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I'll spell that to you because it's not as you
think, T -E -A -M -B -U -I -L -D -R .com. Welcome
to the Pioneer Shield podcast. As always, my
name is James Gearing and this week it is my
absolute honor to welcome on the show personal
trainer, former Royal Marine PTI, and the man
behind Tier 1 coaching, Jim Redding. Now in this
conversation we discuss a host of topics, from
Jim's journey into the military, training the
tactical athlete, obesity in the UK, his transition
story, training our next generation of military
and so much more. Now, before we get to this
incredible conversation, as I say every week,
please just take a moment, go to whichever app
you listen to this on, subscribe to the show,
leave feedback and leave a rating. Every single
five -star rating truly does elevate this podcast,
therefore making it easier for others to find.
And this is a free library of well over 1 ,000
episodes now. So all I ask in return is that
you help share these incredible men and women's
stories so I can get them to every single person
on planet Earth who needs to hear them. So that
being said, I introduce to you Jim... Reading.
Enjoy. Well, Jim, I want to start by saying thank
you so much for taking the time and coming on
the Behind the Shield podcast today. No, thank
you. Thank you for having me. I'm excited to
get into it and get started. And as I said to
you, and I'll say to people listening now, I
apologize for my voice. I've got the man flu
and it's legit. So it's kicking my ass at the
moment. Going round. We've had it at our end
as well, mate. So it's all hitting us away. Yeah,
it'd be interesting to see the stats, actually,
what it's doing, because this one hit me way
harder than any of the COVID variants that I'm
aware of. So I wonder what it's doing behind
the scenes of some of our, you know, more vulnerable
population. Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. No,
it's yeah, we had it pretty bad myself, to be
fair. Probably. Well, yeah, again, worse than
the COVID variation. So it's yeah, it wiped me
out for a week. Back into it now. Yep. Yep. Sounds
like the same one then. All right. Well, very
first question. Where on planet Earth are we
finding you today? I'm based in Reading at the
moment. So, yeah, born and bred in Reading. Family
are down here. So, yeah, down in the southeast
in the UK. Brilliant. Well, let's start there.
So you said you were born and bred in Reading.
Tell me a little bit about your family dynamic,
what your parents did, how many siblings? Reading
-Barkshire Hospital, 29th of July 1991. Father
ran his own business from his mid -20s, if you
like, in the construction industry. Mum has always
been in the healthcare industry. Looking after
the elderly, which has been class. And she's
just always been a hard worker and laid themselves.
Got three siblings, two older brothers and one
older sister. So, yeah, that's me in a nutshell.
What was your mum's experience during COVID?
Because, I mean, not only being in healthcare,
but dealing with, again, a more vulnerable population,
the elderly, that must have been a pretty powerful
perspective that she had. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it
definitely, it wiped out a lot of the, not a
lot, but some of the older generation. And yeah,
she had to deal with that, which was quite challenging.
But, you know, she loves the job. She loves helping
people. And she just doesn't stop. So, you know,
she gets... uh for a weird way a little bit of
a buzz from from that helping helping people
not a buzz to see them you know fall short of
of things like covert but but yeah she's she
she gets gets stuck in which is which is class
have you ever had a conversation with her about
the relationship between what she does and what
you do now because this is one of the things
i think that was completely disregarded during
covet certainly here in america was making people
healthier, more resistant to any virus that comes
across. And obviously that includes nutrition
and fitness. Yeah, to be fair, we don't really
touch on that in all honesty. Of course, we speak
about what I do and what she does, but I guess
we don't go into it in that much detail, if you
like. But yeah, I think I get my, what should
I say? The skills, but the way I am around, I
thrive. I love helping people. I love that side
of things, the whole generosity, gratitude things.
I definitely get that from my mum. So yeah, that's
really where that side of me comes, if you like.
Beautiful. Well, staying with your childhood,
what were you playing and doing as far as exercise
and sport? Always been competitive, always a
competitive lad. As a young lad, I was into football,
like most. Tried rugby, didn't really take to
that very well. So it was always footy to me,
love running, love anything cross -country. um
to be fair i i enjoyed anything anything sport
related anything when i was a bit of like competition
it was a bit of me um and then as i sort of grew
up and you know fell in love with the fitness
industry and and fell into that sort of sort
of thing if you like when you were younger as
an athlete were you exposed to strength and conditioning
then because i know when i reflect back to my
youth you know compared to what these american
and uh school and colleges are having now there's
a very kind of embedded strength and conditioning
program may not be taught properly but there's
an understanding to relate when i reflect back
to my childhood which is a little you know before
yours i don't remember the schools really doing
strength training or fitness training aside from
simply playing sports do you know what i'd agree
with that i don't think um i think it was quite
um should we say old old school mentality i don't
know you just you just got like You just went
in the gym and all like playing sport. It was
like, you know, your classics, you know, jog
on the spot, star jumps, and then you're straight
into it. I was a bit naive to it until I sort
of like, you know, got sort of year 10 in school
where you could sort of pick what direction you
wanted to take with your GCSEs, et cetera. That's
when I sort of found like, I think at the school
it's labelled physical education. um and i loved
it it to be fair it was probably the only subject
that i really took to at school um bar sort of
sport and pe um itself so yeah it was that it
was that time that i sort of was like this is
me this is the space that i'm going to invest
in and uh it was the only route i was going to
invest in to be fair and and that's what sort
of where i went and did my further external research
in the area And at that point, had you got any
family members in the military or anyone else
who would kind of be an inspiration later to
join the Royal Marines? No, I was the first.
Obviously, grandfather, everyone's grandfather.
You know, we've got that heritage back in the
days. But other than that, I was like the first
out of the family and the last to this point,
you know, right now. Well, walk me through that
journey then from GCSEs to how you found yourself
in personal training. Yeah, so left school with
one GCSE, which was physical education. You know,
got a C in that. And then went off to college.
