My Journey To A Sustainable Career
“True happiness, and maybe more importantly, fulfillment, is experienced not at the end of the journey, but while following our path. If we cannot find joy in the journey, there will not delight in the destination.” ~ Will Craig (Living the hero’s journey)
In 2009 I quit my corporate office job to start and decided to turn my passion for health and fitness into a career.
Since then I’ve built three successful businesses. I've learnt from world-renowned coaches and coached Olympic level athletes. I've delivered over 10,000 personal training session and over 10,000 group classes.
In my role as a coach and gym owner, I’ve made plenty of mistakes. I've come close to burn-out. I've worked with a doggy business partner and I've let my health suffer. The journey has taught me the importance of being authentic, taking care of my health first, and staying true to my visions and values.
If I only knew then what I know now: The lessons of life and what they're trying to teach us. By sharing my story, I want to help personal trainers, coaches, and gym owners find fulfillment and protect their career, health and happiness.
2009 The Large Gym
I wanted a career that gave me the flexibility to work, train and achieve optimal health. I wanted to help others do the same. I hated corporate life and I was ready to take a leap of faith and become a personal trainer.
It all started in London at a large gym chain. Honestly, it was the worst job I’ve ever had. There is no fulfillment, financial security, or career development in this role, and it comes at a cost to your health. How can anyone get ahead in an industry that promotes health but fails to support it? Large gym chains do not care about their staff or members, they only care about profits.
As a FitPro, I would work an eight-hour shift followed by four-hours of personal training sessions. I got home and spent another three-hours writing training programs and preparing for classes. My skills and knowledge at the time were limited, but I was eager to learn. Bu a large chain gym is never going to offer that.
I’d work 15 hours days. The pay was lousy and the opportunities for advancement were non-existent.
Is it any wonder 80% of personal trainers fail in the first 2years?
I lasted 8months. I went back to the corporate job to earn some money and rethink my future.
2010-2013 Personal Training Studio
Six-months later I decided to give personal training another shot. I rented a studio in Shoreditch and launched My Momentum, a personal training company. I partnered with a good mate, and together we set about building a successful business.
I was excited by the prospect of learning from other trainers who had been in the industry for years. To my surprise, most of them lacked the courage to show up, to be authentic and accountable. They were unmotivated and seemed comfortable taking people's money and deliver no value.
In a short time, my business partner and I were both delivering 30-40 sessions per week and achieving real results. We both thrived in this environment with a full list of clients and, for the first time, a decent income. This gave us the chance to invest in further education. At the time, Charles Poliquin was a leader in the industry, and we set about completing the PICP levels 1,2 &3.
“As coaches, we can choose courage or we can choose comfort, but we can not have both. We won’t learn anything new and can’t grow or expand if we ony stay within the confines of our comfort zone.”
It wasn’t long before the smoke screen lifted and the harsh reality of the industry hit me. The fitness industry is profiting from the idea of trim thighs and ripping six-packs. By encouraging clients to chase unrealistic goals we are feeding this self-loathing machine. Since when did aesthetics become more important than health and wellness?
I knew there had to be a better way.
2013-2018 Momentum Training / CrossFit Hackney
In 2013, my business colleague and I opened Momentum Training / Crossfit Hackney alongside a new business partner. In the early days of becoming a personal trainer, I set myself a goal of owning a gym in 5years, it took 3.5years.
This was a dream come true!
I was excited to make an impact on the health and wellness of our members. I wanted to reach more people and I felt owning a gym could do just that. There were days where I had to stop and pinch myself. It was an amazing feeling to a business owner in an industry that I was so passionate about.
In the beginning, it was back to long days and a seven-day workweek. Between us, we were teaching classes, personal training sessions, BioSignature consultations, and learning how to manage a business. Talk about a steep learning curve!
We established partnerships with physical therapists, sports masseuse, nutritionists, blood labs, food and supplement companies. As the business started to grow, we hired trainers, cleaners and administration staff. The business went from strength to strength and within a year we had over 250 members.
I wanted our members to train in a safe and supportive community environment. We were more than a CrossFit box. We had an array of different classes. Our team would deliver over 100 personal training session per week. We had a six week CrossFit onboarding program. And we offered bespoke small group training. To me, this was our best selling points, no other CrossFit gym in London was offering the same level of service at the time.
A questions of integrity, courage and character.
The three business owners took on separate responsibilities. I was in charge of writing the CrossFit programming. At the time, I had hired Derek Woodske as my strength coach. Add this to my PICP level 4 education and I was confident in writing an intelligent strength program.
I struggled to understand the purpose of the Workout Of the Day (W.O.D). In my eyes, it was fatigue-based training. IN my eyes, movement intensity is NEVER more important than movement quality. Why would any self-respecting coach wish to ingrain bad movement patterns? The goal to move faster, do more reps and race the clock never felt right to me. I struggled to see how any of Athis related to the health and longevity of our members.
Even though I had doubts, I persevered.
“I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence.”
I committed myself to learn more. James Fitzgerald and Joel Jamieson where the energy system training expert I turned to. I completed both the OPEX CCP course and the BioForce Conditioning Coach Certification.
