Joseph Trevor Wicks MBE (born 21 September 1985), also known as The Body Coach,[1] is a British fitness coach, television presenter, social media personality and author.[2] His fitness method uses High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workouts.[3] Starting off by posting 15-second recipe videos on social media, Wicks grew his brand to become one of the most followed fitness accounts on Instagram and YouTube.
Joe Wicks | |
|---|---|
 Wicks in 2019 | |
| Born | 21 September 1985 |
| Education | St Mary's University, Twickenham |
| Occupation | Coach |
| Spouse |
Rosie Jones (m. 2019) |
| Children | 4 |
| Website | www |
His first published cookbook Lean in 15: 15-minute meals was a best-seller in 2015, having sold over 900,000 copies.[4][5] He has created a "90 Day Plan" with workouts and meals with portions tailored to the individual. Wicks was awarded a Guinness World Record for "most viewers for a fitness workout live stream on YouTube", after achieving over 950,000 viewers on 24 March 2020 for his second live stream.[6]
Early life
editWicks was born in Epsom, Surrey to Gary Wicks, a roofer, and Raquela Mosquera, a social worker of Italian descent. He grew up on a council estate with his parents and two brothers, Nicky and George.[7] Wicks attended Blenheim High School in Epsom, Surrey[8] and NESCOT technology college in Epsom.[9] He went on to study sports science at St Mary's University in Twickenham.
Career
editWicks worked as a teaching assistant after completing his sports science degree.[10] After realising it was not his ideal job, he became a personal trainer for the next five years.[10] In 2012, he appeared as a contestant on the Channel 4 game show The Bank Job. He went out first after being the only player left in the vault when the time ran out.[11] A segment on Channel 4 named Joe Wicks: The Body Coach aired in 2016 with Wicks as the presenter. As of 2020 there have been 3 episodes.[12] Wicks launched a range of kitchenware in 2018.[13] Wicks has recently caused controversy by saying that ADHD is caused by diet.[14]
Online presence
editWicks began to gain traction for his fitness and nutrition related content on social media. In 2014 he began posting videos to Instagram relating to workouts and nutrition advice.[15] He has amassed over 4.7 million followers on his Instagram account.[16] He launched a website called The Body Coach where he sells his kitchenware and a range of fitness/nutrition plans.[17][18] Wicks has been recognised by several major publications, such as Harper's Bazaar, Elle UK and Forbes for his online fitness efforts.[19][20][21][22]
YouTube
editHe began posting fitness content to his YouTube channel, named 'The Body Coach TV', in 2014. His first video garnered over 6 million views.[23] The channel has amassed over 2.7 million subscribers and more than 282 million views.[24] Wicks also topped both the YouTube charts as the number one trending and breakout creator of the year.[25] During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, he began "PE with Joe" on YouTube to try to help children stay active; this livestream had a wide impact and was viewed by over a million users worldwide.[26] The first stream occurred on 23 March and ended almost one year later, on 5 March. For this, he was awarded his MBE in the Birthday Honours of 2020.[27] He is a Channel 4 television presenter with his own show The Body Coach.[28]
Books
editIn 2015, Wicks published a cookbook named Lean in 15: The Shift Plan which sold 77,000 copies in its opening week.[15] He released a further two books in the Lean in 15 series, including Lean in 15: The Shape Plan, released 2016 [29] and "Lean in 15: The Sustain Plan", also in 2016.[30] Since the success of the Lean in 15 series, Wicks has published several more cookbooks.
Charity
editIn November 2020, Wicks completed a 24-hour workout challenge which raised over £2 million for Children in Need. Blue Peter awarded him a Gold Blue Peter Badge as a thank you on behalf of Children in Need.[31] In June 2021, Wicks became Patron of The Amber Foundation, a youth homeless charity.[32] Surrey-born Wicks first became aware of The Amber Foundation after his mother, a social worker, started to work with some of the residents at their site near Dorking in Surrey. Since then, Wicks has visited the centre on a number of occasions, donating fitness equipment and giving advice on physical activity and nutrition.
Personal life
editWicks married former glamour model Rosie Jones in June 2019.[33] Together they have four children—a daughter born July 2018, a son born December 2019, a second daughter born September 2022 and a second son born June 2024. They live in Kingston upon Thames.
