But now he's more interested in rehabilitating prisoners and saving lives with his first aid training provider company, SaveYu.
Elkins, 52, has worked at HMP Huntercombe as a PE instructor for the past 19 years.
There he has helped prisoners gain qualifications in personal training, including helping SAS: Who Dares Wins winner Moses Adeyemi when the now-personal trainer to Idris Elba was serving time for driving a getaway car during a robbery in 2012.
But it's Elkins' passion for first aid, sparked by a terrifying moment when his son suffered a seizure, that has shaped his new business venture.
Elkins told SunSport: "I'd been doing a lot of first aid training previously through the prison service, training staff and prisoners.
"And I'd done courses for schools and business, as well as some workshops for teachers and parents at schools.
"My partner Gemma and I then felt that we should start this as a business.
GONE DOWN IN HISTORY From breaking records at Blackburn to double hat-tricks in prison, Simon Garner became postman and decorator after retiring
"A bill was just passed in parliament in terms of teaching kids first aid in school, which is brilliant.
"A few years before that Millie's Law came into place. So teachers who teach pre-school children now have to have pediatric first aid training.
"We just felt the importance of it – to be able to save someone's life – was too important to ignore.
"After I retired my little boy suffered a febrile convulsion. He went blue, his eyes rolled… it was probably the scariest thing I've ever seen.
"We managed to deal with it, an ambulance was called and he got taken to a hospital.
"Based on my own personal experiences, that's what encouraged me to do this."
Elkins hung up his boots in 1997, playing over 100 games for both Fulham and Wimbledon before retiring after a season at Swindon Town.
"I found it very hard when I quit," he revealed.
"I was involved in football for 16-17 years from when I left school at 15-years-old.
"It's a massive part of your life, including weekends. I remember when I finished playing and I had a walk around the local town on Saturday.
"I was literally lost and I thought, 'I don't know what to do here.' I left school with no qualifications, and then when I walked away from football I had no qualifications for a job.
But, fate directed Elkins to the prison system.
He continued: "I played in a couple of charity games for Huntercombe prison, got to know a few PE instructors there and a position came up.
"I joined the prison service initially as a prison officer. Then I went to Lilleshall where I trained for six months to become a PE instructor.
"The biggest thing in prison is to try and rehabilitate people, it's as simple as that.
"I think people are very scared of it and a lot of people will believe that almost all people in jail are the same person, rotten to the core.
"And don't get me wrong, there are a lot of really nasty people in jail. But equally there are people that have fallen on hard times or things that haven't worked out for them.
"By working in the PE department and delivering universal qualifications, I'm able to give people the opportunity to continue with their lives."
One of the prisoners inspired by Elkins was Adeyemi, who served two-years in prison and later became a reality TV star in 2016.
"Moses was in my class. I trained him to be a Level 2 Gym Instructor," Elkins said.
"When he came out of prison, he went on a show called SAS: Who Dares Wins and won it!
"Now he has a mental health company and he's Idris Elba's personal trainer.
"I also think he's gone back into the jail system to share his stories and experiences.
"He came to the gym, we put him on the PE course – he went out and continued his training and has been a credit to himself.
"You have got to go in this job with the intent of making a difference to someone."
Elkins played for the Dons from 1990-1996 alongside the likes of Dean Holdsworth, Vinnie Jones, Robbie Earle and Warren Barton.
"It was a fantastic experience and there were loads of great guys there," he said.
"Every training session, it was how it was and what you'd probably expect.
"You would get the punch-ups and the arguments, as you could imagine from 30 blokes playing football.
"They were all strong characters, we used to all go on holiday together post and preseason.
"We still meet for a drink at Christmas and have done for the last 15 years, which shows how strong we were as a group.
"We also have a WhatsApp group, which some people send some quite horrendous messages to!
"I don't think you fully appreciate football until you leave it.
"Overall, and I know a lot of ex footballers say this, but the dressing room cameraderie… the difference within that confinement is completely different to anything else outside of it."
To sign up on a first aid course with Gary's company, visit SaveYu's website here.
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