And at college, I studied sports science. So
it was like a foundation BTEC sports science
course. um loved it and enjoyed it did well in
it and went down there it was called the bnd
sports science which was like a national diploma
if you like finished that and literally from
that i went onto a government -funded course
which was a level two fitness instructor course
um you had to apply for it and go through a sort
of like joining process because it was all funded
um which i i got through was selected went and
did that course and as part of that course you
had to do like a bit of work experience in a
gym which i did at a club called castle royal
golf and country club which is around sort of
reading way reading maidenhead um luckily enough
was picked up straight off that after like my
placement into a job there um and walked the
gym floor many years walking the gym floor writing
training programs um for sort of all clients
it's quite premium um country club so you had
a lot of the elderly if you like um down to you
sort of young lads so programming for for all
sorts of ages and and levels of fitness um and
then i went into a pt course from there and then
it just you know went that sort of route and
i've never really steered away from it in all
honesty until i joined the military but then
i found my way back into it so you know it's
funny i haven't heard the word b tech in forever
i did the b tech i did b tech and i did diploma
of higher education and um exercise or sports
science like it was in uh university of north
london and b -tech i don't remember really doing
much studying as far as the classroom stuff i
just remember we played sports all the time like
every single sport there was is it the same one
you did yeah probably mate yeah yeah yeah that's
it just uh you can't beat the practical side
of it yeah that was so much fun really was all
right well then so now you you go through the
pt so What started to be the evolution as far
as your training principles compared to the textbook
element of your journey into fitness? I think
it was just getting stuck in. Honestly, I think
from... I remember at college, I'd always loved...
the you know evade i was quite a vain sort of
young lad 15 16 you know um always dreamt of
having this this these abs and you know muscles
poking out and i think i was just i but i was
too young to really get stuck into a gym and
then obviously i couldn't afford a gym membership
but i had to you know chew my mum's ear off to
get me stuck into it to a gym as soon as i i
had that gym membership that was that was where
he'd find me you know and i walked into the gym
and i just saw the fitness instructors pts i
was like this is a bit of me and i think i just
you know they they programmed me you know and
i was learning from what the hell they were programming
me of course i was learning from the course itself
um and then i just you know got like i think
you you just learn learn on the job You learn
training. You learn training yourself. You get
into your own sort of habits. And obviously because
I was always invested in that, I'd always seek
advice from others as well that had been there,
done it, and learned from their mistakes and
learned from their experience. I love learning.
I didn't realize that until I found, you know,
until I got to year 10 at school where I could
sort of do my GCSE. That was the only, you know,
as soon as I found that, that was me like. yeah
cool this is my space but before I found that
like I hated learning it wasn't it wasn't I was
quite a disruptive child um and I and it wasn't
until like I guess at school you're taught to
you've got to be here you've got to do this you're
you know it's the system of education that I
never really bought into but when I could buy
into actually what I wanted to to learn and actually
I was very good I was I loved it and I still
love it today so I've gone on a massive tangent
there, James. I apologise. No, no. Here, there,
and then back down to school. It's pertinent.
I think my average for my GCSEs was Cs, so C
student. And when I went and became a firefighter
and a paramedic, and all through the schooling,
I was an A student. And the difference was, again,
it was something that I truly understood. And
even the maths and the physics and the chemistry,
all that started to make sense now, whether it
was a human body or whether it was fire. So I
think this is it. A lot of people really don't
get to ever tap into their potential if the only
benchmark was a fixed education of their country.
Yeah, absolutely. I think it's one of those,
isn't it? When you're told, like... I just think
when it comes down to subjects like maths, algebra,
I just go, when am I going to use this? And if
I can't see it, how this is going to benefit
me, and I'm sure it does some way down the line,
but if I can't see it there and then, I'm like,
I can't buy into it. It's just the way I've always
been. Maybe it's an ignorant way, maybe not,
but it's just how I've always processed things,
I guess. And it got me into a lot of trouble
at school, but it's all part of it. It's all
part of the making of who we are today, right?
Absolutely. Well, what took you on the route
to the military then? What took me on the route?
I guess, right, so from the fitness industry,
if you like, from PTM, I actually wanted to be
a PE teacher. I wanted to go down the teaching
route. And with that, I knew I had to have a
degree. So I retook my GCSEs, my maths and English,
come to the time to submit the application to
go to university. I applied and I knew I had
the UCAS points, but I knew my GCSEs might hinder
me here. And of course, they did come up against
that inevitable barrier where I didn't get taken
by any universities. Instead of just going, yeah,
cheers, easy, I picked up the phone and I just
called Southampton Southern University where
I wanted to go. I wanted to do their course.
Asked to speak to the head of sports science.
I won't mention his name, but yeah, Dr. BL, shall
we say. And he was taken back. He was like, who's
this lad calling me out? This has never happened
before. And it was quite like one of those conversations.
We had a really good chat. And he offered me
in for an interview. He was like, I've never
done this before. but you come in for an interview
and then we had a good interview and it was i
was taking my math gcsc at the time um which
i was predicted to see he said can you get a
b grade of course i just said in the moment said
yes um and he said right well you know show me
you can get b grade and you're in we'll bring
you in like that was fantastic interview we want
you on board and i was like cool happy with that
then i hit a bit of a barrier where i got myself
into a little bit of trouble um where i picked
up a criminal record and it didn't do me not
didn't do me any favors i mean i had to then
just bring up dr biel and explain a story called
you know we got there but he then made me promise
him i'll get a first -class degree and that's
why i was like cool that that was my next goal
if you like teaching probably wasn't going to
happen because of the you know it becomes a bit
of a barrier there so my my route changed but
i knew i loved sports science i knew i wanted
to do this course and i went off and i did it
and i got a first class degree um towards the
back end of university my third year my friends
three of my friends uh all joined the royal marines
and They described, they were like, Jim, this
is you. This is right up your street. You know,
it's hard. It's, you know, there's ways, you
know, you can go through promotions, et cetera.
And they just sold me this dream. And that was
it. They were my influence. Like, I was like,
cool. I like hard. I like anything challenging.
I love the camaraderie. I love being around the
guys. And, you know, that was my route in. It
was never really a... it was never like i'm not
one of those lads that goes since i was a kid
i dreamed of joining the military i'd always
had like little like looked into it but never
really went for it but it was my friends that
sort of influenced my decision if you like when
i reflect back now i did university of north
london did sports science and then university
of florida here um the gators uh school i did
exercise physiology And even though, of course,
I learned a lot, a lot of people go into this
schooling expecting to have the toolbox that
they need for coaching. And what I found was
it was quite myopic. And really, it almost seemed
to set you up to stay in that system and now
become a teacher of sports science rather than
go out into the real world and apply the things
you've learned or be in a lab, you know, testing
very, very kind of narrow fields of improvement.
With the route that you went on, how did your
schooling affect your ability to teach when you
graduated? In the sense of, sorry, teaching?
Mine was very academic. So there wasn't really
a lot of application to what we were learning.
