‘I was angry & disruptive... until I found my passion’
Closer talks to man-of-the-moment Joe Wicks about his crazy year, and why his unstable childhood has made him want to be a better dad
He took the nation by storm during the first lockdown, with his daily “PE with Joe” live streams, inspiring adults and kids to get active while stuck indoors. Now we’re in the throes of another coronavirus shutdown, Joe Wicks tells Closer how he loves helping people and being a role model to his kids.
Joe, 34, donated the profits from his YouTube sessions to the NHS. And as a result, he became the nation’s favourite PE teacher, amassing over two million new followers, a Guinness World Record for most-streamed fitness class, and even earning himself an MBE for services to fitness and charity.
And Joe tells Closer that he still can’t quite believe his success – having been flogging flyers for his park workout class just six years ago. He says, “Lockdown’s been a difficult time for so many, but I look back on how it all started in March and it’s crazy. I’m so happy that I could inspire people and everyone sort of came together as a fitness community. The MBE was great – but it was the icing on the cake. What made me happiest was helping people and keeping them feeling good and inspiring them to get fit and healthy.” Joe rose to fame in 2014, after his workout videos and fitness advice on Instagram and YouTube started gaining traction. He went on to release five bestselling books and launch his own TV show, Joe Wicks: The Body Coach, as well as building up 3.8m followers on Instagram.
CHAOTIC AND MAD
The star adds that despite his fitness empire, his proudest achievement to date is his family – which includes wife Rosie Jones, 30, daughter Indie, two, and son Marley, nearly one.
He says, “I feel so content right now
– I have a little girl, a little boy and the amazing family unit I’d always dreamed of. I’ve always wanted to be a dad and have a loving family I can support and be a good role model to. My kids are two mini-mes – they love food and they make us laugh every day. It’s chaotic and mad – but I love it!”
“Being a parent makes everything more real, too. When I watch documentaries or things like Children In
Need, it really gets to me, because I know how much children need love and the fact that some don’t get any breaks my heart. It’s made me super sensitive. It was also partly why I did the PE lessons during lockdown – to keep any problems with children’s mental health at bay.”
Joe grew up in a council estate in
Epsom, where his father, Gary, was largely absent due to his drug addiction and time in rehab.
And Joe says that he’s worked hard to create a home life that wasn’t like his own.
He says, “My dad suffered with a drug addiction – he was so loving and amazing when he was there, but he’d always be disappearing to rehab or be out of
the house. He’d always be arguing with my mum, and home life was quite unstable. I really worked hard to build a strong foundation with Rosie and be conscious about how I interact with her.”
CLASS CLOWN
He adds, “I don’t want to shout and swear, like my mum and dad did, I want to be polite and respectful and teach my kids to communicate calmly. My experience of home life as a kid definitely helped me become a better adult. Looking back to where I started, you really wouldn’t have expected much from me – I was a bit of an angry, disruptive class clown. But I found
a passion for fitness and health and put all my energy into it and here I am.”
By Lily Smith
● Joe is attempting a 24-hour workout for BBC Children In Need 2020 Challenge, from 12 -13 November. Tune into Radio 2, BBC Sounds,
Red Button and BBC iPlayer and donate
‘I have the family unit I’d always dreamed of’