Former Personal Training student, Jamie Matthews, is enjoying helping to āchange peopleās livesā at Hengrove Leisure Centre after succeeding at ÷ČÓ°Ö±²„ and overcoming his learning difficulties and own body image struggles.
The 19-year-old personal trainer studied Personal Training Level 2 and 3 at the College and left in June last year to start his career at the leisure centre, which sits on the same estate as the Collegeās South Bristol Skills Academy and future Advanced Construction Skills Centre.
He said: āI was around 15 years old when I decided I wanted to do something I loved doing as a career. Originally, I was going to become a plumber or scaffolder as that was where the money was.
āIn my last year of school, I decided I wanted to become a personal trainer and it was the best decision I could have possibly taken, it gave me a lot of perspective in my life. As a kid I was quite overweight and while I was still loving life, I still wasnāt happy. But I got more into weightlifting and body building and I started researching into it and I have loved it ever since.ā
Jamie had to work hard to overcome his dyslexia and learning difficulties as he tackled good days and bad but perseverance and dedication helped him to succeed in both his Level 2 and 3 course and is now working as a personal trainer and instructor at a gym āhe loves going to every single dayā.
While Jamieās time at the College had ended, he still had a long way to go be at the top of his game. He said: āYou want to start with the basics first. In my mind I am still a rookie and still learning. In every trade you have to learn the tricks of the trade before becoming a master ā you have to be a Padawan before becoming a Jedi.ā
Jamie continues to improve his education by researching and reading books on his chosen topic. He described fitness as āfascinatingā after he showed a keen interest for science, especially biology, while at school.
Throughout his time at the College, Jamie was provided with āabsolutely brilliantā support from his teachers which he ācould not faultā.
He said: āStudying Personal Training at the ÷ČÓ°Ö±²„ is 110% the best thing you can ever do to invest in your future. If you love training and especially if you want to share your knowledge with other people then get into the personal training business.
āYou can interact with a lot of people and you can change peopleās lives ā it isnāt so much about how much money it brings in but also if you can change someoneās life in a short amount of time then they feel so rewarded and grateful that you have taken the time to work with them to change their perspective on life.ā To find out more about the Collegeās personal training courses, visit www.cityofbristol.ac.uk/courses/