MarcusR.

Marcus came to fitness coaching from a background in sports. He had played semi-professional football for several years and spent a lot of time in gym environments — but always as an athlete, never as a coach. When injury cut short his playing career at 28, he needed to figure out what came next.

He considered a few options before landing on personal training. 'It was the obvious move in hindsight,' he says. 'I understood training, I understood what motivated people, and I had spent years around coaches. I just needed to formalise that knowledge into something I could build a career from.'

The Combined Level 2 & 3 Diploma at IFE gave him both qualifications in a single programme. What surprised him was how much the one-to-one format accelerated his learning. 'In sport you are used to having a coach who actually watches you and gives you specific feedback. That is exactly how IFE works. It is not passive — you are being coached on how to coach.'

Marcus qualified in 2023 and within six months had moved into a combined PT and management role at a gym in Norfolk. 'I think what set me apart in the interview was that I could speak to both the practical side and the business side. The IFE training was thorough enough that I felt ready for the real thing — not just the assessment.'

He trains a mix of clients including athletes returning from injury, which feels like a full circle from his own experience. 'I know what it is like to be the person on the other side of that relationship. That is probably the most useful thing I bring to those sessions.'