A personal trainer who went through “hell” with drug and alcohol issues has explained how exercise turned his life around.
Mike Wiseman, a 31 year-old PT from Fazakerley, runs Trainwise at Sweatbox Gym in Bootle. Mike said that working on strength and conditioning gave him focus and vastly improved his mental health.
Mike said: “I was a little s*** at school, then became a terrible joiner. I got mixed up with drugs and alcohol. I was up for doing anything to escape from reality. That period of my life, between 15 to 20 years old, was hell and it still haunts me and I'd never want to relive that again. However, I know I’ve been able to learn from those mistakes."
READ MORE: 'Bullies punched me and called me Godzilla but now I'm a model'
Mike said exercise has been a huge part of transforming his life. He threw himself into exercise aged 19 with Thai boxing. He added: “The gym sorted my head out. When you’re training, you don’t think about anything else in the world.”
Mike also thanked his wife Vanessa, who he met aged 20. He said that meeting her was the moment his life changed, teaching him to care about others rather than focussing purely on himself.
Mike’s TrainsWise programme at Sweatbox aims to produce better fitness in clients within 12 weeks. It has helped professional athletes improve their fitness, such as Thai boxer Jamie Williamson.
He said: "I realised as I was training, I could coach people and teaching my mates how to lift. I got into being a PT from there. Helping people change over a time is the best part of it. I can relate to people going through tough times and not feeling good about yourself. Sweatbox Gym is full of great people too."
Mike said he wants to educate others on the benefits of exercise. He said: “It’s not just physical and mental health benefits. It’ll improve your skills in social interactions and give you more confidence in other areas of your life, such as job interviews.”
Mike also creates content regularly for TikTok and Instagram, opening up on his personal experiences to help others. He gave an example of a recent video warning against others getting too drunk around Christmas and upsetting others.
Mike said: “I had so many terrible Christmases, more bad ones than good ones. With things like this, it's about showing that I don’t want to just be a fitness guy who trains with my top off and gives no value to others."
Trainwise is growing, but Mike is simply focused on the small steps. He said: “Every day, I just want to improve a little bit, and go from there.” Mike’s Instagram page can be viewed here.
Discover, learn, grow. We are Curiously. Follow us on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
READ NEXT:
