22 random facts about me

Today I thought I'd give you some random facts about me, so here goes...

I have an extra lump of skin near my left ear - I was always told as a kid that it made me individual, I've never had a problem with it and you'd probably would never notice it.

I used to live in Portugal working in my Dad's bar 'RAMBOS' - Back in 2000 I moved to Portugal the day after my final exam, stayed there on and off for a couple of years. Absoluty loved it!

I have a seven year old daughter named Tiana-Lilly - She's my little princess and who the companies named after (TLF Fitness). She changed my life for the better

If I go out to restaurants I have to have a steak -  I don't care if it's Chinese, Greek, Italian I have to have steak, it's like a default that comes out of my mouth.

I like all my tin labels facing the front - My OCD kicks right in after we've been shopping, everything in the cupboard HAS to have the label facing the front.

I have misophonia - Do you know when someone eats near you and there really noisy!? I have that with everyone to the point I want to straight up punch them in the face. I've had it for about 15 years now and it doesn't get easier. NOTE Do not eat near me ;)

I support Man Utd - I started supporting United when I was about 6/7 just to piss the rest of the famly off because they all supported City. It just stuck

I also have a season ticket with Tiana - We sit in the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand with my mate Barnsey and his son. Tiana LOVES match days

I hate wearing suits - The only time you'll see me in a suit is either a wedding, race day or court haha

I love wearing shorts - I wear shorts 365 days of the year, If it's really cold you won't see my legs

I need 8 hours sleep other wise I'm a grumpy sod - True story I also like a cat nap in the afternoons, always have since high school

My favourite tipple is Disarranno - Disarranno, straight out of the bottle, no ice, no mixer - just gimme it

Before personal training I was a plasterboarder for 8 years - Fell into it after Portugal ended up doing it for 8 years. Loved the crack on site with the lads didn't like the travelling though.

I love girls aloud & the pussycat dolls - Seen them both aswell, Can't whack a bit of Nicole.

I manned up in 2004 and got into rock music - I love Motley Crue! Been privilged to see them twice now. I use rock to pump me up for a workout.

I have 4 tattoos - 2 geckos - both on my right arm, 1 lion on my left shoulder, Tianas name on my left forearm & 'The way of the warrior' in Bushido writing on my right hand

When I was in school I wanted to be a chef - I loved cooking, still do but my cooking teacher was a bitch and put me off

During school I wanted to be a truck driver - In my careers advisor interview they asked me what I wanted to be - I replied a truck driver, didn't go down well.

I have 2 ears pierced -  Left one when I was 13, Right at 16. My Dad has them both done and I wanted it done to.

I've grew my hair 3 times in my life - It doesn't take long to grow and sometimes I'll get bored with shaving every week so I'll let it grow...then get bored with it so I shave it again.

I once spray painted a disabled parking space outside my house pissed up to stop the neighbours parking there - That was a fun hangover! Just remember looking out of my window in the morning and then the moment of realisation kicked in. To be fair the neighbours always parked so I couldn't get near the house.

When I did my paper-round I knicked milk - Best milk I ever tasted!

How I went from living in Portugal to being a FitPro

   Let me tell you about my story from leaving school, to moving to Portugal to where I am today so you don’t think I’m just some personal training robot.

 When I left school, I moved to Portugal to work in my Dad’s bar 'Rambo's', it was an amazing experience at just 16.

I had no ambition to do anything at the time so this lazy lifestyle suited me just fine. For a very strange reason, still un beknown to me I decided to come back to the UK when I was 17 and fell into a job of plaster boarding due to my dad knowing a guy you needed someone to be a dogs body.

I cruised through life at that point playing football, drinking, socialising etc but I was always in the gym working out. I was like a lamp post back then , I could eat or drink anything and wouldn’t put any weight on.

To be honest In the gym I usually just messed about on the treadmill or did the simple circuit the instructor had planned out for me just to keep trim, I knew I didn't have to do much.

Fast forward a couple of years to the age of 21 and I found out I was going to be a dad! (I know young right?) in that same year I ruptured my cruciate ligament in my right knee (I’ve never been able to play football since)

Throughout that life changing year I piled 3 stone on, it seemed all my eating and drinking had caught up with me. I wasn’t doing any exercise due to being on crutches and my knee being in such a bad way. I went up to 16 stone + which for a lad who’s always been around the 12/13 mark this was a lot.

I felt very unhappy, unconfident & self concious.

   The only thing I could do for my weight loss was nutrition but I didn’t have a clue about that, so I researched different ways. I ended up getting into weightlifting as it was something static and I could build strength in my knee. I use to devise my own programs to follow and nutrition plans.

To be honest I read a lot of Muscle & Fitness magazines and took influence of them.

   Over time I lost around 2 stone of fat but had built some muscle in the process. I really got into the training and wanted to help my friends out when they asked advice. I’d take them to the gym with me and train them while I was training.

I’d gone back into plaster boarding by this point and was on a job over in Bolton when I heard an radio advertisement asking for people to apply for a course to become a personal trainer in a new government funded scheme, now I’d looked into getting qualified before but it was around 6-8k and that was something I just couldn’t afford, after hearing this I jumped at it with both hands.

I was 1 of only 20 people who got on the first ever course back in 2008. Once I was qualified I started work at fitness first in Rochdale, I’ll be honest I shit it at first but loved it.

After about six months or so I started getting the feeling working in a box gym wasn’t for me, I hated being indoors when it was sunny, I couldn’t stand the same old machines over and over again, I couldn't be doing with the pressure to sell shit pointless programs to people just for monthly numbers - I used to do a lot of my session in the studio with functional bodyweight training.

I'd already started planning on getting out after a year and setting up by myself, which is exactly what I did! I moved outdoors in the march and did my personal training in the park for the summer month, When went winter came around I moved indoors (I don’t like the cold) in to my garage but here’s the thing I was working 6am-9pm, I was missing family time and a social life I knew I needed to change it.

I adjusted my direction from personal training into bootcamp, again outdoor in the park for summer, inside for winter. This was awesome as I could help so much more people and spend time with my family & friends.

It’s very much adapted over the years into what it is today. I’m not a bootcamp any more I’m a coaching program, a coaching program that helps women come out of the diet cycle to free their inner self’s and finally achieve the goals they set out with by taking them on a journey of accountability and guidance so that they can once again feel healthy, toned and energized.