It was more theories. And like I said, this might
create a, you know, 2%. increase on you know
muscle fiber contractility or something doesn't
help you as you said at the country club teaching
the the teenager and the 70 year old so with
that higher education level did it did it add
a lot of value to your ability as a coach or
did it fall short in some way um it it did for
me look i think when you're when you're coaching
unless you're coaching athletes like like real
high level elite athletes i think getting into
the really finer detail like people don't necessarily
want to or or need to know that well you know
it's a bit different now with who i coach now
with you know potential raw marines but like
when i was pting and and i was i was pting whilst
at university um i think what you realize what
you get to know is is actually people they don't
buy they don't buy your pt sessions because of
like your education and what you know they buy
into you they buy into like they want someone
to spend time with they don't want to spend time
with someone that they don't like like you know
they don't waste their money with an hour of
like someone that some people do some people
love that element of like let's go down the gym
and let's get fresh by pt but actually some people
just want your time they just want to have like
enjoy it a bit of enjoyment and get something
get some fitness out of it you know but Some
people want that feeling of feeling good that
fitness brings rather than necessarily the results.
It's very far and far between. But what I'm trying
to say is like, yes, it did help when the people
that wanted that little bit of the why, the reason
behind it. Actually, what I found in the fitness
industry, people just buy you because they like
you. You know, that makes sense. No, it does
completely. What has been your... kind of observation
of the impact of um the kind of mental health
journey of some of these people that you end
up coaching because when i've done a lot of the
sessions and again i've never been a full -time
coach always been kind of like a you know part
-time weekend warrior but it's amazing when you
unpack the the um the person that you're coaching
there why There's so much power to understanding
why they even show up in the first place. Oh,
I want to lose some weight. Okay, that's not
good enough. Let's go. Why do you want to lose
some weight? And then you start learning that
they were bullied when they were young or maybe
they just left an abusive relationship or whatever
it is. And now you kind of are able to kind of
dig into that when it comes to motivating them
and giving them goals. So even though obviously
we're taught mainly the kind of technical, physical
side in a lot of these programs, I realize how
understated the psychological side was. Yeah,
absolutely. Fully agree with that. I think you've
framed that up really well. It goes back to the
point that I made. You've just obviously elaborated
on it in a much easier way to probably understand.
But it's like, I think, again, it goes like.
the people that you don't get to understand like
the the onion analogy peeling back the layers
right you don't get to understand this psychological
side until you actually start coaching someone
until you get to know them they don't come and
say that jim i want i want you to be my pt um
because of this that happened back in the i was
bullied you know for my weight or that you know
they don't open up they just say exactly like
you said i want to lose weight I want to look,
you know, I want to get big. I want to get juicy,
you know, all of these things. Then once you
get coaching, once you get to know them, build
rapport, understand each other. This is where
I think you get into that side of things. And
I think that's like, for me, that's a beautiful
thing because like, that's like the training
that I love as well. I love the mindset and understanding
someone, their why. Because I think when you
know someone's why, the how is like, that's our
job. It's given the how. And I think that's why,
again, I love the coaching process is because
everyone's different. If you coach everyone the
same, well, okay, great. You might get these
results. Like, you know, get everyone in the
calorie deficit of 1500 calories. Yeah, cool.
but it's going to be it's going to look good
for you for your for your like testimonials but
I know it's got to be about them right it's their
journey so I'm a big believer of that I think
that's where I come into my own with like again
going back to my mum the caring side of things
and the way she is there I think that's the side
that comes out of me in that sense if you like
absolutely all right well let's walk into the
uh the front door of the training then How well
do you feel like you were prepared from this
journey that you'd been on? And then what were
the highs and lows of the first few months of
that? Royal Marines training, sorry. Physically
prepared, yes. I think I'd have done things differently
from what I've learned. But I was fit. And the
fitness was never really an issue for me. I was
always, you know. up there at the front of the
pack in that sense um everything else like i
was not prepared like again my friends like that
sold me the street they were not they were natural
you know siblings three three three brothers
just just it was a it was in a heritage right
they've you know family previous all military
this was like a new territory to me and i'd just
gone off like oh jim you'll love it like down
at the pub after a few drinks yeah get get involved
mate it's a bit of you and that's like Cool.
What do you do? Fitness is like right in the
street. Cool. Then it got into the soldier side
and I was like, wow, this is a different ball
game. And yeah, I was a bit naive going into
that side of things. It was a bit of a steep
learning curve in there. And I'm not the fastest
learners. So I'd say it took me a little bit
to digest and get fully locked into. I was just
a slow learner in that sense, if you like. It's
a very fast -paced course, the Royal Marines.
What did you see as far as a common denominator
between the ones who passed and the ones who
fell out? Mindset. Mindset, always. You've got
to want it. I think in training, you'll always
get the inner chimp in your head that, you know,
this is cold, this is wet, this is shit. This
is sometimes like, you know, you've got nothing
else to give. And that's the part of the job
of the training, the training team as well. In
a sense, it's there to try and break you down.
And I think when you get broken down, that's
when it's easy to go like, that's my shit, I'm
out of here. But if you can just hold on to that.
and keep that level -headed, that's what sets
you apart. I've seen it in the fire service too.
That why is huge. If you're in the middle of
a collapse maze that we have and it's hot and
you're in all this gear and you're breathing
off the tank on your back and you're wedged into
this maze and you can't move and you can't even
reach your mask if you need to pull it off, there's
that voice that tells you you just want to quit.
However... You know, a lot of us were there for
a reason, you know, and I think it's that why
that is so important. And I've heard it so often.
It's funny, even the Navy SEALs, a lot of them
is if they don't pass selection, then the Navy
can decide what they do. They could be turning
wrenches on a submarine or something. So a lot
of them, even that was the why, like failure
was not an option. When you reflect back now,
not having this burning desire to be in the Royal
Marines initially, what was that why that kept
you moving forward? my friends, my friends that
had been there and done it. It, you know, they,
they were, they were born in, you know, they
were, they were very, they took to it like water,
you know, duck and water. They, two of them Kings
badge men, one diamond, you know, they were excelled
in everything. I was just the guy that got, you
know, the gym superior and, you know, I was super
fit and got recognised for that. Look, I wasn't
bad. I wasn't bad in training. I was an original
from start to finish, but I just wasn't, you
know, I just took into it a little bit slower
than others. But I knew that that competitive
side of me, I was like, they can do it. I can
do it. And that was it, in all honesty. I think
there were times where I was like... nah they
sent me there were times but I've not got a quitting
attitude in me I guess and they were just like
there as well and I knew that you know they've
got one up on me if I jack this in so Did you
spend a lot of time in the water? Ah loads yeah
yeah yeah always I was always the one getting
thrashed for you know just admin was it was terrible
so i was in uh you know um yeah just drying up
puddles so did kind of remind me i know you obviously
end up as a pti or version of um did you deploy
prior to that and just training exercises just
training training exercise i know we never during
the time i was in i never deployed uh on any
operations nothing ever happened in that sense
if you like for us to to really get stuck into
anything which is like you know i think like
like i said i never really i never joined the
i'm not one of those that joined the royal marines
because i wanted to you know go and deploy and
go to war it was it was more of a It was like
a challenge, an experience, an adventure that
I sort of wanted from it. But then I think once
you do the training and that sort of gets instilled
into you, you want to go and do it. It's what
you're trained to do. And I'm probably being
quite, you know, very, you know, I wasn't a bad
recruit by any sense. You know, it was just,
I just liked to, you know. on that a little bit
because I think you've got to stay humble in
everything you do, right? And I think that's
what it's about, right? Isn't it? But I think
that's one thing I think if leaving the Royal
Marines, I would have loved to have done is go
on, you know, get an up or two under my belt.
