Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
Fitness trainer and author known as The Body Coach, who became the nation's favourite PE teacher with free online lockdown workouts.
On the island
Eight records
favourite when kids sang it back at school tour; became soundtrack to PE with Joe
reminds him of happy holidays with his dad in south of France
reminds him of biking trip with brother Nikki to Benicassim festival
soundtrack to his West Coast cycling trip; pivotal moment before becoming body coach
from Moana soundtrack; gets him energised dancing with kids
The keepsakes
In conversation
Presenter asks
2:23What kind of feedback have people been giving you about the difference PE with Joe is making to them?
Well, one of the most wonderful things about the whole thing for me, and it's the energy that really pushes me forward. You know, it's what motivates me to do this. If you're a parent on your own, you've already got to do all the education stuff. You've got to do the homeschooling and the cooking, the cleaning. It's hard to maybe also be the PE teacher. So I've taken that role on and I think if you've got a nice big house with a big garden, your kids can run around. But I'm thinking all the time about people in one-bedroom flats, you know, with very little space and no grassy areas around. Like, can I still get them exercising? So it's very much accessible. There's no equipment. It's just me and you in your living room. I just love it.
Presenter asks
6:03What do you think schools should be doing for PE — is it a question of changing the curriculum?
PE is definitely getting, you know, squashed out in certain curriculums because obviously there's so much pressure on the schools to get academic results, you know, maths, English, and science, which are all very important. But for me, my argument is nothing is more important than our kids' health and our children's mental health. I'll always believe that. And so I think it shouldn't be negotiable. Exercise should be an essential part of a child's day. And it doesn't need to be this thing where you take all the kids into the hall, get them all changed, you waste 45 minutes. It can be five minutes in the classroom running up and down, doing star jumps and running on the spot. … I would love to know that every school in the UK and around the world does a little five, ten, fifteen minute workout at the start of each day, like they're doing now during lockdown, to get them set up for the day.
The luxury
because it's never ending the journey to learning an instrument. And also, I can play, hopefully, all the songs that I've put on my Desert Island discs.
Presenter asks
14:09What was your dad like as a dad when you were growing up, and what are your memories of him during that period [of addiction]?
Yeah, my dad's clean today, which is important. … But when I was a teenager, I found it difficult. I didn't understand. I was angry. But now, as an adult, I understand I've got more empathy and I understand that what my dad needs more than anything when he's struggling is connection. He needs me to tell him I love him. He needs you to pull him closer and hug him and not push him away in anger because addiction is painful. Like when someone you love is struggling with depression and addiction, it breaks your heart. But I'm learning to kind of pull him closer. That's really what he needs. It's unconditional love, which is so important for people with addiction.
Presenter asks
15:22You described yourself as angry. How did that manifest itself [in secondary school]?
I remember being in secondary school and I just remember someone asked me about someone said something about my dad and I was just so angry at the time because it was like, you know, again he'd relapse and again I was disappointed and let down. And I just remember thinking like, I don't want to talk about my dad, I hate him, and I I only ever said that once and I've never I've never really admitted that. … I felt so bad because I didn't hate my dad. I just hated what drugs were doing to him, you know, doing to my family.
Presenter asks
16:27What do you think the impact of your childhood [with your parents' struggles] has been on you?
It's allowed me to find peace. Like when I have that moment of accepting that, you know, my dad's an addict, this is how it was, this is what was going on. … It's like childhood trauma manifests in different ways. Like in my dad, it was drug addiction. In my mum, it was OCD and obsessive-compulsive cleaning and all that. And so now I'm a dad, and I take everything I've learned from my mum, and little bits from my dad, and little nuggets of information that I've learnt over time. So I don't want to be an impatient, snappy person. I don't want to be involved in addiction and drugs. And I really, because of my dad's life, I didn't go near it. I was scared of it. And I got into exercise and fitness. And so his mistake changed my life. So I just don't regret anything I've gone through or resent anything that I've been through with my mum and dad. I just, I'm proud of who I am.
Presenter asks
20:36To what extent do you worry about young men becoming obsessed with working out in the pursuit of the perfect body?
Well, I think this is a long time ago, like 15, 20 years ago. But now it's difficult because you're bombarded with images of the perfect physique, the perfect female body, the perfect male physique. So that's why I just try to really promote the messages. Exercise to feel good, eat to feel energized. There's no quick fix. … I hope that I don't ever make people feel insecure and uncomfortable. I hope I actually inspire them to want to live a healthy lifestyle. I hope I am doing that.
“I've had 60 million views from all around the world. And of all the things I've done, this, what I've done right now, is my greatest achievement. I'm not sure I'll ever do anything in my life that will be more meaningful than the PE With Joe during lockdown.”
“I think kids learn from what they see. You know, my little daughter Indy, she already watches me squat and run on the spot, and she tries, she calls it exercise, and she can see what I'm doing. And, you know, I always talk about mental health benefits. So if I'm having a stressful day and I'm a little bit tired or I'm a bit grouchy, when I go up and do my work and I come back down into the living room and I see my kids and wife, I'm a better person. I'm more calm, I'm more patient.”
“I remember saying one day I don't want to talk about my dad, I hate him, and I only ever said that once and I've never I've never really admitted that. … I felt so bad because I didn't hate my dad. I just hated what drugs were doing to him.”
“Because of my dad's life, I didn't go near it. I was scared of it. And I got into exercise and fitness. And so his mistake changed my life. So I just don't regret anything I've gone through or resent anything that I've been through with my mum and dad. I just, I'm proud of who I am.”
“I've got this little cheerleader in my head that says, keep going back, you're alright, they're going to come next week. Go and do some flyering, go and do some Instagram videos, go and do a YouTube workout. Like it will grow. And I've always had that voice. I don't know who it is, but someone in my head just tells me never to give up.”