Photography by Per Bernal
Beads of excitement radiate from his eyes and fill the room with enthusiasm. His effortlessly commercial smile casts a light on every member of the Muscle and Health crew. It’s immediately apparent the self-made global fitness star could easily be raking in millions from commercial modeling contracts. And yet, Joe Wicks MBE, is without a doubt the most humble celebrity I’ve ever met.
“I don’t even see myself as a celebrity,” he tells me with absolute sincerity. I tell Joe he needs a hair contract, at which point his modesty unearths an endearing touch of timidity.
“This cover shoot is really out of my comfort zone, because I’m so used to just being on my phone at home; it’s just me with the camera”
“This cover shoot is really out of my comfort zone, because I’m so used to just being on my phone at home; it’s just me with the camera,” he confesses. “I don’t do many professional shoots. I’m always just giggling and joking about. I’m always laughing. This whole serious, sexy thing is weird for me.”
I wondered whether Joe’s overwhelming success was quite simply the fortunate result of a laugh and a joke.
“For many years I was like any other trainer. I was struggling to get clients; I didn’t have a van; I just had a bike with a little trailer. No matter how many empty parks I turned up to, I had that mentality that I just had to keep coming back”
“I always say I’m a ten-year overnight success,” he says. “The life you see today on Instagram, the house I live in, the millions of followers, they’re all just a snapshot of this moment in time. For many years I was like any other trainer. I was struggling to get clients; I didn’t have a van; I just had a bike with a little trailer. I used to ride to the park and set up my bootcamps. I’d line up the kettlebells and hang the TRX on the tree, then set-up the battle rope and…nobody would turn up. It was soul-destroying.”
If you’ve ever listened to Warren Buffet speaking about the importance of caring for the customer, Joe’s genuine desire to help people will go a long way towards explaining why he’s enjoying exponential success where so many thousands have failed.
“I’ve always told myself that if I could help just one person a day, if I could get one person cooking a recipe, or one person doing a workout, then I’m winning. And that’s all I ever think about every single day. I think about that one person.”
“No matter how many empty parks I turned up to, I had that mentality that I just had to keep coming back,” he says. “What I really loved when I started out was taking someone on a journey. It was, and still is, so rewarding to me to work with an unfit person or somebody who’s suffering with their mental health and to see them grow strong and fit. Even during the hard days, that was my motivation. All I ever wanted to do was to help people. I just do it on a bigger scale now. I’m very purpose-driven. It’s never been about trying to dominate the industry and take over the world. I’ve always told myself that if I could help just one person a day, if I could get one person cooking a recipe, or one person doing a workout, then I’m winning. And that’s all I ever think about every single day. I think about that one person.”