Bibliography
edit| Year | Title | Publisher | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Lean in 15 - The Shift Plan: 15 Minute Meals and Workouts to Keep You Lean and Healthy | Pan Macmillan | ISBN 978-1-5098-0066-7 (Paperback, 224 pages) |
| 2016 | Lean in 15 - The Shape Plan: 15 Minute Meals With Workouts to Build a Strong, Lean Body | ISBN 978-1-5098-0069-8 (Paperback, 240 pages) | |
| Lean in 15 - The Sustain Plan: 15 Minute Meals and Workouts to Get You Lean for Life | ISBN 978-1-5098-2022-1 (Paperback, 240 pages) | ||
| 2017 | The Fat Loss Plan:100 Quick and Easy Recipes With Workouts | ISBN 978-1-5098-3607-9 (Paperback, 240 pages) | |
| Cooking for Family and Friends: 100 Lean Recipes to Enjoy Together | ISBN 978-1-5098-2025-2 (Hardback, 240 pages) | ||
| 2018 | Joe's 30 Minute Meals: 100 Quick and Healthy Recipes | ISBN 978-1-78517-512-1 (Hardback, 240 pages) | |
| Veggie Lean in 15: 15-minute Veggie Meals with Workouts | ISBN 978-1-5098-5615-2 (Paperback, 240 pages) | ||
| 2019 | Veggie BBQ: 10 Brand-new Lean in 15 Recipes | ISBN 978-1-5098-5617-6 (E-book, 32 pages) | |
| 2020 | Wean In 15: A book of baby meals | ISBN 978-1-5290-1633-8 (Hardback, 240 pages) | |
| 2020 | 30 Day Kick Start Plan | ISBN 978-1-5098-5618-3 (Paperback, 272 pages) | |
| 2021 | Joe's Family Food: 100 Delicious, Easy Recipes to Enjoy Together | ISBN 978-1529016314 (Hardback, 240 pages) | |
| 2022 | Feel Good Food | HQ | ISBN 978-0008430382 (Hardback, 304 pages) |
References
edit- ^ Companies House (16 January 2015). "Joe Wicks Ltd". Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ "World Economic Forum on Instagram: "Have you attended one of Joe's lessons? Learn more by tapping the link in our bio. #coronavirus #covid19 #health #exercise #lockdown"". Instagram. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
- ^ Sanders, Maria (14 August 2014). "What is HIIT Workout". Modern Fit. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
- ^ "'I want to be the voice that gets the nation healthy': Joe Wicks on being the next Jamie Oliver". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
- ^ "'Lean in 15: The Shape Plan by Joe Wicks – digested read". The Guardian. 19 June 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
- ^ Johnson, April (15 April 2020). "Joe Wicks lands Guinness World Record with workout live stream". Yahoo! News.
- ^ Heritage, Stuart (18 June 2016). "Meet the Body Coach, the man with the million-dollar muscles". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- ^ Nightingale, Laura (23 December 2016). "Kids get good food and exercise tips from The Body Coach". getsurrey. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
- ^ "Our Kids Need Joe Wicks Now More Than Ever". Love it!. ACH Publishing. 18 February 2021. pp. 26–27.
- ^ a b Heritage, Stuart (18 June 2016). "Meet the Body Coach, the man with the million-dollar muscles". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- ^ "The Bank Job - 3 February 2012 (S1E2)". Dailymotion. 3 February 2012.
- ^ "Joe Wicks: The Body Coach". Channel 4. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- ^ "Joe Wicks". Meyer Group Ltd. 13 August 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- ^ Kelly, Sarah-Louise (12 April 2024). "Joe Wicks Is Getting Schooled For Saying ADHD Is Caused By... Food". HuffPost UK. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ a b "Joe Wicks' amazing journey from skint PT to fitness mogul with a £14m empire". Metro. 26 March 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- ^ "Joe Wicks (@thebodycoach)". Instagram. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- ^ The Body Coach (2020). "90 Day Plan / The Body Coach". The Body Coach. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ The Body Coach. "Welcome / The Body Coach". The Body Coach. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- ^ "Top Influencers of 2017: Fitness". Forbes. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- ^ Barton, Merrilee. "Joe Wicks". Forbes. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- ^ "10 Instagram accounts to follow for fitness Inspiration". Harper's Bazaar. 2 January 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- ^ Lawrenson, Amy (3 October 2014). "Think outside the cereal box". Elle. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- ^ "HIIT Home Workout for beginners". YouTube. 29 August 2014.
- ^ "The Body Coach TV". YouTube. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- ^ "📈 The #1 Trend of 2020 & 2021". ViralWeGrow. 20 December 2020. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- ^ Bakare, Lanre (23 March 2020). "A million people livestream Joe Wicks online 'PE lesson'". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
- ^ "Joe Wicks says being made an MBE is 'a dream come true'". The Independent. 9 October 2020. Archived from the original on 9 June 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
- ^ "Joe Wicks: The Body Coach". Channel 4. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
- ^ Wicks, Joe. "Lean in 15 - The Shape Plan". Goodreads. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ "Lean in 15 - The Sustain Plan by Joe Wicks". Pan Macmillan. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- ^ Hogan, Michael (13 November 2020). "Children in Need 2020, recap: Joe Wicks and Marcus Rashford are heroes of 40th telethon". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
- ^ Our Senior Team
- ^ Randell, Louise (29 June 2019). "Joe Wicks marries glamour model Rosie Jones in fairytale woodland ceremony". Daily Mirror. London. Retrieved 21 September 2020.