has gone on to model for a variety of TV advertisements and health magazines. He has worked alongside

and

. In 2013, he was selected as

Jeff Banks Jeff Banks PPCSD (born Jeffrey Tatham-Banks, 17 March 1943) is a Welsh fashion designer of men's and women's clothing, jewellery, and home furnishings. Born in Ebbw Vale, Wales, Banks co-founded the fashion chain Warehouse in the late 1970s. ...

' Pink Pants Breast Cancer Campaign model. He featured on the cover of UK Men's Health in January and February 2013, as well as the Italian Men's Health Cover in May 2013. In September 2013, Conroy was the cover model for UK Men's Fitness, and worked as a GQ Fitness model between August 2013 and January 2014.

Acting career

Conroy featured in

, and first appeared in Episode 2. He also played the role of Roger in 2012 Indian romantic drama film ''Jab Tak Hai Jaan''.

Personal life

Conroy is the older brother of footballer

Dion Conroy Dion John Conroy (born 11 December 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Crawley Town. Club career Chelsea After a spell with Fulham, Conroy joined Chelsea in 2008 as an Under-13. Conroy quickly progres ...

. Following the success of his modelling career, he has over 100,000 followers on social networking application

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

. Conroy was named Surrey National Golf Champion between 2001 and 2004, and also won the South England Brighton Open Swimming Champion 100m Breaststroke in 2003. He completed the UK London Triathlon in 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conroy, Jay 1986 births Living people Men's association football defenders English men's footballers Crystal Palace F.C. players AFC Wimbledon players Canvey Island F.C. players Sutton United F.C. players Chelmsford City F.C. players Lewes F.C. players Havant & Waterlooville F.C. players Northwich Victoria F.C. players Farnborough F.C. players Walton Casuals F.C. players National League (English football) players Isthmian League players People from Reigate and Banstead (district) Footballers from Surrey 21st-century English sportsmen