I was born in the West Suffolk Hospital in 1978 and have lived and worked in the local area all of my life. In 1993 at the age of 15, I was a member of the Kyokushinkai Karate School in Thetford, where I first learnt to appreciate the physical and mental benefits of a structured exercise program. Ironically this club was also where I met fellow exercise instructor Michelle Jermy!
Always with a passion for exercise, in 2001, at the age of 22, I qualified as a gym instructor. This led to me working at the Suffolk Golf and Country Club where I did my Advanced Modern Apprenticeship in Sport and Recreation. To further my career I also qualified as a Personal Trainer which I completed in 2003 and then bolted on other relevant qualifications such as Boxercise.
Since then I have involved myself with various roles with in the fitness industry including working as a Club Manager and taking courses for Adult Education.
I began working with Upbeat in January 2007 and qualified as a Phase 4 Instructor in February 2008. I now combine this work with my part time job working for the NHS in Physiotherapy as a Technical Instructor and then run my self employed business as a Personal Trainer. I always try to keep up with the latest fitness trends and my latest venture is exercise using Kettlebells!
I feel that my experience working in the fitness and health professions has helped me to provide a fun factor to exercise, whilst also realising the importance of understanding the barriers both mental and physical that many face when beginning an exercise program.
To me the health and fitness industry combines a passion as well as a career and I get great job satisfaction from helping others and seeing them achieve their goals. I would never wish to work in another profession!
