GLOBAL TRAINER
Europe | North Africa | Russia | Australia | North America | South America
I get to do a lot of interviews with the media about personal training. Recently with Kelloggs Special K, I did 22 in one day, and 9 out 10 times the first question they ask is “what celebrities do you train?” My usual response is that I find it a bit ‘tacky’ to name names and it all depends what you class as a celebrity. Someone from the last series of Big Brother is not really my style. Over the years (20 years and counting as a PT), I have trained Olympic athletes, Premier League Footballers (here’s a clue they all wore red) and one of the World’s most famous Rugby Players.
Outside of sport I have not particularly focused on famous people – fabulously wealthy people who prefer my discretion is much more me. Saying that I have trained aging rock stars and royalty. Does that make me a celebrity trainer – who knows?
A Global trainer, really does mean Global. Despite being one of the best titles around, Reebok Global Master Trainer is a bit of a mouthful. But, what it all boils down to is that I am the Trainer who trains the Trainers. On the wall of my office is a map of the world with a little dot on all of the countries I have now taught in. I am up to 33. Here are some of my recent blog entries and also some diary out-takes from some of the more memorable trips.
It may be on our doorstep, but teaching Europe and Scandinavia can be a bit of a giggle. My first ever international job for Reebok was teaching in Holland. It was a massive event and I was very nervous, especially when I walked into the hall to find 3,000 participants in one class. And boy were those Dutch fit. Despite that some of them still amazingly stop for a cigarette half way through the class – shocking!
Sweden was fun, the first time I taught there I was launching a Spinning type workout, where you have 30 exercise bikes in a studio, then go for the Ride of your Life. One of the girls in the front row was looking uncomfortable, so I said to the whole class that in your first session it is not unusual to get saddle sore, and that this could be minimalised by wearing padded shorts and not wearing thong underwear. On hearing this, the girl stopped the bike, pulled down her shorts and removed her thong. She got back on her bike and carried on Spinning.
If Peru was the best, the worst travel experience I had was at another centre of ancient civilisation; Egypt. But it was nothing to do with the place or the assignment, it was my guide who caused all the problems. I had been suffering from food poisoning, but the chap who was assigned to me insisted I had to go see the pyramids with him. A nice offer, but I really wasn't in the mood. I explained that I didn't feel good and I could see the pyramids out of my hotel window, but he wouldn't relent.
So off we went, driving right up to the gates as he tried to get me as close as possible to the pyramids. The security guards approached the car and my irrepressible guide started a spot of banter with them in the local lingo. The result? Shouting ensues and guns are drawn as they encircle us on their camels. I felt sick enough as it was, this was too much. I demanded to know what was happening, eventually my new pal admitted he had attempted to crack a joke with the guards. He had told them we were terrorists trying to blow up the pyramids! They weren't laughing.
Somehow we argued our way out of this little predicament, by which point I was ready to go back to the hotel. It was hot, I was ill, enough was enough. But then my over-enthusiastic guide appeared with a replacement for our battered old car; a pair of horses! I could hardly stand up, let alone ride one of these steeds across a desert. When it was all over I've never been so relieved to be boarding a plane back to Britain.
I always know how cool a trip is going to be from the car that collects me at the airport. In Moscow, it was big, black and German. Which later became reassuring, because despite the 10 foot snow drifts my driver took us down the motorway at 100mph with a blue flashing light on our roof. The next day I was assigned a beautiful interpreter, who if she hasn’t already, should be in a James Bond Movie. She spoke 7 languages. The trip was a combination of consulting and teaching.
For one very long day I sat answering questions on how the UK fitness industry operates. The funny thing about working with interpreters is that you can give a 4 word answer to a question in English, then when they translate it it becomes a 30 second statement. For all I know she could have been telling them anything.
If there was ever a Country to be fit in, this is it. We filmed a lot of the Feelfit exercise videos down under. Watch this movie and see how much fun we had.
Movie to come here.
I have taught loads of times in the USA. At the Reebok Sports Club NY, in Boston, Washington, San Diego, San Francisco and I have also was had a great time teaching fun things. Roller Blading in NY Central Park, Nordic Walking in San Francisco and core training in Miami.
But my most recent trip was mind blowing, because Feelfit sponsored the warm-up of the Las Vegas marathon. It is the only day of the year that they close the famous Las Vegas Strip. I have found myself at 6am (it is hot in the desert) on a stage with the State Governor and Las Vegas Mayor with 20,000 runners in front of me. Did I get them warmed up, I don’t know, but I certainly got them fired up.
I had the most amazing time teaching in Peru. It nearly didn’t happen because at the time there was civil un-rest and shootings in Lima, but once I got there the people were amazing. Sorry for my ignorance, but when they asked me to go, I did not even know that Peru had a fitness industry. I was so wrong, fuelled by Inca Cola the workshop had 350 instructors in it. There is a bit of theme starting here, but again I had a beautiful interpreter, who this time actually had been a Bond Girl (Moonraker).
The funniest and cutiest thing about teaching in Peru was, that at the end of each workout, every person in the class comes and has their photo taken with the teacher. So somewhere in Peru there are 350 pictures of a hot sweaty white guy with his arm around an equally sweaty tiny Peruvian.
