In 2012: Kicked out of sixthform, obsessed with fried chicken, and clueless at the gym.

Now? I have an MSc, coached at professional football clubs, and I’m a 1-2-1 online fitness coach.

Here’s the brief story of how I started my fitness journey!

At 17, I had just been dropped from Dunraven sixth form (it’s a long story, but think a mix of demotivation, feeling lost, and what I felt was an extremely uninspiring head teacher), and while transitioning to another school, I found myself with a three to four-week gap without any classes.

It was during this period that my old schoolmate, Steve, texted me: “I’ve recently joined a gym. Why don’t you come along too? You might as well.”

So, I did.

Before joining the gym, I knew I needed to lose body fat, especially since my frequent visits to the local fried chicken shop were adding pounds and only fuelling my body dysmorphia.

Thanks to my aunt's suggestions, I started with the Couch to 5K app, which I loved, and tried the Insanity workout video plan, which I never finished, because f*** that.

I also began tracking my calories for the first time and following popular health trends of 2012, like using coconut oil instead of other oils, eating brown rice instead of white rice, and browsing several forums on bodybuilding.com.

All these steps gradually helped me reduce my body fat by unknowingly creating a calorie deficit.

I even distinctly remember doubling the portions of a delicious breaded chicken from Tesco when MyFitnessPal indicated I was low on protein—a first in my nutritional learning journey.

I’m grateful my initial exploration into nutrition focused on tracking what I ate rather than following misleading advice for fat loss such as keto, carnivore diets, or intermittent fasting.

This systematic approach to food tracking quickly taught me about proteins, carbs, and fats, setting a solid foundation for my dietary knowledge.

Financially constrained and without a car, I joined a low-key gym in Mitcham, South London. My father agreed to pay the membership as long as I remained committed, and fortunately, I discovered a passion for the gym.

Staying consistent at the gym was easy for me, but knowing what to do was challenging. I was clueless about concepts like progressive overload, proper strength training programs, adequate exercise volume, and correct form, which led to an injury a few months in.

However, this setback only fueled my interest further, pushing me to deepen my knowledge through training, nutrition research, certifications, and internships.

I earned a BSc and an MSc in Strength and Conditioning from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston, England. I completed various nutrition courses at the University of Vermont, USA.

My internships included stints at professional football clubs like Fulham F.C. and Preston North End F.C. and a professional rugby placement with the Wigan Warriors. I also worked as a personal trainer at Nuffield Health in London.

Looking back, dropping out of Dunraven sixthform, excessive chicken shop meals, initial gym ignorance, and less-than-ideal workout programs like Insanity unexpectedly propelled me to where I am today: a 1-2-1 online fitness coach, publisher of about 80 website articles, over 180 podcast episodes, a book author, and more!

If you’re interested, I’ve designed a free workout plan just for you—so you don’t ever have to feel anywhere near as lost as I did when I started out.

Click here to grab your copy with video examples to guide you through each exercise.

Speak soon,

Leo

P.S. The photos below are from when I was 18 and another from the strength and conditioning suite at Preston North End. I remember the one in the suite was taken the morning I had two coffees for the first time.

Due to my extreme caffeine sensitivity, I felt incredibly wired, as though I was gearing up for a night out at Egg in North London. If you know, you know.