All About Me

Not Your (Neuro-)typical Personal Trainer!

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I was born in Tunbridge Wells in 1979 so beware! I am one of those feral Gen-X types you keep hearing about on TikTok. I was a lot of other things before I became a personal trainer: from the usual sales assistant, cashier, and petrol pump attendant type jobs, all the way up to administrator, bar manager, researcher, and intelligence officer…

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I was the kid at school that hated PE and would do anything to get out of it. I was overweight, asthmatic, and hated most kinds of exercise, especially the outdoor kind. I was always looking forward to the day when I wouldn’t have to do it anymore and when that day finally came, I thought I would never look back…

 

In my early twenties, something changed. I went to a Karate class, and my whole attitude to physical fitness changed. I was far from a natural. In fact, I would describe myself as being a slow learner when it came to Karate. I lacked any natural talent for martial arts, but I LOVED it anyway, and wanting to be better at Karate made me want to be fitter and healthier. I learnt a lot about fitness and nutrition in the pursuit of my own self-improvement, but it would be a while before I got qualified and put those skills to work.

 

In 2006, at the age of 27, I got the young man’s cancer and although surgery very quickly put paid to it, during a routine follow-up scan checking to make sure that my cancer hadn’t come back I discovered that I had Crohn’s disease. An auto immune condition that would now be with me for the rest of my life. Knowing that I would need to take better care of myself meant that I had a need to manage my health, both physical and mental through exercise and although need doesn’t always translate to motivation, I did my best to keep myself in shape. In December 2015, I finally got my black belt.

 

Frequent organisational change at the Environment Agency made me fear for the longevity of my career so, much to the annoyance of my boss at the time, in 2016, I decided to take all of my leave in one go and do an intensive diploma in Fitness Instructing and Personal Training. Once I qualified I started training a handful of PT clients in my spare time, and in 2018 I finally became a full time Personal Trainer (Just before the start of a global epidemic! Great timing!)

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My speciality as a personal trainer is in introducing exercise to the kind of people who probably hated P.E. at school, just like me, and struggle to find enthusiasm for exercise. I am confident that I can help most people to find something to love about exercise. I offer safe comfortable surroundings, empathy and a lot of patience.

 

As a Chronically Ill Trainer #CROHNSWARRIOR I can also give you the patience and time you need to build fitness at a pace that suits your condition and your confidence level, but challenge you just enough to keep you moving forward.

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I was recently diagnosed with ADHD and quite by accident seem have acquired a largely Neurodivergent client base so if you are a paid up member of the squirrel gang that struggles with managing your health and fitness then get in touch, this may be just what you've been looking for.