But then again, I'm a big believer of be careful
what you wish for because some guys don't come
home and that is the reality of it. Yeah. Yeah,
I had Mark Ormrod on the show a couple of times.
I actually had coffee with him when I was visiting
RE -ORG. God, that was probably two -plus years
ago now. But, I mean, you know, you get to see
the impact of the service to some of our men
and women if they come back. And it is, you know,
a real conversation, hopefully. you know a uh
something that people can be made to consider
when they're sending our men and women to the
next conflict is you know i mean all these coffins
that we've seen all these men and women that
come back missing limbs or obviously the uh the
mental injuries that we see and so often so yeah
i mean that careful what you wish for is true
because i mean we've seen what happens for 20
years of war in the us and the uk absolutely
and um you know i think I guess even your line
of work, James, it's a similar sketch, right?
You're trained to do what you guys do. And it's
a serious job. It's a real job. And, you know,
it's great to get stuck in. Everyone wants to
get stuck in when you're trained to do it. But
you must have seen some tragic things, right?
And it's like, you know, in your time. Yeah.
Yeah. I guess it goes back to be careful what
you wish for, isn't it? You know? Absolutely.
Well, I mean, what you're doing now, what I've
done from the physical side and also with this
podcast is obviously trying to help the men and
women that are in uniform be the best version
of themselves so they have the highest chance
of coming home and completing their mission.
When did your kind of shift begin from raw Marine
recruit to PTI? So I think. The reality was I
was always going to fall down into that line
of work. You know, I think it was like, it was
written in the stars, if you like. I remember
in a recruit week five of training families day,
your parents come down and, you know, they get
to see you do your phys and in the gymnasium
and they get a bit of a tour around the place.
And they went to Parker Hall, which is the rehab
center for the recruits and Royal Marines and
obviously permanent staff, but it's more geared
towards. the recruits um and I remember my parents
said that that's what that's where your your
your line of work is that's they could just see
it they could see that's probably where I'd end
up and I was like nah you know I had aspirations
to you know go special forces and a mountain
leader all these things I was like I've done
the fitness side of things I wouldn't go and
you know excel in that um but the reality was
it was like you know actually stick to what your
strengths are My strength was Fizz. My strength
was the theory. And that was my love and my passion.
So you can't go off to do, you know, it's not
like the Navy or the RAF in the sense that you
can pass out recruit training and just become
a PTI. You have to promote or be recommended
for promotion to a junior, to a corporal. And
that's the point four and a half, five years
into my career where I got that positive recommend
and the time that I could go off and do the aptitude
for the PT course. And that's when I sort of
fell into that line of work. So I've heard, you
know, that the high standard that that requires,
that it's extremely hard to even gain that role.
So kind of talk to me about the expectations
along the crucible that is becoming a PTI in
the Royal Marines. Yeah, it's the course is just
geared to. It's just a fashion. It really is.
It's just like, it's like, you know, you're redlining
yourself for 17 weeks. The course is 17 weeks
long. Of course, there's some theory side of
it that there is, but it's because it's a short
course, it's a condensed course. It's more of
just like, are you fit enough to be the standard
of a PTI, Royal Marines PTI? You know, I remember
as a recruit, you know. anyone that would walk
towards me with a green lid like you you're like
terrified i was 24 as a recruit right and i was
like still like this is this is uh you know intimidating
right but then when you see someone walk down
with a white vest and a green lid it's like well
like i'm gonna go the other way because i'm probably
just gonna get thrashed if that's the case you
know that's the sort of um the persona they they
held on camp very very um you know serious dudes
right and uh And I think it's because the course
that you go through, you earn the respect in
that sense, not to take anything away from any
other courses in the Royal Marines. Like, you
know, we are, you know, Fizz Warriors, you know,
that's the reality. Of course, like some great
soldiers in the branch and some, you know, it's
a very, you know, we've got experience from everywhere,
but I think you just held on quite a high pedestal
because of the challenging nature of the course.
So we talked about this a few weeks ago when
we chatted. You now have this kind of journey
when it comes to personal training on the civilian
side. Now you enter the military. There's a lot
of thrashing. At what point did you start to
question in a positive way the training ethos
and start thinking about maybe a metamorphosis
of training raw Marines? yeah it's interesting
i think skinning this with recruits is like i
think you have to read not read the troop read
because you're always going to get people that
love it people that hate it people that are really
like you know high level fears and people that
aren't they're just like they're great soldiers
but they're not the best at the phys side of
things and i think like It has to be hard, right?
I think to really periodize their training and
to get too academic in that sense, you can't
really do enrollment. You can to a certain element,
but these guys are eating not the best nutrition.
They're in ration packs in the field. They're
late nights. Their sleep's not great. They're
yomping heavy kitties. I think you've got a syllabus,
essentially. You've got to get them from point
A to point B. and that that's it and and how
you get them there is like you have to you have
to read the troop obviously but you have to you
have to hit um well the the troop have to hit
certain uh criterias otherwise you get that truth
and that's that's it so so i'd say like you can't
really get too too torn up on on the whole linear
periodization etc because i just don't think
it necessarily works for training unfortunately
you know i'd love to get into it but it's you're
just limited on time so that so that selection
is going to stay as it is so what made you start
thinking about helping people prepare for entry
into the raw marines and using a different training
modality so i went from a pti role um And then
I went into the rehab role, which is where, you
know, like I said, funny enough, parents got
a bang on. You have to go off and study again
for that course. It's an exercise rehab instructor.
