The nation’s lockdown fitness coach on being glued to social media, emotional eating, and his latest plans to inspire children to get moving
Joe Wicks, 34, the nation’s go-to body coach during the pandemic kept millions on their toes and raised £580,000 for the NHS (PE with Joe on YouTube ran most weekdays between March 2020 and March 2021). Later this month he launches The Workout Badges, a series of short, energetic workouts for preschoolers on YouTube, in collaboration with Hey Duggee (BBC iPlayer’s most watched children’s show last year). As part of his same drive to inspire children to exercise, Wicks is bringing out, with the writer Vivian French and illustrator Paul Howard, a picture book, The Burpee Bears, on 30 September.
Were your own kids an inspiration for your new series?
Massively – I’m always exercising in front of them, although my little boy, Marley, is only 18 months old. I also have a three-year-old girl, Indie, and love it when she copies me… The other day we were doing The Workout Badges, and she said: “Dad, you’ve got to keep going because if you stop, you won’t get your badge!” My passion is with helping young people – through exercise – to change the way they feel.