I finally understood the purpose of the W.O.D.
My new knowledge allowed me to write conditioning workouts that targeted specific energy systems.
I designed team conditioning workouts that trained the aerobic and anaerobic energy systems. The structure of the workouts allowed members to work at a high intensity and to rest between rounds. This dramatically improved their movement quality and fitness levels. It allowed members to work hard, move well, and increase their fitness levels. It also lowered the chances of injury.
“The fact is, there is a low barrier of entry to become a qualified CrossFit Coach. Many of them have only completed a certificate which takes a weekend to get. ”
Finally, the strength and conditioning program was something to be proud of, but I wasn’t finished yet. The group training environment is a difficult lion to tame. Classes contain a mix of strong and fit members, as well and newbies who have never used a barbell. I wanted to offer members a program suited to their levels of skill, strength and conditions.
Instead of writing one master program, I wrote three programs.
A beginners program that focused on aerobic conditioning and increases muscle endurance.
An intermediate program for those ready for more advanced strength and energy system training.
Finally, a competitors program for those who had the skill to compete in CrossFit events.
Unfortunately, my efforts were in vain. My business partners and colleagues didn’t seem to have the same level of care when it came to coaching. They would give members the freedom to choose rather than educate them on the best training practices. Technique and form went out of the window as members overestimate their abilities.
This frustrated me. I didn’t want to be CrossFit gym that valued fun, fast and easy over education and well-being.
There are two lines of thought here:
Let the members follow a program that they are not yet conditioned for. Allow the members to perform advanced movements with poor movement quality because they are having fun. Members want a hot and sweaty workout. Health and safety is not guaranteed, due to ingrained bad movement patterns. This is the fun, fast and easy approach to fitness.
Take the time and effort to educate our members. Explain the importance of building strength, technique and fitness with the correct program. Allow the members to slowly move up the levels. This is a much more sustainable approach to training, health and well-being. This requires much more effort and a whole lot of support from the coaching team. It takes courage and bravery to deliver a program like this. You run the risk of losing members who aren’t keen on this slow approach. The members that stay will be strong, fit, injury-free and value your service.
“If one of your mentors walked into the gym in the middle a class, would you be proud of what they would see?”
A successful business is built on respect.
As the gym business continued to grow we continued to hire more staff. I slowly gained back time to rest, recover and take a holiday. The business was turning over a good profit and by all accounts, everything was moving along nicely.
At the end of our first year in business, I discovered one of the business partners, the one who was in charge of managing the accounts, had been stealing money from the business.
My heart and my trust were completely broken.
I lost all respect for this business partner and I wanted nothing to do with him. I knew he would never sell his share, and going through the legal system could potentially destroy the business. My dreams were shattered as I made the decision to sell my share of the business.
For the next three years, I focused on increasing business value. By that time the gym was grossing £300k+ and I was in a position to leave.
Once the transaction was over it felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I was free to leave London and free to discover a sustainable lifestyle that supported my visions and goals.
It didn’t take long for me to see the many errors I had made over the years. I had been focusing on the needs of others and had neglected my own health, values and needs. A common mistake in the health and fitness industry; we are good at helping others and yet we fail to take care of ourselves.
I wasn’t being authentic, and I had forgotten my “why.” I had lost my self-respect and my self-motivation. No amount of personal success, financial freedom, or outer trappings of the good life can substitute for the inner fulfillment of sensing an authentic meaning to one’s life.
I want to promote sustainable health and inspire others to value their health.
I had allowed my health to suffer and I had failed to protect my number one asset.
My next job in the industry would be different. But old habits die hard!
2014-2015 British 100-200m Sprinter (National and Olympic Level)
In 2014 my colleague and accepted a strength coaching position for the British national and Olympic level sprinting team. One the track, the athletes were incredible, but in the gym they were dismal. They could not squat, clean, or snatch, and their work ethic in the gym was questionable.
We want back basics and focused on structural balance, rehab and injury prevention. Their running coach disagreed with our methods as he had never seen a strength program like this. When the sprinters were finally ready, we taught them to squat and perform the Olympic lifts. We educated them that movement quality must dictate the load and not the other way around. We rebuilt them from the ground up.
It took a lot of courage to say “no” to the running coach and to back ourselves. Ashely Nelson was a member of our squad and she went on to win a bronze medal in the 100m and a Gold medal in the 4 × 100 m relay at the 2014 European Championships. In the 4 × 100 metres relay, she also won a bronze medal at the 2013 World Championships and a silver medal at the 2019 World Championships. Her personal bests are 11.19 secs (2014 the 2nd year we coached her) in the 100m and 22.85 secs (2019) in the 200m.
The running coach was a constant pain in our ass. He argued that the athletes should be lifting more weight and not wasting their time on structural balance. We donated our knowledge and time for two years. We then discover that the running coach was profiting from our work by charging the athletes. In the end, we decided to stop as it was taking time away from our business.
“If you don’t value your time, either will the people you are trying to help.”