It's a six -month course, pretty intense. And
that's when I worked past that course and worked
down in the rehab center in the Royal Marines,
that's when I noticed, like, that's when you
see, like, the amount of injuries coming in,
you know, to Royal Marines training. And nearly
half of Hunt's company, so like the rehab troop,
the guys in it are within the first eight weeks
of mainstream training. So that's nearly 50 %
of Hunt's company. Sometimes we've had up to
200 people in Hunt's company at one point. It's
not that now. It's definitely reduced. But when
you look at those stats and you're thinking,
then you look at the injuries, the main injuries
we see, shin splints, you know, stress fractures,
telotendinopathy, Achilles tendinopathy, all
these preventable injuries, overuse injuries
that can be reduced if the preparation leading
up to Royal Marines is better and they're more
conditioned coming into it. You can have a massive
impact on that, on those stats. And that for
me was like when I was down there and I was seeing
that. I was like, wow. And as a PTR, you can't
necessarily, you haven't got the time to really
do that. You've got, you've got, you have to
push these guys hard. It's that preparation coming
in. The bigger the foundation, the bigger the
tower, you know, get this foundation, get this
solid base. And then, you know, they're more
likely to go off and be able to withstand raw
men's training in the way that it's just got
to be. But I think it starts with the prep that
you do beforehand. So as you start looking into
it, what were you seeing as far as the detrimental
philosophies on training to prepare for Royal
Marine selection? And what were the different
training modalities that you started thinking
about? It's just everything. So like geared towards
selection, which is like, do your press ups,
do your sit ups, do your pull ups, you know,
do your bleep test, because this is going to
get you to the start line. And that's just how
the majority of these potential Royal Marines
are training because they just think about the
start line. And that's right to do because, you
know, you've got to get to the start line before
you can even think about that green lid and,
you know, 36 weeks later down the line. But people
are just getting tunnel visioned into this way
of training. And I think when you look at that,
they're not building the robustness. They're
not building the resilience. And every athlete,
every potential Royal Marine is going to be different.
A one -size -fits -all program just doesn't cut
it. in my eyes. These guys are serious. To me,
where do you see an elite athlete forming in
the top 5 % just following a program that someone's
put together 20 years ago and they're just dishing
out the same thing? They don't do that. They've
got S &C coaches. They've got sports scientists.
We can't go on that as sports scientists, but
we've got a mental performance coach and PTIs
and nutritionists on my team because these guys
they're the top five percent they're they're
not elite athletes but they're they're weak soldiers
and to me they need to be getting that we need
to be they need to be treated with more more
uh individualized programming and i think that's
for me the the the passion and everything i have
behind it and the reason i want to to deliver
a better product for these guys So talk to me
about your transition then. What made you decide
to transition out the Royal Marines and then
how did that interact with what you're doing
now? Children, kids. That was my why for coming
out. I think you get one life, right? And you've
got to make the most of it. And I think in the
Royal Marines, I ticked off everything I wanted
to do. I do believe I loved it. I loved my time
as a PTI. I could see myself promoting through
the branch and really wanting to have an impact
in that area because it's such a passion of mine
and an area I'm so passionate and love. But I
ticked off my boxes. In the end, I wanted to
become a PTI. Then I wanted to become an ERI.
And that was it. There was a few things that
I wanted to do. I would love to have gone on
a tour and operated it. But these are things
that are out of my control. And I think when
you realize that and you think about your family
and your kids and wanting to be at home with
them and see my kids grow up, I think that was
a time that I was like, yeah, I've done it. I've
completed it. I'm coming out. The time that I
decided I wanted to come out, I hadn't set up
tier one coaching. It wasn't a thing. But I knew
I was going to leave. And at that point, I think,
like, I'm quite a, I'm very motivated and I'm
very, if I want something, I'll make it happen.
And I don't mean to say that in an arrogant way.
It's just the way I've always been. If I want
it, I'll get it. And I think, and that's, fortunately,
when coaching's taken off and we're having great
success with it and delivering great results.
And that's class. So I'm still like, although
I'm out of Royal Marines now, I still like, I'm
still part of it. you know in a way in a sense
so it's cool it's been hard but for going from
military life to civilian life it's definitely
had its challenges especially when you go self
-employed and you've got to make your own routine
and it's and it you know it's not all been plain
sailing in that sense what have been the challenges
because right from the get -go you talk about
you know going in and this um you know, be an
experience and adventure. And then, you know,
you find yourself in the coaching space again.
So it doesn't sound like there would be as many
jarring elements as maybe some of these men and
women that we've had that, you know, that was
all they dreamed about. They went straight in
from school and they were in for, you know, 10,
15, 20 years. And then they come out and that's
all they've known. And that was their burning
desire. That was their identity. And, you know,
it's extremely jarring. But what did you find
jarring through your perspective of the transition
out? Yeah. Going into the Royal Marines, I had
some good life experience already. I went in,
you know, I was 24. So I had that civilian side
of things where, like you said, I didn't go in
as a 16 -year -old straight out of school. So
I had that side that worked in my favor. But
actually, it's the going home and actually living
with my, even my missus, my partner, right? I've
never lived with her full -time, right? So now
I'm living with her full -time and my two young
kids, which are three and one, and love them
to bits. And it's why I want to come out of it.
You know, I want to be at home. But you transition
into their routine. They've got a routine as
well. And I'm just there now, like rocking the
boats in that sense. Look, we're super, like,
we love it. We're always like, so I'm happy I'm
home, you know, and they are too. But it's even
like... I manage my own time now as a fortunate
business owner. But I work from home. So I'm
always at home. You know, the Royal Marines took
me away from home as well. So I could have that
like, bro, back with the boys. Let's go. Yeah,
cool. Run a business. You know, I'm so busy juggling
spinning plates, family, business, military.
And I've gone from that really busy life to now
like, ah. I've got, you know, being in business,
it can be quite a lonely place at times, right?
And you've got to make work. You've got to make
things happen. I'm not spinning all these plates
anymore and actually reacting, dealing with that
and just being okay to actually just take a chill
pill for an hour or two. I've got nothing to
do. It's been quite challenging because I've
always been go, go, go. So, yeah, it's been multiple.
things i've not not found it super difficult
but i have i've had i've had times where i've
been like geez this this is harder than i thought
for sure yeah something i've said a lot to the
fire service a lot is you know we've historically
when when it comes to the contract negotiations
we chase a an increase in our wages but what's
happening here in america is they work a lot
of them work 56 hours a week they're short staffed
so now it's 80 hours a week sometimes And the
ultimate currency is actually time with your
family. And I transitioned out, you know, partly
because of that. You know, you transitioned out
because of that. I think it's important. It doesn't
mean you have to leave, you know, your uniform
profession. But in my case, where it's being
abused and these men and women are being kept
from their families way more than they should,
you know, now they're so sleep deprived, they
lose the ability to fight. You know, that is
the most important thing. If your kids turn,
you know, 16, 18. And you've missed their childhood
because you were so embedded in that profession.
