Fitness guru Joe Wicks to tour Australia in February
Joe Wicks, who hit mega-fame thanks to his lockdown P.E. with Joe YouTube sessions, is heading to Australia and is determined to get the country moving.
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Exercise isn’t an option, according to fitness king Joe Wicks – it’s a necessity. The British workout star says sport should be central to everyone’s life, as it makes you feel better, mentally and physically.
So passionate is he, the messiah of movement is bringing his message Down Under next month, with live events in Sydney and Melbourne.
“Exercise isn’t this optional thing. It’s essential for your physical and mental health, to be a healthy, happy human being,” Joe says.
Joe, 37, who hit mega-fame thanks to his lockdown P.E. with Joe YouTube sessions, says Australia was top of his list to visit on his world tour, as the nation is his second-biggest market after the UK.
“It’s the most exciting thing – can I take my message and amplify it and reach a million kids in Australia? That would be amazing. That’s why I’m heading over in February,” he says, from his home in Surrey, England.
“I love Australians. Maybe it’s because Aussies get my humour and personality.”
Joe, who has three children, Indie, 4, Marley, 3 and baby Leni, with model wife Rosie, says he fell in love with the country after backpacking in 2004.
“I spent about eight months there and went from Sydney to Cairns, up the east coast. I had the best trip of my life. I loved it,” he says.
He wouldn’t have believed it if someone had told him one day he’d return to Australia as a world-famous fitness guru.
“I had no real direction back then,” the Body Coach says. “I never expected to be more than a fun P.E. teacher.
“My life has changed a lot since I was an 18-year-old backpacker. I’ve been back a couple of times, but I’ve got three children now, so I’m really excited to be bringing my family.”
And while some might suggest selling sport to Australia is like peddling ice to Eskimos, not so, says Joe, who insists the message is as crucial for Aussies as it is Brits, or Americans. Despite sport being part of Australians’ DNA, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 70 per cent of children don’t do enough exercise.
“I think it’s really sad there’s a huge percentage of the population who are completely sedentary and don’t even consider exercise, which is why I’m passionate about getting parents and children exercising together. When you do that you change the culture of fitness in the household. You can enjoy family bike rides, going on your scooters, walking around the park.”
Joe is bringing his P.E. with Joe 2023 tour to Sydney’s Taronga Zoo on Sunday, February 26. He will host mass family workout events, with proceeds going to ReachOut Australia and the Taronga Conservation Society and says the thing he’s most looking forward to, is meeting his fans.
“It is, for me, the most exciting thing. Without that, it’s just Instagram likes and would feel like a numbers game. But when people turn up, who have come back from depression, or lost a family member during COVID, exercise literally saved their lives,” he says.
“I love that I’ve got this ability to communicate to people, of all ages and different shapes and sizes. That for me is a gift. I need to continue to push that across the world, to keep sharing and inspiring people.”
Last year Joe opened up about his traumatic childhood, living with his heroin-addicted father and mother with OCD, in his documentary Joe Wicks: Facing My Childhood.
“It was a mad house,” he says, “chaotic and stressful. My P.E. teacher was my first male role model who made me feel welcome. I wasn’t kicked out of class. I knew that when I did P.E., I’d be more focused and when I went home, I was happier.
“That’s why I’m so driven to help people realise exercise is not just about losing weight and looking like another Instagram fitness model. It’s about looking after your mental health, because life is hard. Relationships are tough, work is tough, social media is difficult. Everything can feel very overwhelming.
“But when you are doing some kind of exercise, you’re going to live a healthy life and a happier life. So, like I said, it is not optional.” Got it.
P.E. with Joe, February 25-26, thebodycoach.com/blog
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