I grew up in Australia and I played every sport under the sun as a teenager. At the same time, I started washing dishes at a local restaurant. When I finished high school, I didn’t get the chance to go to Uni so I kept washing dishes at the restaurant. Eventually I decided to become a chef, got my head down and worked in Michelin star restaurants in Australia and then London for 6+ years. I kept up the gym and my interest in nutrition and fitness grew.
In 2015, I had left my job as a chef and moved into operations and management at Fresh Fitness Food. I had zero experience in the fitness industry and I had zero administrative skills. In reflection I was just good at working hard.
One of our first ventures at Fresh Fitness Food was a small cafe, in the gym in the basement of the City Point Tower in Moorgate London. Although I was cooking, every day I was working alongside the personal trainers and management teams there. The perk of having a gym to train in after work, made my training take off and my health and energy levels rapidly improved and have stayed there since.
Over the years, FFF has partnered with countless more gyms and fitness professionals. The one thing that stands out about our peers in the fitness industry, is that everyone is there to help others. Everyone has seen first hand how fitness can truly change everything. And everyone is eager to share that. This shared passion makes working in fitness fun, social and rewarding in a really physical and tangible way.
The highs are most definitely speaking with people who have had incredible results with FFF. Women who have struggled to get pregnant and then as they improved their health and fitness, have phoned in to say they are now expecting. Or men who have emailed in to say they have had to go out and buy a whole set of new suits as their old ones no longer fit due to their weight loss.
There are lows, like in any role, but I’ve noticed that as I work harder in the gym, as you challenge myself with your peers, my tenacity builds. My ability to handle other hard work situations improves. I would say that the Covid era has without a doubt been the most challenge period for the fitness industry, but now, as it bounces back and people need health and fitness more than ever, the opportunity is huge for anyone getting involved in the space.
Unfortunately the world is becoming less healthy. The UK spends 3% of GDP on obesity related illnesses. That’s more than we spend on the military. This creates a huge opportunity for those of us working in this industry to make a difference.
I think when I first moved from being a chef, into working in a management position in the wellness industry, I was really focused on me and my health. I wanted to be able to train, I wanted to be paid better, I wanted more flexible hours. And I quickly found all those things. Nowadays I’m probably working more hours than I did as a chef, but my passion for helping others is stronger than ever. When you see first hand how this industry can help others, you quickly become obsessed with spreading that to more people.
The people in it are damn fun. There are ALL kinds of people in this industry, and maybe the first people you meet won’t be your people, but there is such a range. And the one thing I can confirm, is that fitness people love to dance, they love music, they love food, they love getting together to work out, the fitness industry is fun.