Then you come out the other side, that shame
and guilt is going to be immense. So finding
that balance, whether it's being able to navigate
it through a military career or in my profession,
simply fighting for a work week that puts you
home when you should be at home. If it's not
for them, then for who? To me, that is the most
important thing. Serving your country, protecting
your community. absolutely admirable but is if
it's at the expense of your family it wasn't
worth it 100 yeah amen i think i can't remember
the exact quote i'm going to say it very wrong
but it's you know time is the only currency that
you do not know the value of right we all know
our bank balance we know you know how much time
you know how much money we've got you don't know
when your time's up and i think making the most
of that um is is it's essential right and and
you know you get one life and i think like it's
precious so you you've got to i think for me
that was like the thing with the military i think
so many people can stay in the military and over
overstay the welcome because it's comfortable
not always it's hazardous of course it does but
you know where you've got to be you know and
it's probably you know same with the fire service
you've got you've got time you've got to you've
got a solid structure and and you know i could
i could do i could do a bad job right down in
parkour like you know i don't believe i ever
did i think i you know very credible and love
doing it but i still get paid at the end of the
month whatever i do i get paid because it's comfortable
but now like so it's easy to stay there and then
people overstay the welcome and i think people
resent it and they get that side of it and then
everyone's just you know and then a lot of people
then stay for their pension because that's you
know i've just got to stay now because i'm they
say that you know i'm trapped or however for
me it was just actually like i'm i loved the
call i left really like still absolutely love
it loved everything i've done i've been able
to walk away from it in a really good headspace
but i don't resent any of it i've had the best
time there but actually It was my time to go.
It was my time to move on. And I think had I
overstayed my welcome, I might have left resenting
it because I've missed so much time with my kids.
And then they, you know, and it's not to the
later life. And you're like, what did I save
for another five or 10 years waiting for my pension?
But actually, that's worth more than any money.
It's my time with my children. Being able to,
you know, have the freedom to do what I want
when I want with them. That's class. So that's
for me, like, yeah, you hit the nail on the head
with that. yeah i agree 100 well talk to me about
tier one coaching then firstly from a training
point of view what are you able to do with these
young potential recruits to prepare them for
the beasting that they're going to get when they
go through selection yeah um tier one coach you
know yeah i set it up um in july 23 23 So we're
under two years now in the space. And like I
said, I set it up because I felt like there needed
to be something out there. There's plenty of
people out there doing this military preparation
stuff, but I don't think everyone's out there
doing it for the right reasons. And there's a
little bit of lack of credibility in the space
as well, in my personal opinion. And I just think,
you know, I knew the value I could bring to the
space. I had my why. And then I went and found
a how, you know, and I think like, what do we
do different? I think it's that, it's that empathy
piece. That's it. You know, we've, we've not
only been, you know, the team not only been for
raw range training, they've not had the stripes
in that sense. We've all seen it as, as PCIs.
We've all seen what these guys commonly fail
with the professional failing points, the common
injuries that are sustained. And I think when
you add that to what we can bring, I think it
just makes everything a little bit more fine
-tuned in that sense. Yes, and I think it's the,
like I said, the bigger the foundation, the bigger
the tower. Let's work on foundations and then
let's get a little bit more specific towards
the selection piece as we get closer to it. But
everyone's different, right? Everyone's looking
at the individual and where their weaknesses
are, which I think we can really get into the
nitty -gritty part at T1 Coaching. So what were
some of the contributing factors that you were
seeing with the wrong programming that was creating
this overuse injury problem? So I think where
I believe military preparation coaches, some
are going wrong, is... They think because as
a Royal Marine commando, as a Royal Marine recruit,
you're going to get thrashed, right? That's part
of it. You know, that's it. You know, we keep
using this terminology thrash, but it's terminology
that these potential Royal Marines will hear
a lot at Limson. Now, because like, that's what
you do during recruit training. That's part of
it. People think you've just, and this isn't
just, you know. These are just potential Royal
Marines as well. These lads, just young lads,
hear this, that this is what they're going to
do. So let's just, let's thrash ourselves. Let's
train twice a day, three times a day and just
absolutely send it before we get down to Royal
Marines training. Because that's what they'll
do at Royal Marines training or think they'll
do. So everyone just starts thrashing themselves
before they get there. Funny old thing, they
rock up, they burn out at high risk of injury.
that you know they've been running with weight
on their back like you know for six months before
even rocking up to training where everything's
done periodized in that sense it definitely is
in that sense you know we build up to that and
i think we're like even military preparation
coach to going that haven't got this experience
as ptis eris i haven't seen it from the space
that i have my team have they're delivering from
their experience and their experience is what
they experience in raw means training and i think
then they start thrashing these guys and just
go you need to do this this this and keep doing
more of that and actually they're just it's detrimental
rather than than um positive and you know i just
think that's what i'm seeing a lot of right now
now what about um kind of principles as far as
what you're using like for example in the fire
service i when i do coach i like to use sleds
sandbags you know for the carries for the pushes
and the pulls that's what we do you know on the
fire ground and so there's some real value to
those kind of implements over and above if people
are triathletes or crossfairers or you know whatever
it is what are you finding as far as um tools
that are helping these people prepare for this
selection again i'll go like Everyone's different,
right? So to answer that exactly would be difficult.
But what we will do is we'll screen these athletes.
When we get them on the pathway, it's like, let's
look at how they move. Let's see if we can identify
any weaknesses, any imbalances. And if we get
them early enough, then let's just build the
foundations. Let's just look at compound lifts.
Let's not start... it doesn't have to get to
be too exciting it's just basic snc that we can
really build on to create a robust resilient
body then obviously we've got as we get closer
towards the pre -joining fitness assessment the
cpc where they'll start to you know they'll need
press -ups and these setups they'll need to pass
this bleep test all the elements there then that's
when the the specificity really really comes
into that part now like everyone thinks that
cool pass my cpc See you later. I'm off. I'm
ready to be a Royal Marine Commando. Well, actually,
wait one. Let's just now think about, like you're
saying, the sled pulls, the single leg strength
work, all of this, you know, stuff now where
we're thinking about the dynamics there because,
you know, you go out for a run and without any
weight on your back, average, you know, three
to five times your body weight is going for a
single limb every step. that's that's the general
principle that they say now add weight on your
back that times out over so many steps you know
your big 10k yomp your speed march wow that's
some serious load going through your single limbs
there so you know that's where i think getting
super tuned into that side of things that has
to come but you need to build the foundation
you need to get through your cpc and then like
just Now let's look at that element. And I'm
not like, I always say to our guys, look, if
you want to pass your CPC and just go off to
Roman training next week, that's, that's on you.
