STEVE HINDS
From the age of 5 when my dad took me to Douglas Boys to play football under the guidance of George Joughin and Reg Lunt, it was obvious that sport was going to feature heavily in my life.
School years were filled with happy memories of cricket, athletics, golf and rugby – but it was in football that I excelled, travelling to Oldham FC for trials and representing the IOM at all age levels.
At St. Ninians High School, at the age of 15, I got my first taste of weight training. Paul Corrin, My PE teacher at the time, ran an after school session, and this taught me how lifting weights could not only change my body, but also make me stronger and more powerful for my sporting activities.
When I was 17, I worked for the Manx Independent Newspaper, initially as a graphic designer but then I started covering local sports events as a journalist.
It was here that I met Pete (Pineapple) Griffiths who took me on as his training partner, we trained at Mike’s Bodyland which was a ‘spit and sawdust’ gym located in Summerland.
I first dipped my toe in the coaching world at the age of 18, when I managed ‘Corinthians FC 14/16’ team through a whole season unbeaten – and then the same year, along with Richard Hodgson and Nick Robinson we set up the IOM Football School of Excellence.
This gave youngsters from all around the island an opportunity to develop their skills and pit their talents against juniors linked to professional teams in the UK mainland.
At the age of 21, I turned down two coaching roles, one at York City FC and the other in California working in soccer camps – and instead commenced employment at the IOM Prison.
I spent the next 22yrs here, initially as a prison officer (2yrs) but then I joined the PT team as an instructor where I would coach staff and inmates for the next 20yrs.
I continued to lift weights at the prison and started to develop a passion for bodybuilding. I’d spend all my spare time studying training principles and it was during this research that I’d stumble upon the first great influence in my life. Mr Ben Pakulski.
Ben’s knowledge not only altered the way I trained, but when I noticed the results I was getting with my own physique, it also changed the way I coached. It was like a light bulb had come on and I’d suddenly found all the answers.
Working long shifts at the Prison allowed for decent time off in between, and in 2015 I set up ‘Getting It Done Personal Training’ – initially it was just a part time offering but in March 2017, I decided to take the plunge and leave the Prison Service and enter the self-employed arena.
This turned out to be the best move ever!
Also in 2017 I decided it was time to test myself physically, Ben’s company ‘Mi40’ were running a 12 week transformation challenge with a $5000 first prize.
I entered, won and in 2018 I jetted off to Tampa, Florida to attend their Muscle Camp and collect my winnings. It was an amazing and life changing experience.
By the end of 2017 my coaching books were full, yet I felt an overwhelming frustration that people were reaching out for help and I simply couldn’t fit them in.
I approached Mark Coles, owner of M10 Gym and a leading figure in the industry, with a mission to mentor young fitness entrepreneurs and develop a team world-class coaches.
I enrolled on his Business Mastermind and spent the following six months travelling to London, working closely with him to build a junior coaching mentorship programme here on the Isle of Man.
Mark was exceptional. He had an ability to draw the best out of me, helping transform what was often a pessimistic mindset into one of focus, clarity, passion and optimism. I remain hugely grateful for the role he played in my personal development.
I went on to assemble a team of outstanding coaches, all brimming with enthusiasm and a genuine desire to not only help their clients, but to become the best coaches they could be.
In time, they each went their own way. My legacy there is complete, and I now find myself working independently once again.
I am currently devoting my time to the following:
• Coaching men and women over 30 via the Energise online coaching platform.
• Delivering presentations and workshops for companies and organisations, centred around health, fitness and mindset, and promoting both physical and mental wellbeing.
• Studying NLP and Hypnosis to further expand my skillset and experience dealing with mental health – to enable me to support a wider range of clients in the future.
When it comes to my personal goals, they are simple:
1.) To positively impact the lives of the people I coach.
2.) To leave a meaningful legacy in an industry that has given me so much.
And of course, to have a little fun along the way.
