Welcome to Metro.co.uk‘s The Big Questions, where we ask, well, the big questions (and the smaller ones too) and this week, we’re diving deep with Joe Wicks.
Also known as the Body Coach, Joe took on the responsibility to get the nation moving every morning in lockdown, when schools and gyms were closed.
The free morning workouts became so much of a phenomenon that it attracted hundreds of thousands of viewers each day – who are now able to meet Joe on his P.E. With Joe tour with Mini as he tours Britain in a Mini Countryman.
Joe’s infectious energy and love for exercise not only won him legions of fans, but also Guinness World Records and even an MBE from the Queen.
We sat down with the man himself to talk about all the important questions before he hits the road this summer.
What’s it like taking P.E. With Joe on the road for the second time?
It’s amazing. It’s a lot of organisation that goes into it because I’m actually doing a back to back traveling tour, where we roll in – and the guys are amazing – they set up this huge screen, the stage and the music and everything. It’s just a really awesome thing.
I usually have about 1,000 people each event. So we’re doing seven cities and seven days and hoping to reach around 7,000 children, teenagers and adults.
I get to travel around in a brand new Mini Countryman, which is pretty fun, because Mini are obviously supporting it and helping organise the amazing tour. We rock up and do the workout, get everyone excited, do a little bit of a stretch and a workout.
And then I finish with a meet and greet – I meet everybody, every single person that comes gets to meet me. 1000 people at each event takes about three or four hours after the workout, but I love it.
It must be so rewarding to get to see face-to-face some of the hundreds of thousands of people who did your workouts virtually throughout lockdown?
It’s my favourite thing to do. Because like you said, people did it virtually and didn’t really get to experience it or do it in a live setting with a beautiful backdrop of really beautiful castles and wonderful manor houses and they just look so good.
I really love it because people are obviously there to work out, but they’re also there to say thank you.They want to say thank you for P.E. With Joe, because I know what it meant to them. So I always come away feeling really inspired and really happy and proud.
Did you ever expect P.E. With Joe to go as massive as it did in the pandemic?
No, I had no idea. I just thought a few thousand schools would take part but I definitely didn’t expect nearly a million live streams and stuff. So I knew that second day, like, wow, this is big, but this is really a lot of people, so I just kept doing it.
I was just trying to give people some structure to their day. It was just a mood changer or a mood booster and I think that’s what it did really, it got people feeling a bit more positive about the day.
Being out on the road and meeting your fans, are there any encounters that stick in your mind as special?
There’s so many people I’ve met along the way, a lot of people get very emotional because they’ve gone from maybe being depressed or really overweight, and they saw my videos, and it changed their life by doing a workout with me.
So it’s quite an emotional experience, I get lots of lovely letters and cards that people will give to me to read on the way home and that’s when I really, really, get some emotional stuff to read. But it’s amazing – I keep them all in a box in the garage, I’ve got them all and I remember those moments.
You’ve also picked up some celebrity fans along the way – we saw you torturing Louis Theroux with an ice bath not that long ago after striking up a friendship, what’s that been like?
He’s such an amazing guy, I’ve loved his shows for so many years, so it’s just amazing that he does my workouts, and he came to my house because he produced my mental health documentary. So I really wanted to get to know him a bit more and he came around and I made him have an ice bath. We did a workout and stuff, which was really funny. He’s awesome.
He’s a really lovely bloke and actually I was with him a few weeks ago, and I’m always thinking if I can do more documentaries, I’d love to do it with him.
You mentioned your incredible documentary, Joe Wicks: Facing My Childhood, in which you opened up about your mental health. Is speaking about your mental health something you’ve always found easy to do or has that come with time?
It’s something that I definitely wouldn’t have been confident talking about 10 years ago when I started out as a trainer, because I just didn’t have the knowledge and didn’t have the kind of world experience to talk about it.
I’ve since spoken to so many people, and had so many interactions with people that are suffering and who have come through it, even with healthy food and exercise or meditation and mindfulness and different kinds of things.
I just think, if I can use my platform to share about that, and to spread that message, it’s always a positive thing.
I think when I show my own vulnerabilities in my documentary, I think it helps a lot of young guys think “Hey, you know what, I’m ready to talk now, I can actually come out and ask for help.”’