I can't like, that's not like, that's, that's
totally up to you. And I, I respect that, but
I'm not here to hold you back, but I'm just,
if I can reduce like a little, you know, spend
a few more weeks doing X, Y, Z to save your trip
to Hunt's company that I can't promise, but I'll
do everything I can within my power. And so with
the team. and we can keep you on the right track
and the right trajectory the right way, well,
that's what it's all about, isn't it? So, yeah,
it's a very difficult one to say, but I think
everyone's different, but it's making sure you're
hitting all principles. Have you had any indication
from within the success of the preparation programme
on the recruits and the reduction of people visiting
Hunter Company? I think Hunter Company right
now is lowest it's been in a long time. um which
is great and that's that's credit to the guys
down at down at limpson you know i've literally
just just come out of that job and they've got
a super credible team down there they're you
know delivering the right things for the right
reasons they're all you know super invested in
that space so i think that comes down to it um
i think that the pass out rate has gone up i
can't remember exactly what it is but it's been
the highest in years that could be multiple reasons
I would never label it down as the work we're
doing, but do I think we've influenced that?
100%. Of course we do. Brilliant. Well, I want
to just kind of pull back a little bit on the
lens. I get to go home usually once a year. It's
back to the UK and I'm usually kind of visiting
other places too. And sadly, every time I go
home, the obesity epidemic that I see in America.
is becoming more and more and more prevalent
in the UK, which breaks my heart. What are you
seeing as far as the number of young men and
women that are even eligible to test for this
profession now based on the kind of dwindling
health that I'm seeing in the UK? Yeah, it's
tragic, really. I don't know why it is because
I do believe like the fitness industry, the health
and fitness industry is like... It's definitely
like, since COVID has hit a peak, everyone talks
about it. The amount of people that I see drinking
0 % beer and things like that has shot up as
well, which is great. I think it's awesome. And
I'm one that I love to have a beer, but I do
love 0 % as well. It's great to have that aspect.
So I do think the health has got better in some
aspects, but it's far and far between. There's
no right in between. It seems like... people
are super like they're into their fitness and
they're invested in the space or they just completely
wrap on it i don't know you know i haven't got
the answer of course we don't have the answers
for that but it's definitely like i said it's
definitely something that needs to be taken a
little bit more serious because you know it helps
everything what is that what are you hearing
is as far as a national conversation the thing
that blows me away i hold the nhs as the best
healthcare system on the planet. But when it
was done properly, which is a long time ago now,
sadly, and I'm not talking about the people in
the system, they're angels for being able to
operate within that broken system. What blows
me away is the reason why it's so torn apart,
apart from the politics behind privatization
and stuff, is the fact that it relies on a healthy
nation. And if you have a tax -based healthcare
system, In theory, that should drive the healthiest
nation on the planet because you don't want to
use that tax money. You want to use it as little
as possible. So childbirths and the elderly and
car accidents and things where you absolutely
have to intervene. But you would think with a
tax -based healthcare system, there would be
a constant national push to make British people
as healthy as possible. It's simple economics.
But I see the opposite. I don't understand why
there isn't a national voice, you know, really,
especially after COVID saying nationally, we
need to get our kids, you know, eating better
and moving more and the same with our adults
too. So what are you seeing as far as a disconnect
between the actual health of the British people
and the messages coming out of whatever national
voices? Yeah. I just don't think actually. I
don't know. I just don't think people really
care about it that much. I honestly don't. I
think like it's too easy. You know, the government,
you know, the benefits, everything, you know,
I think it's just, it's too easy for people these
days to use and abuse the system. It's not really
taken serious enough. And I think like, because
of that. No one cares. Do you know what I'm saying?
It's quite a sad thing, really. But I don't think
there's much push on... I think if you want to
eat healthy and follow this health route, I think
it comes down to you, your want and desire. I
don't think anyone's out there really... Of course
there's things out there. Of course there is.
And it is easily accessible. But I do believe
it just comes down to the individual and how,
if they want to get digested in it and the support
out there isn't really all that, I think, to
steer these people down that route. Yeah. I'd
say, you know, social media has such an influence
on this. But again, it's like for the right reasons.
But then again, some people like... for the wrong
reasons and some people go down a real like hole
with it because then they feel guilty they feel
the shame they feel you know why can't i do that
and why can't i look like that and then they
go and abuse the system and then start getting
all sorts of you know there's there's all sorts
of things going now isn't it like there's pills
there's all sorts that people can just take to
to lose weight and avoid this and i think like
yeah it's it's one of those it's too easy to
abuse i think Yeah, it's so sad because I talk
about this even with kindness and compassion
and community. When I grew up in, you know, my
childhood was basically the 80s and 90s. You
know, we had Blue Peter, which was, I don't know
if it's still going now, but it was, you know,
it was constantly talking about things that were
going on in the world. They were constantly getting
national fundraisers going on. We had John Craven's
news round that was like a kid's version of news.
And it was all... this is what's going on, no
opinions, not bias, just, you know, and it was,
it would pull everyone together and we'd raise
money, you know, it's for Ethiopia for, you know,
whatever the thing was. And there was a real
sense of, you know, pulling together as a country
and doing good things for other people. And I
remember, you know, people like, like the, the
overweight person air quotes that I remember
in school was nothing compared to today. And
that was, you know, the most overweight in the
whole school. And so it is its environment. And
it's so sad because I think there's no greater
red flag than COVID to turn this thing around.
And yet I'm not in the UK, so I don't get to
really see it, you know, up close and personal.
But here in America, it was completely swept
under the carpet. No one wanted to hear about
the health of the individual, pre -existing conditions,
obesity crisis, none of that. It was the virus
and the virus only. And you have to wear masks
and get vaccines and that's it. And now on the
other side of this, we realize, A, yes, it was
a real virus, but it was dependent on the health
of the individual. And the fact that we discarded
such an important lesson from Mother Nature,
which is you have a sick population, you've got
to turn that around. And it's not changing in
America and it's not changing in the UK. I mean,
the average person needs to get angry about this
and start asking why. Because I know in America,
I know exactly why. There is a multi, probably,
I mean, billion, if not trillion industry that
is pharmacy here, you know, the pharmaceutical
companies. Their customer is a sick person. They
don't want you healthy and they don't want you
dead. But we don't have that same system in England,
in the UK. So that's why I'm questioning why
is this same crisis being allowed to happen when
it's destroying the arguably the best healthcare
system on the planet? Yeah. I'll be honest. I
think the whole, it's quite corrupt. I think
the whole COVID thing was corrupt. I don't believe
it was, it was like, it was, you know, just plunge
out of thin air. I think it was, it was, it was
in labs, right? It's been, it's been spoken about
many times and, and I don't, I just don't trust
the system. Unfortunately, I don't trust it.
