Adam Daniel

Adam Daniel is a gym owner after having spent his career as a personal trainer and master trainer. He says if you’re not excited about going to work, you’re in the wrong job, which is why he recommends a career in the fitness industry.  

Here’s what he said: “I truly believe that the most important thing you need to have when entering the health and fitness industry is a passion for helping people change; with that, you will have a career you will love. It’s a very privileged position to be in, as most people do not have a job they love and as a personal trainer you can wake up every morning excited about the day ahead.”

“The best decision I made.”

Talk us through your career, what made you choose a career in health and fitness?

The idea of enjoying my job is what led me into the fitness industry. When I left school, all my friends went off to university and are now general bankers/accountants/lawyers, etc. Yet I chose not to head to university as I knew I didn’t want to be behind a desk all day for the rest of my life or in a lab environment (ironically, I am currently studying an MBA in international sports management at Loughborough University). Instead, I got my gym qualifications and started at Bromley Health Lido (now Virgin Active, Bromley) as a gym instructor, which was the best decision I made.

Working in a gym environment enabled me to learn how a health club operated and, most importantly, I started to learn how to communicate with the members, which was something I had never experienced before. At this point, I knew I had made the right decision: I loved going to work! I then moved into a gym supervisory role at Otium health clubs, where I had a small team to manage. This again was a fantastic opportunity to learn new skill sets and, most importantly, how to manage staff. From there, I was given the opportunity to become a personal trainer for Holmes Place health clubs, which I jumped at. After a short period I became the PT manager for Holmes Place, Notting Hill and was involved in setting up the PT business platforms for Holmes Place in Portugal and Spain.

Then came the biggest yet easiest decision of my career: to become self-employed and work out of a studio in Notting Hill. With all the skills I had learned over the last five years, I could now have the freedom to create my own business and, within a year of leaving Holmes Place, I was considered by the Evening Standard’s ES magazine to be one of London’s top six personal trainers. The next unexpected step in my career was an approach by FitPro to present for them, delivering a communication/behaviour change course, which led to becoming a global master coach for ViPR, UK faculty for PTA Global, Wattbike master trainer and the lead presenter for FitPro (managing and developing all the presenters) and, of course, still personal training.

“Seeing clients change and achieve their goals is why I get out of bed every day.”

What do you do now?

I now own my own gym, a pioneering and innovative training environment created to enhance your performance and fuel your potential. I am continually asked when I will stop personal training, yet I can’t see that time ever coming because I still love it and the satisfaction of seeing clients change and achieve their goals is why I get out of bed every day.

If you are considering turning your love for fitness into a career then it is well worth reading some of our articles that offer advice on how to make your dream a reality. Here’s our article on how to forge a career in fitness, and here’s out article on why it may be best to plan and organize your career before jumping in at the deep end.

“Invest in as many varied qualifications as you can”

What advice would you give to those looking to break into the fitness industry?

For those entering the health and fitness industry, my advice to you is to understand the WHY (what your motivation is), take every opportunity to educate yourself (as an industry, the expectation is on you to improve yourself), invest in as many varied qualifications as you can and, most importantly, learn how to effectively communicate with your clients.

Finally, I believe that the day you wake up and you are not excited about going to work, then it is time to move on!

For more information on careers in Health and Fitness then visit our career profiles here, we have plenty of interviews with other professionals in the industry willing to offer their guidance and advice. It is also worth checking out our directory to see what companies we recommend who offer plenty of opportunities for students.