Career change‘Even though I studied information management and computing at Loughborough University, I’ve always been very sporty.
‘My father introduced me to squash when I was young, and I have played competitively at county level, for the South of England and in the university’s first team – no mean feat when you consider how many sports people there are at Loughborough.
‘But after graduating, I got a job as a management consultant in the City, working there for five years. Then my father passed away, and it really made me re-evaluate my life and what I was passionate about. I decided I wanted a career in fitness.
‘I’d started running marathons after watching the London Marathon from my office, and ran in 2006 and 2007, and in early 2008 began studying in my spare time to be a personal trainer. It was quite tough; I found myself working every weekend and taking lots of exams. Then, just as I was due to get the results last autumn, my company announced they was looking to make voluntary redundancies. In some ways it was perfect timing; but it was also a very scary decision in the current economic climate. Yet I was determined to give it a go.
‘When I told my colleagues, most of them were pleased and excited for me – some said they wished they could do something they were passionate about for a living. But others just couldn’t imagine it. On the whole, the mood was supportive, and many passed my details on to colleagues or friends who were looking for a personal trainer. Business started at my leaving drinks – one person there needed training to climb Kilimanjaro!
‘Having had a City-type career has definitely helped me get established in personal training. It’s not just the contacts, I can relate to my clients as I’ve worked long hours in an office, plus I’ve learnt business acumen, presentation skills and organisation. My degree meant I knew how to build my own website and I understand e-commerce.
‘The personal training exams were expensive, and now I’m doing another course, a diploma in sports therapy. I’ll have spent about £3,000 on them – double what my degree cost me, and I am not making a living from it yet. I still rely a little on my redundancy settlement. And it can be lonely, not having colleagues to bounce ideas off. But I love my new life – I’m outdoors 75 per cent of the time, and I relish the freedom.’
