‘Be brave, dream big and you can overcome anything’
Personal trainer and inspiring speaker Adrienne Herbert, 32, runs successful podcast The Power Hour. She shares the personal crisis that led to her carving out a new career.
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that success is never linear
Iwas pregnant in 2011 when my husband, Rob, collapsed and was rushed to hospital. He was a super-fit PE teacher, so it was a huge shock to discover he had suffered a brain haemorrhage. Previously, life was full of happiness. I had achieved my career dream of becoming a professional dancer in a West End musical, and was expecting our first child. In an instant, everything had changed. I was terrified.
Thankfully, Rob made a full recovery, but it was a slow process, and when our son Jude was born five months later, I found myself looking after him and my husband. It was a challenging transition and I struggled with the dependence of a newborn.
In need of some head space, I decided to go for a run round the block one day. When I got home, I was breathless, flushed and exhilarated. I had felt a physical shift. My anxiety and claustrophobia had dissolved.
That run had given me a precious slice of time on my own, and the idea to start a fitness bootcamp for mums. When Rob was well enough to look after Jude, I studied to be a personal trainer. I had 1,000 flyers printed to advertise my bootcamp and popped them through front doors. As it was the summer holidays, Rob’s school let me use its sports field for classes, and I also hired a local dance studio.
Twenty mums turned up for my first bootcamp. As the weeks went on, I watched them change from being apprehensive and shy to a confident team of friends, cheering each other on. I knew I’d found the career path I wanted to follow. I started doing personal training sessions when I could. I also had a Facebook group for the women who came to my classes and, as word spread, so did my new fitness community.
My sister suggested I start a blog, and it was featured in Women’s Health magazine. Then, in 2015, Adidas invited me to a photoshoot of personal trainers. Other brands such as Sweaty Betty, Puma and Gap asked me to host events or lead workouts. In 2016, Adidas signed me as a global brand ambassador. It is a champion of women in sport, so its values aligned with mine.
I didn’t actively try to grow my social media presence; it happened organically. The most important thing for me was to stick to my mantra of encouragement and motivation: anyone of any age, size or ability has the power to get involved in fitness. Social media has become very strategic. Before posting anything, I consider what its purpose is and what message I want to convey.
In 2018, I pitched an idea for a motivational fitness podcast to production company Studio 71 and they loved it. The idea of The Power Hour is to find out what drives different people to get up in the morning, how they achieved success and what advice they’d give listeners to help them unlock their potential. My guests have included Fearne Cotton as well as psychologists, choreographers and yoga instructors. The podcast has almost reached a total of 1m downloads so far: it’s amazing and unbelievable!
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that success is never linear. Rather than accepting the structure that exists, we should be challenging the world of work, finding flexible alternatives and proving they can be successful. My husband’s illness taught us that life is unpredictable. It lit a fire inside me to live life with a sense of urgency. Everyone faces adversity in life, but be brave, dream big and you can overcome anything.