And it's, it's why I never really keep up with
the news essentially is because I don't, for
me, it's just, it's. propaganda it's it's all
conspiracy i don't know that's just my mindset
and what i believe so i i try to stay away from
it because it does make me quite i think you
can get too it it's negative there's nothing
ever positive that comes out from from these
things you know yeah but there used to be that's
the thing the tv used to be so positive in the
uk so i don't understand what happened like how
how it turned and i saw it in covid too you know
and all the you know all the incredible frontline
personnel and first responders that were heroes
in one breath and then murderers the next because
they didn't take a vaccine. You know, I remember
the BBC having opinions. They used to just report.
And this is what I think that we as a nation,
we as a globe need to take a step back and really
question the propaganda in our own country. Because,
you know, COVID was a real thing wherever it
came from. It was a virus. It was killing people.
Some of my friends, you know, had it and almost
died. But there was a huge lesson from it. And
it was being, you know, discarded. And that's
this is what just blows my mind is and forget
the virus. Because of this obesity crisis, millions
of people are dying. There's no ticker on the
frickin news station for that. There's no one,
you know, in outrage from all the people are
dying from strokes and heart diseases and cancers.
And it's just a shoulder shrugging. And so, you
know, going back to what we're talking about,
even national security, the smaller amount of
people that we have to be a Royal Marine or a
firefighter, the more vulnerable that nation
becomes for other things, too. So it is a really
important conversation. And I don't, you know,
I hope that we are going to turn it around because
I hear a lot of the, just as you alluded to,
a lot of the candidates that we are getting in
these fields, I'm hearing people say they're
in incredible shape. Like they're fitter and
stronger than my generation that we're testing.
And that's an amazing thing. So like you said,
the group that gets it really get it. And they've
got this amazing renaissance of, you know, strength
and conditioning and nutrition information, and
they're forging better tactical athletes, but
it's the rest of them. You know, we're, you know,
we're failing the rest of the average person
who their lifespan is being shortened woefully
because. of you know of what i don't understand
there's no greater mark of leadership than the
health of the nation and yet people just kind
of shrug their shoulders and just get on with
them yeah yeah but you know i go back to like
the covid right when that was all kicking off
and then you you'd have the the government you
know all having their knees up when everyone
else was locked down yeah they've lost that trust
They've lost that buy -in straight away. You
know, these are the leaders. These are the leaders
that everyone looks up to for answers, decisions.
And then when you start to, that was one of the
biggest things, you know, you lost me. You lost
me. But you're telling me I've got to, you know,
trust this whole, this process. I actually, you
know, I think you said it there, that more people
get sick since COVID. what's going on with that
the immune systems and you know why are people
dying of cancer heart attacks stroke stroke blood
clots so much I don't know whether it's just
something I've noticed right now because it seems
to be happening a lot around that I've seen around
me but there's a lot of questions to be answered
around that space I think absolutely all right
well I'm going to round off with some closing
questions the first I love to ask is there a
book or are there books that you love to recommend
they can be Oh my goodness, I can't even spit
out my closing question. Let me try that again.
Is there a book or are there books that you love
to recommend? It can be related to our discussion
today or completely unrelated. Oh, I've got so
many. The Slight Edge is a must read. The Slight
Edge. It talks about like 1 % marginal gains
and the things that are easy to do, but easy
not to do. And these are the things you need
to do because they're the things that can make
the real impact. And I'm a big believer of 1
% marginal gains. And that can have such an influence
in your life moving forward in anything. Whether
it's education, fitness, whatever you love doing,
these 1 % gains are critical. Atomic Habits is
a great book. It talks about... this is the proofs
in the pudding right um they say i missed habit
um miss a habit once is a mistake miss a habit
twice is a new habit and that's like sort of
the the whole sort of atomic habits um oh what
am i top three top you know top top two that
i've Can't think of another on my mind right
now. But yeah, I love the digest and all this
stuff. I think it's great. Brilliant. What about
films and documentaries? Films and documentaries.
For me, I'm like, I like reality stuff. You know,
I like The Last Dance, you know, Michael Jordan.
Anything like that, really. I really like Kanye
West's one. Yeezy, I think it's called. I think
that he's an exceptional character. Knocked down
a lot during his whole career, building up to
Kanye West, who he is today. Obviously, a lot
of challenges of his own along the way. But I
think it's things like that that have got me
through to where I am today. I thrive off this
sort of... negative dark energy i thrive off
this dark side um when i tell me i can't do it
i'll show you a can sort of thing um so yeah
that's that's like that that was a massive that
yeah anything like his stuff has been great but
yeah i'm i'd say more reality stuff like that
anything that inspires me yeah i think the last
dance was phenomenal yeah yeah class great all
right Well, the next question, is there a person
that you'd recommend to come on this podcast
as a guest to speak to the first responders,
military and associated professions of the world?
Yeah, actually, Chris Hunt. He works on the Tier
1 Pathway as our mental performance coach. Exceptional
guy, exceptional guy. A former bootneck himself,
ex -Royal, done two, maybe three tours. he's
a cool dude and he's super knowledgeable and,
and loves this space. He'd be great for it. Yeah.
Fantastic. All right. Well, then the very last
question for you, make sure everyone knows where
to find you in tier one coaching. What do you
do to decompress? Decompress family time. Just,
just time with my kids. Family's everything to
me. So, so yeah, I'd say that's number one, but
fitness, of course. brilliant all right well
then for people listening where are the best
places to find tier one and or you on the web
or social media yeah social media instagram um
jim underscore tier one um i've just launched
a podcast actually myself um the tier one coaching
podcast on spotify music which would be cool
really looking to get getting stuck into that
um they're the main main platforms i'd say But
yeah, I'd love to take advantage of all these
platforms. I think it's great that the more wealth
and knowledge we can push out to inspire, recruit
people going into any service, any walk of life.
I think it's a great space to be invested in.
I think the work you're doing, James, is great.
And yeah, again, really, we appreciate this time
to have a chat and hopefully some people can
digest some good stuff from it.