Born in Epsom in 1985. Joe Wicks health and fitness trainer and author. He studied sports science at St. Mary's University and began posting recipes and workouts on social media in 2014 while working as a personal trainer. His “Lean Manufacturing in 15 Videos” went viral, leading to a best-selling career in publishing. During the pandemic, Weeks taught live PE lessons every day, raised more than £1 million for charity and received an MBE. His 13th book, “Protein in 15,” has already been published.
As a child I was always full of food – a real dirty eater. It was probably ready-made spaghetti from a can. Our family didn't have the best diet – we were on welfare, most of our money went towards my dad's heroin addiction, and my mom was young and didn't know much about nutrition.
Mom left home at 15 and was living in a squat when she met dad. They had my older brother Nikki when she was 17. A year and a half later I came along. We lived in a one-bedroom council flat in Epsom and I was exclusively formula fed and bottle fed. Growing up, my diet consisted of ultra-processed foods such as potato waffles, baked beans, spaghetti, crispy pancakes and frozen pies. There wasn't much fruit and veg at home, but I had unlimited access to a cupboard full of chocolate, chips, ice gems and wagon wheels. I would raid it as soon as I came home from school. Even as an adult, I find it very difficult to eat junk food in moderation.
I was definitely an anxious little kid. In addition to Dad’s addiction, Mom had her own mental health issues—eating disorders, anxiety, and OCD. We had a very clean house – it looked like an Ikea showroom. She was strict in everything: I was scolded if I didn’t put my shoes in the closet or didn’t make my bed in the morning. It seemed to me that almost every day I came home from school and she was carefully cleaning out the closets. I wasn't allowed to make much noise, and we didn't have sleepovers or birthday parties. I was very on edge and my mom and I were paddling a lot.
At school I was hyperactive, loud, very cocky, constantly swearing, screaming, shouting; usually climbs walls and seeks attention. I don't know if it was my diet or the way my brain works, but I was useless when it came to academic subjects like math, English and science. Unless it was about technology or exercise, I was a pain in the ass. There were many arrests.
My teenage years were the most difficult – that’s when I began to accept the reality of my family situation. I could tell when Dad was relapsing and felt disappointed every time he disappeared or lied. I was afraid this would go on forever; that he will never be cleansed. During puberty, I realized that movement helped me become aware of my feelings. I used to run two miles to school. I was sweating, but I didn't care because it was my release. Nobody talked about mental health back then, but I knew I was becoming calmer when I did some exercise.
My childhood definitely shaped my approach to alcohol and drugs – I was very worried that it would affect me the same way it did my dad. Luckily this didn't happen, but it did cause me a lot of anxiety. I was never lonely because I always wanted security in a relationship. I liked the feeling of being close to someone.
I started doing boot camps when I was in my 20s. I was determined to be my own boss and didn't want to work at a rec center for ten cents an hour. At the time I was living in my father's flat in Surbiton and leaving the house at 5.15am to get to Richmond. Some mornings I would tune in; there will be frost and rain, and not a single person will come. But that didn't deter me. I came every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 6am. There was always a positive voice in my head that said, “Keep going, and next week someone will come. The next week they might bring a friend.” Over time, it became a worthy business. At my peak I was earning £1,000 a month.
I was 25, happy and doing what I loved. Then: boom! Social media came along and my career turned into something more. I never set out to be an influencer, but by 2014 I had 50,000 followers on Instagram. That's when a publisher reached out to us and said, “I love what you're doing and I really believe you could write a great book.” I didn't have any confidence that I could become a successful writer – especially given how I was at school – so I was amazed when Lean at 15 ended up selling 1.4 million copies.
The week the lockdown was announced, I was due to go on a tour of schools in the UK. I was chatting with my brother Nikki and said, “I have an idea. I'm going to do a workout live on YouTube on Monday and I'm going to call it PE With Joe.” A few days before I was supposed to go on air, I was riding my motorcycle and crashed into a brick wall. I broke my arm. Even though I was wearing a corset, I had to see Joe through to the end. At the first training session there were about a million live connections. From then on I did it every day, without fail, even though sometimes I was tired and wanted a day off.
Now success is mine it's stability and connections. Delicious food, heating and gas included; things I didn't experience as a child. I want to be an honest and faithful husband. I used to think that I would never get married because all I ever saw as a child was divorce and affairs. But everything changed when I met Rosie.
Being a good father is also my main goal. With four children, life can be exhausting. I recently started going to bed at 9 pm, which means I naturally wake up at 5 am and feel energized. I can practice before the kids wake up. The prep doesn't take long – I don't apply any product to my hair, just apply coconut oil and a little chamomile conditioner to my skin. Then, after 7am, he works until bed. Children do not stop talking and asking questions, especially since we teach them at home.
I have healed a lot when it comes to my relationship with my parents. They are separated so I spend time with them individually, but I am very aware that one day they will leave and I don't want to have any regrets. I'm probably really needy, but I keep trying to pull them aside and say, “Come on, let's hang out and make a memory.” This is my biggest fear – losing my family. I don't want to realize that I've spent too much of my life distracted by work and that I'm running out of time.
When I look at this photo, I think about the care and love a child needs and how chaotic the home I grew up in was. But my memories of that time are not associated with sadness and suffering; it was normal. Now I understand better everything my parents went through. I know that dependence on dad was not a choice, and mom also went through her own journey. She even knows how to cook now – because she has all my books!
