I WAS THE PARTY GUY,
NOW HEALTH AND FITNESS IN LIFE.
I started my health and fitness journey when I was 22. Growing up I wasn’t always the fat kid. I was tall, lanky, skinny yet reasonably athletic. I was always into playing soccer and playing sports.
I became the fat kid through partying. Thursday nights were uni nights, which meant discounted drinks, then Friday and Saturday nights were the “it’s the weekend, let’s celebrate” nights. Occasionally there would also be the odd Sunday session too.
These were the nights I would choose to go out with my friends, drink alcohol and finish the night off with a pizza, burger or kebab. All of the nights I came home alone, waking up not remembering much of the conversations I had with my friends the previous night.
Partying was my escape from my weekday reality. Working in a job that I wasn’t passionate about and living a life that deep down I wasn’t happy about. Even though I enjoyed my time partying in the moment, the reality and thought of going back to work and wondering if this was what my life would be like until I turn “old” was what hurt the most.
WAKE UP CALL
That cycle was life until one night an old friend I use to play soccer with during high school came up to me at the bar and said “Hey Gordon, you got fat”. Bam, and that was it. At the time I use to look at myself in the mirror and I did notice that I had gained weight. I was 100kg’s at the time but I could easily cover it up with a fashionable T-shirt and some skinny jeans. It gave the illusion that I was fitter and healthier than I actually was.
In reality, it was an illusion that couldn’t be faked when the clothes came off. When it was time to go to the beach with my friends or when it was time to get changed in front of them.
I had made attempts before to lose weight but the difference this time was that this was the same guy who was more overweight than I was back when we played soccer and now I was worse off than him.
How did that happen? I thought to myself. From that night on, it lit a fire in my belly to get back into shape and turn my life
around. I didn’t know how I was going to do it but I was driven to make it happen.
THE BEGINNING , THE OBSTACLES
The first few weeks were easy, I trained, I followed fitness workouts from the internet and from fitness magazines. I started being more consciously aware of eating healthier and the weight came off. I became more confident but no one mentioned to me about this thing called self sabotage.
The better I felt about myself the more I wanted to show it off. That involved weekend benders and going back to my old ways. I was taking two steps forward and three steps back. I was in a vicious cycle of training, eating healthy and going out and binging on drinks and junk food on the weekends.
The more desperate I became in wanting to lose weight and changing my physique the more outrageous the diets I would try. Keto-genic, having one meal a day and counting calories. Some of it worked but it was never life changing, they were only temporary and they always lead to me eating my weight in cookies and lasagna. Cookies and lasagna are still my
favourite things.
After all the obstacles and still not getting to where I wanted to go with my health and fitness I was still eager to learn. I had seen results but I wanted more. I needed a change in environment where I could start fresh with no distractions. I moved fromBrisbane to Melbourne.
TRYING A WHOLE BUNCH OF STUFF
Moving from Brisbane to Melbourne was one of the best things I could have done. Even though I had to leave most of my friends
the distractions of being asked to go out partying or attend social events wasn’t there. I had no friends in Melbourne but that was
ok, books, courses and seminars became my friends. I could do whatever I wanted without any feeling of being judged or feeling
any guilt about it.
I read books on personal development, I learnt how to meditate, how to do yoga, how to socialise without drinking and how to do a left hook turn.
What I really wanted to do was take my results to another level. I had lost some weight but I wanted to be more lean, athletic and have life changing results. I wanted to know how I could keep my results and how I could produce similar results for my clients when I would transition over to being a personal trainer.
Deep down I also wanted to compete and I wanted to get my body in the shape of the men on fitness cover magazines. Not for anyone else, but to know that I could do it.
I wanted to learn from the best and learn how to make a living out of doing what I had come to love which was training. My
corporate job was good, it paid the bills but it also sucked. I didn’t like wearing corporate clothes and I didn’t like being camped in a building behind a computer screen making phone calls asking people to pay their overdue credit card bills.