2018 - Current: The Sustainable Training Method and ADAPT Functional Health Coach
After selling the gym, some members asked me to continue writing their programming. They had made solid progress by following the gym programming. They place a lot of trust and belief in my style of programming which was rewarding to know. I was making a difference and I teaching members to value their health.
“Sustainable training is the relentless pursuit of less but better.”
I left London and travelled through Asia for 7-weeks on my move back to Australia. I continued to write online programmes, and I started to wonder if I could build a business? I built a website and contacted some of my past clients to let them know I was online. The Sustainable Training Method (TSTM) was born!
I was making enough money to pay my rent and bills in no time. I had 15 one-to-one clients and a small team of CrossFitters followed a team program. The lack of human connection and sitting in from of a screen was the only real downfall I could see with an online business. Had I done a full circle and ended back in an office job?
When I landed in Australia, I accepted a head coach at a CrossFit gym in Melbourne. The gym owner was looking for someone to change the underlying message of the gym and move away from the typical CrossFit mindset. I thought this would be a good chance to share my sustainable training principles.
My expectation of movement quality turned out to be higher than I thought. The movement standards at Momentum Training were far above what I was about to take on. I was horrified at how the members moved, the number of injuries, the poor mobility, and the lack of care given by some of the coaching staff.
I remember programming a W.O.D with deadlifts, burpees and rest intervals in the first week. In the classes, I taught that day there was not a single person who could perform a deadlift with good form. My jaw dropped and I knew this was not going to be an easy job.
I removed all barbell movements from all W.O.D’s. I prioritised technical drills, mobility work, and basic aerobic conditioning workouts. The strength program became slow tempo training, hypertrophy and functional strength.
This rocked the boat as many members and the coaches were less than impressed with the sudden pivot. I was lucky to have the gym owner on my side. We stuck to the plan and continued to prioritise movement quality and health above all else. There was also another OPEX trained coach on the team who supported the changes.
It took some time, but moat of the coaches started to appreciate the changes. They could see what I was trying to do and they realised how destructive the pervious programming had been.
Unbeknown to me at the time, the old head coach was not teaching my programming and she was running her own. She was undermining my programming to the members and staff. I guess she felt threatened by the level of care I was taking to do the job right. There are good coaches and there are bad coaches and it can be hard to post the difference.
If change were easy, everyone would do it. Most don't. If we do not embrace change, we are doomed to repeat our mistakes.
In my mind, asking a coach to explain why they have programmed a particular workout is a useful question. "Fun", "to get a sweat on", " its high intensity", "Saturdays are team WOD days", or anything similar is not a valid reason. This is the sign of a terrible coach with no idea how to build a periodised training programme.
As always, I had bitten off more than I could chew. I was running TSTM. I was writing and teaching classes at this gym. I was working hard to win over the members and coaches with the new style of training. What happened to sustainable work-life balance?
After 3-months, I had decided I was going to quit the head coach job and focus on TSTM. Some of the members of this gym are now online clients as they could see the level of care I put into my training.
At times it can be tricky to set boundaries between work, training and life. Running your own business is challenging and I’m still learning. Sustainable training is about more than exercise and nutrition, it's about sustainable health.
5-Pillard of Sustainable Health:
Stress Management
Rest and Recovery
Diet
Community
Training
I thought an online business would create a large gap between coach and clients. I now believe it brings us closer together. The gym environment, surrounded by coaches and members, offers very little opportunity to connect. There are too many ears in the gym, and often with community comes gossip.
With current technology, I can connect to my clients one-on-one. We use the TrueCoach app, messages, videos, images and emails and I have to say, it’s a seamless process.
The fact that we are not working face-to-face seems to give clients the courage to openly talk about their problems, their lifestyle, their goals and what they are really struggling with. I now know more about some of the clients I was working face-to-face with than when we were face-to-face. Surprising I know. As I started to learn more about my clients I realised that exercise and nutrition advice is only part of a much bigger holistic health puzzle, and I needed to learn more.
I had been following Chris Kresser (Functional Medicine and Ancestral Health Practitioner, Co-director of the California Center for Functional Medicine, creator of ChrisKresser.com, and New York Times best-selling author) for a couple of years, so when I found out he was launching a Functional Health Coaching Certification I was quick to sign-up.
I’m now a certified ADAPT Functional Health Coach and I’ve been planning how to best use these new skills to help others improve their career, relationships, health, happiness, and performance.
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Are you a recreational athlete who wants to stay active, strong and healthy for as long as possible?
Recreational athletes often struggle to sustain optimal health and wellbeing by following mainstream health & fitness advice. These guys and gals work hard to stay fit and healthy, and yet, they succumb to health-related problems just like everybody else. They can be carrying unwanted body fat, experiencing fatigue, having trouble sleeping, noticing anxiety, struggling with digestive complaints, and not performing or recovering like they know they can.
I empower recreational athletes to take ownership of their recovery, nutrition and stress management with sustainable lifestyle practices. We work together to build the habits and routines you need to manage stress, improve sleep, balance hormones, resolve digestive issues, promote a healthy body composition, and fuel your energy demand.
