JACK AND CHILL
Personal trainer to the stars Jack Hanrahan offers a more relaxed, holistic approach to help people look good and feel healthy
Personal trainer to the stars Jack Hanrahan works up a sweat
You’re known for training a lot of celebrities but who was your first? My problem here is that I’ve signed a lot of non- disclosure agreements [ laughs]. All I will say is that I’ve worked in Hollywood. I worked on X- Men: Apocalypse so you can guess the names I might [ or might not] have worked with. The most recent film I worked on was
Bohemian Rhapsody and I now have a new- found respect for actors because those guys work damn hard. Fitting in their workouts, I didn’t want to batter them down. A regime for them needs to complement what they’re doing during the day. It should make you look better, feel better, move better — all those things — which is why we take a more rounded approach. Exercise should improve the quality of our life, not just be about destroying ourselves for the sake of aesthetics. Absolutely. At what point during a film do you work with the actors?
I’m more engaged in the preproduction period. When they’re actually filming, these guys have such limited time because their hours are crazy. I’m also a soft- tissue therapist — a glorified way of saying masseur — and I end up doing more of that during production. How many actors would you be working with at any one time leading up to them shooting? Very few. I’m not extended out to the crew or anything like that. So, it’s much more limited. I’ve been hired by individuals, then by the film to do bits and pieces of consulting work. With all the superhero films out or due out at the moment, there’s a focus on amazing body transformations — think of people such as Chris Pratt or Chris Hemsworth. What would their process be? They’re really amazing transformations. Those guys would have been prepping for months before pre- production, where I normally get involved, which is quite late in the process. I’d love to have an opportunity to work with an actor
to really transform them. They’re probably starting out six months before; their transformation is not happening overnight. That’s why people are quick to say: “They must be on steroids” Well, I know from never taking drugs, that you can get in really good shape without them. I’ve met Hugh Jackman several times, and I definitely don’t believe that man’s on anything. I’ve been around this stuff a lot, I grew up in hard- core body- building gyms. When you’re taking drugs, you have a synthetic look to your skin, and there’s something off with the physique. But the people I’ve worked with have very natural- looking aesthetics. Do you get lots of people coming to you wanting a superhero- like body because of your experience with those types of films? Yeah, certainly. Aesthetics is still number one on everyone’s list, which I’m fine with. But, again, I always try to encourage people to go about it in a smarter way. I think it’s very dangerous to have a single- minded approach to fitness. If you do too much machine work or too much bodybuilder- style training, then you neglect all the important stuff that looks after the joints, the mobility, the cardio. You become unhealthy in the pursuit of aesthetics. And in the long run, you’re not going to actually look any better. It’s a short- lived, short- sighted goal. It should be the other way round. If you optimise the way your joints work, you build a really efficient engine so that you recover faster. If you do that, you’re going to get way better results. What super power would you like to have?
My favourite superhero is Wolverine so
“Exercise should
improve the quality
of our life”
that power to heal, the regeneration. Less so the “stabby” claws. Do you feel you’ve got a real- life super power? Are you the person who can squat heavier weights than your mates, for example?
I’d say I’m the best hybrid athlete.
Like a Prius! [ Laughs]. Maybe more like a Tesla! That’s always been my thing, too, funnily enough. Even in school, I was one of those kids who wasn’t exceptional at one sport, but a very good all- rounder, and I’m the same in the gym. I can squat double — and dead- lift almost three times — my body weight, but I’m also very cardiovascular. Two seemingly opposite ends of the spectrum. An actual jack of all trades. Do you feel that your straight and gay clients want to achieve much the same results? My client base is probably 50 per cent straight and 50 per cent gay. Aesthetics is still up there as a goal for everyone, but people are starting to want that more holistic feel from the training. People are getting sick and tired of the “go hard or go home”, balls- to- the- wall training, which fucks you up. People are looking more for a sustainable approach. Do you have any hang ups about your own body? Calves, calves, calves! It’s one of those areas where you are genetically blessed, or you’re not. When I was younger and more into that bodybuilder- style training, I was more self- conscious. I’ve never competed, but the people who everyone wants to look like, the physique competitors, must be the most body- conscious people on the planet. And they’re never happy with the way they look because they’re judging that — the physique. It’s all that some of them think about. When I dabbled in that, and considered competing, I was really hitting the weights. I was 10kg heavier than I am now, but I didn’t feel healthy. I was the most self- conscious I’ve ever been about my appearance. Now, however, I’m happy with where I’m at. I have a nice blend of looking good, and, more importantly, feeling good. Do you think that an obsession with hang ups leads to body dysmorphia? Definitely, that and social media. It’s increasing in men, for sure. But having more than 100,000 followers on Instagram, surely you feel there’s a pressure to look a certain way too? I’ve built my following by not doing that, by being true to my values. And that’s where I’ve stood out among your typical trainers online. They just seem to all be cloning each other and each other’s content. I just think: “This is a platform, I could educate people.”
I’ll show my physique now and again, sure, but I’m just doing that to prove that my approach still leads you to looking good. My message is very clear, and it’s about this holistic approach. I firmly believe that training should improve the quality of your life and not make it worse.
So, what was Jennifer Lawrence like to train?
[ Laughs] NDA! No comment!
“I’d love to have the
super power of being
able to regenerate”