MY OWN EXPERIENCE WITH PERSONAL TRAINING & MENTORS
All of this lead to me seeking a trainer and mentor. He taught me how to have a strong mindset, how to have a healthy
relationship with food and how to train properly for longevity, optimal health and results. He showed me that a professional
career could be made out of health and fitness if you take it seriously. It was completely the opposite of everything that I had read in fitness magazines and on the internet. This became my first introduction to a world class standard of functional health, nutrition and training.
The more I learnt, the more I realised how much I didn’t know. I invested everything into learning from some of the best in the industry. While other people were going out, I rejected going out to camp myself in at home to study or learn from a mentor. I spent years breaking myself down becoming more and more self aware of my own insecurities when it came to my health, my social life, business, family and relationships. I built them back up to a level I’m now confident with and proud of.
There was no way I’d have the confidence to make new friends, approach my girlfriend to ask her out on a gym date and coach clients to achieve outstanding results with the unhealthy, physical and mental state that I was in when I was 100kg’s. There was no way that it would have happened. My confidence comes from everything that I’ve worked hard to achieve and continue to work hard to achieve.
The journey was hard, spending time alone at first was hard, choosing to be disciplined at first was hard, choosing to read books instead of watching your favourite English Premier League Team (Arsenal) and going not out with friends at first was hard. Being told by mentors and coaches that what you’re doing isn’t good enough and that if nothing is going to change then nothing is going to happen. Being told by those same mentors and coaches that it’s ok to be mediocre if that’s what I really wanted.
It wasn’t what I wanted and if I had not spent that time alone becoming more self-aware, learning and working hard in developing myself, I wouldn’t have the confidence, relationships and business that I do now. Training and health has been and still is a pillar of my personal growth. I don’t regret my old partying ways, ultimately it’s made me who I am today and I would not of learnt the lessons that I have learnt if hadn’t gone through it.
MELBOURNE’S CBD TO ATHLETIC STUDIO
I was fortunate enough to learn my craft in the hustle and bustle of Melbourne’s CBD at Fitness First Flinders Street for the past 6 years. Thriving in a busy and cut throat environment for a long time as a personal trainer taught me how to get results fast and work in a professional manner alongside a wide range of clientele; professionals, business owners, university students and driven individuals. A lot of trainers in this environment don’t make it and I’ve seen my fair share of them come and go, often going back into the suburbs taking their mediocre services back with them.
This is the worse thing that could happen and it would not be me.
The reason why most trainers fail is because they don’t invest further in their education or don’t pay close enough attention to their clients to help them get results.
I knew that wherever I go I could take my experience and results with me.
Moving my personal training business to Elsternwick is a lifestyle choice. Work close to where me and my wife live. We enjoy the area, the surrounding communities and I look forward to helping the residents that live around here get fit as.
COURSES & QUALIFICATIONS
- Poliquin PICP BioSignature
- Enterprise Fitness Personal Training Internship
- Clean Health Personal Training Internship
- Andre Benoit Canadian Center for Strength and Conditioning (CCSC) Internship
- Bob Guiel Functional Health, Nutrition & Biochemistry Private Seminar
- Applied Muscle Testing – Level 1
- Applied Muscle Testing – Level 2
- NCAS Powerlifting Australia – Level 1
- AWF Weightlfting Australia – Level 1
- Andrew Lock – Physiotheraphy Private Seminar
- Mark Ottobre – 12 Month Private Internship
- Vedic Meditation – Laura Poole
- Blood Analysis – Level 1
The learning never stops. I’ve been able to utilise my experience and what I’ve learnt to coach and produce results for my clients more efficiently than what I have ever been able to do for myself.
Coaching isn’t always praise and encouragement, sometimes the praise and encouragement doesn’t come until after the job is done; because really sometimes that’s what it’s going to take for someone to do the work. Once the job is done, no one can ever take that away from you.
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