THE BIG READ | How Joe Wicks overcame his traumatic childhood to become the world's most popular fitness coach

06 Jul 2021

Deborah Ross

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Joe Wicks has earned himself a legion of fans with his free online fitness videos, filmed in the living room of his London home. (PHOTO: Gallo Images/Getty Images)

He was already pretty popular pre-Covid but after practically the whole world went into lockdown it was Joe Wicks who got people off their couches, doing squats and crunches. Suddenly everyone was doing his free online PE with Joe workouts.

Children did them. Parents did them. He has letters from people living in care homes who did them. Documentary-maker Louis Theroux did them. Jamie Oliver and family did them. And I did them until, you know, I stopped doing them. (But I will start again tomorrow . . .)

He is now in the Guinness World Records for the most viewers of a livestreamed YouTube fitness workout (955 815) but he’s such a nice guy that he donated all the advertising revenue from the session – £600 000 (R11,4 million) – to charity.

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