Transformed gran: “I was a professional shoplifter – now I’m a fitness guru”
Kim Farry made a profit of over £2m in stolen goods. But now she’s turned over a new, healthy leaf…
Every morning, Kim Farry wakes up at 6am. Full of energy, she drinks a beetroot juice before completing her first of three workouts that day.
With her glowing skin and sculpted muscles, the 59-yearold is the image of a wholesome lifestyle – but less than five years ago, Kim was a career criminal.
For 46 years, Kim went out shoplifting every day. She’d steal anything from food to designer clothes – and was consequently sent to prison five times.
She’d either keep her loot or sell it to fund a luxury lifestyle – even paying for three boob jobs over the years. But now, Kim, who is on benefits, says that keeping fit has saved her from her former life of crime.
She feels she’s finally found her niche – helping people, including those with addiction issues like she had, with their health and fitness. Kim’s even set up a wellbeing group on Facebook, and after attracting over 900 followers, she’s hoping to expand.
ADDICTED
Grandmother-of-ten Kim, who is single and lives in a council flat in Fulham, west London, says, “I was addicted to shoplifting – it was my whole life. When I took the decision to stop five years ago, I couldn’t leave the house, as I knew I’d be tempted to go back to stealing.
“It’s only in the last year that I really feel happy again – and what helped me was concentrating on my health and fitness. I realised even just going for a simple walk lifted my mood. I now love working out and eating healthily – and am helping others by teaching them what I have learned.”
Kim started shoplifting when she was just nine years old. She says, “I ran my life shoplifting like a business – and it was a very successful one. I’d ‘earn’ about £50,000 a year, and overall I must have stolen around £2million-worth of stuff. I was a master criminal.
“The first thing I stole was a lolly at school. But after that I did it for my mum. She was on her own and I was one of nine children, and she couldn’t afford to feed us. One morning she was in tears holding an egg, as that was all she had to divide between us all.
“So I took her shopping bag trolley to the local supermarket and filled it with sausages, bacon, eggs, beans, bread and milk. And then I just walked out. Mum was mortified but turned a blind eye – she had no other way of feeding us.”
DISGUISES
By the time she was 16, Kim had decided that shoplifting would be her “career”. She treated it like a job, and would research the shop she was targeting, checking the areas that were covered by CCTV, and wearing wigs as a disguise. And although she has more than 30 convictions, she describes her career as “successful” because of the lifestyle she managed to lead as a result of it.
Kim says, “I was caught when I was a teenager and sent to a young persons detention centre, and in my early 20s I was sent to prison – but it didn’t make me want to stop stealing. I just served my time and then went straight back to it.”
Kim would either steal to order or sell stuff to a “fence”, a person who buys the stolen goods and then sells it on.
She says, “I had designer clothes, shoes and handbags, and my house was filled with
top-of-the-range furniture and electrical goods. It also allowed me to have three boob jobs as well as regular Botox and fillers.”
Despite enjoying the perks her thieving gave her, Kim had to give up a lot. She had six children with four different fathers, but only raised her youngest, Paris, 19, as her addiction to stealing was so powerful that it left her unable to care for them because of the risk of her going to prison. The others were brought up by their fathers or grandparents. She always kept in touch, though, and sees them regularly now.
She says, “I do regret not bringing them up, but they were safe and well, and if
I’d kept them with me, they might have had to go into care when I went to prison. As it is, they’ve all had nice lives, and I’m grateful for that.”
PARANOID
Then, over five years ago, Kim knew she had to change her ways. She says, “I didn’t trust anyone, and Paris couldn’t live a ‘normal’ life either.
“It was really hard giving up. I got a huge buzz out of stealing, and it was all I’d ever known. I was an addict.”
But Kim believes it’s this struggle that enables her to empathise with other people, and therefore to help them out with their diet and exercise.
Kim says, “I’m completely self-taught. I couldn’t afford a gym membership, so I started by following Joe Wicks’ YouTube workouts. I was so exhausted after them that I was too tired to think about anything – even shoplifting.
“As well as making myself more fit, I also wanted to start eating better. I loved fry-ups and Chinese takeaways, but after researching recipes to build muscles online,
I’d drink lemon and ginger water and beetroot juice first thing, followed by avocado on toast after a HIIT workout. I have salmon and vegetables for lunch, chicken or more fish and vegetables for dinner, and drink at least three litres of water. Within just a couple of weeks, I felt so much better. I also started using weights and resistance bands in my workouts, and as the weeks passed, I could feel myself getting stronger and more toned. I wasn’t losing weight, but my wobbly bits turned to muscle.”
FOLLOWERS
Kim then started a Facebook page as a way to keep herself accountable and also to share recipes and her workouts – and she had an influx of followers, some of whom are fellow addicts.
She says, “I’ve had messages from former alcoholics and drug addicts saying my workouts have really helped them. It’s so nice to hear.
“My group really took off during lockdown. I started doing personalised workouts for my different followers, depending on their fitness levels, and would write out diet plans for them.
“One woman messaged me saying she wanted to fit into her wedding dress as she’d put on weight since she’d bought it. In just six weeks I helped her lose two dress sizes and it now fits her perfectly!
“I don’t ask for payment – it’s just nice to give something back rather than take like
I used to. But as the page grows, I might start getting ads and sponsorship deals, which would be a nice income.
“I can’t believe how much my life has changed. I was a shoplifter – now I’m a fitness guru!
“I’ve made mistakes, but
I’ve come through the other side. I love helping people to feel good about themselves
– I’ll never go back to my old criminal ways.”
IT WAS NICE TO GIVE SOMETHING BACK RATHER THAN TAKE, LIKE I USED TO