Even young children should be able to talk to their parents and have those conversations, so I really try to promote that message a lot. Even when I do the P.E. With Joe tour I tell them about the importance of exercise on your mental health. It’s about moving, it’s about releasing that stress or frustration in your body and it’s just little messages like that that it’s good for kids to hear and it has an impact.
Aside from exercise to get your endorphins going, what other thing do you rely on to look after your own mental health when you might be having a down day?
It’s the things that people don’t often think about that are the most important thing for your mental health and to develop is sleep. So I always encourage people to get to bed a bit earlier, get a few more hours sleep because it makes such a difference to your mental health, your energy, your mood.
And I think food as well, people often think exercise is what boosts your mood, which it does, of course, but actually food has a really powerful impact on your mood and how you feel so it’s a combination of sleep, food and regular exercise to keep yourself in a positive mindset.
The proceeds from your tour are going to Children In Need which is a charity that you’ve worked with many times before – why did you choose to partner up with them?
I’ve been working with Children In Need for a few years now and what I love about them is they distribute their money across loads of different funds and foundations in different kinds of projects around the UK. They really have a big focus on children’s mental health and wellness, so I know that the money we raise is going to a good place.
I’ve known them for years and done loads of work with them, including the 24 Hour Challenge and different events, so I wanted to have an impact and stick with one charity rather than diluting it and working with hundreds of different charities. So for me, working with young people is what I’m really passionate about and helping them.
You were already big before the pandemic but your fame skyrocketed after P.E. With Joe – how has that affected your life?
It’s weird because although people obviously really recognise me after that, it hasn’t affected my life in any way. I still kind of live in a bit of a bubble – I live out in Virginia Water in Surrey with the kids and Rosie.
It’s not like I’ve felt a massive impact on my life, but I just think the more people I can reach, the better so obviously, that’s going to come with people recognising you at some point, whether it’s for YouTube, or podcasts or something. But yeah, it didn’t really affect me different much differently, really.
It must be fun for your kids to see you get recognised for the important things you do though.
They don’t really know what’s going on yet, you know. They’re sort of aware that I’m on TV but they don’t really know why people want a photo with their daddy!
You have instilled a love of good food and exercise in them from a young age – was it always important for you to pass on that wisdom early?
I think two of the most important things we can do as parents is role modelling around food and exercise. So if you can get your children to enjoy food and to engage with cooking and learning about food, it’s really powerful. I definitely think that’s one thing I love doing and obviously exercise they see me doing all the time. It’s a part of my day so they always come up in the gym and copy me and follow along with me.
You always make your workouts more fun and include costumes and things – half the battle is getting out of the mindset that exercise is a chore, because you never regret a workout once you’ve done it, do you?
Yeah, I’ve always tried to make exercise fun for people that take part so that’s a big, big stigma around exercise, that it’s got to be this structured, rigid gym session.
But actually, you can do really fun stuff and it could be at home with the kids, it doesn’t have to be so difficult and boring, it can be fun. You never regret a workout, you always feel better at the end of it.
Joe Wicks’ weekend:
It’s a Saturday, where will we find you?
You’ll find me doing a morning workout. I like to do a Saturday morning boot camp on the Body Coach app, and then we’ll go somewhere like the farm or the zoo, go for a nice lunch, and then watch a movie when we get home.
What’s on the brunch menu?
I do love a full English but that probably wouldn’t be the healthiest option! I’m obsessed with overnight oats as well, maybe with some fresh fruit and a bit of orange juice.
How have your weekends evolved?
I’m certainly not partying like I used to! I come home a little bit earlier now, I love a night out but I’m normally in bed by midnight now. So yeah, I’m not as not as feral as I used to be!
What’s your ultimate Sunday night movie or TV show to watch?
My favourite show is Succession but that’s not on at the moment, I think that’s the best thing on TV. I also love good Disney film or a good Pixar movie with the kids. So anything like old Toy Story films or Encanto – we like a little bit of a singalong!
The P.E with Joe Wicks and MINI Tour takes place between July 31 and August 6. For more information and to get tickets to workout at one of the locations; hop, skip or jump your way to https://www.mini.co.uk/pewithjoe.
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