Guy Kennedy, owner of Barn Gym, shares some thoughts
How did you come to do what you do?
I believe everyone needs to build their own path. Misfortunes and changes happen along the way to what you may think your ideal is, but it's just part of the progress of growth.
When I was in sixth form my ambition was to either make it pro at rugby or join the parachute regiment. Due to a series of unfortunate events in a rugby game, my body was left broken, with a dislocated shoulder and a fractured wrist. These new injuries, on top of old ones, led to me being denied from joining the forces and getting dropped from Harlequins rugby. My dreams were shattered, everything I thought I ever wanted vanished in front of me. On top of this, the first love of my life broke up with me - when it rains it pours. Everyone faces challenges along their path, some worse than others. But this certainly was the most mentally challenging obstacle I had faced at that specific point in my life. It sent me on a spiral of depression and alcohol abuse.
Months passed, which I have very little recollection of. I was in a dark place. Seeing a counselor weekly seemed to help, but did not resolve the problem that I had no idea what I was going to do with my life. As time went on I was told I should start taking antidepressants, this was the real turning point for myself. I decided if anyone was going to drag me out of this dark pit I had found myself trapped within, it was going to be me, and not some pill.
I started doing the things which made me feel good again. My injuries had healed by this point so instead of going out every weekend I started to play rugby, but most importantly I started to focus on the gym again. I became infatuated with optimising my physical self as my mental health had diminished. I was obsessed, studying how to improve my body more than my A levels. Over time, my diet became immaculate, my sleep was optimised, and my knowledge of the gym started to exceed that of the school strength and conditioning coach. My obsession was so great I hadn't truly noticed the drastic improvements within my mental state. The counselor told me it was no longer necessary to see her and that I was better. This life changing alteration I had made to myself showed me that health and fitness wasn't only my passion but that it was what I wanted to do for a living, helping others. Once I finished school I signed up for my personal training course.
What inspires you?
I love what I do. The fact that I can help change peoples lives is sometimes all I need for inspiration, but it does go deeper than that for me. Now I am running a business at the age of 23 with 2 full time employees and a couple of part time employees, I have to find different things to inspire me through times of fear and uncertainty.
What people can do is amazing, but what most end up doing is usually disappointing. This is due to people becoming afraid and fearful of what failures might happen or have happened. So I find what truly inspires me through challenging times is knowing that if I keep working passionately and relentlessly towards my goals, in the end I will get to where I want to be.
Finding my deeper WHY has allowed me to find the right mindset which inspires me also. My why is “I want to help as many people as I can, see the true benefits of exercise and health”. So how would I achieve this goal if I am a poor role model and sat on my ass all day.
What things have you learned along the way?
Oh an awful lot! So I would have to practically write a book. I started out as a self employed personal trainer at 18. Not only did I have to learn everything about health and coaching but how to sell, market myself, plan, pay tax, satisfy clients, manage staff, strategize, and the list goes on.
But the 3 biggest things I have learned along the way :
Ask questions
Being dyslexic, I have always asked questions, sometimes I just have to hear things repeated or said in another way for me to truly understand. So I have never been scared to ask questions no matter how silly or complex. This has helped myself and the business an awful lot over the past years. Don't become content with not knowing, asking questions only leads to you expanding your knowledge and growing.
2. Don't give into fear
Fear is the mindkiller and will only ever hold you back. Fear is present at all times so I try and focus on where I want to be and what it takes to get there. I never focus on where I don't want to be - that is where fear can corrupt my thoughts and make them negative.
3. Enjoy the process
I do what I love for a living and when I am at my happiest I deliver the best version of myself to my clients and colleges. I would be lying if I said I don't get stressed and give into temptation but this only ever leads to me being unsatisfied with myself. Sometimes my ambition can overwhelm me but it's okay to take a step back, express gratitude and do something I love. I don't tell myself to be happy, I do things that make me happy and positive.
What challenges have you faced?
Life is 20% what happens to you and 80% how you react to it. Having previously discussed the dark time I went through at school I now understand how to cope with issues. When shit hits the fan I turn to fitness, sleeping well, being in nature and eating healthy food. This is what I know I should do but sometimes it doesn't pan out the way I would like.
A few weeks before Christmas, my grandfather and close friend passed away on the same weekend. It was not easy to get my head around two very meaningful people in my life gone forever. Before I knew it, bad habits crept their way back in, eating crap and drinking too much too often. Something that is easy to hide in the festive season where everyone is over indulging. As soon as the new year came around I flipped a switch and went back to what I know I should be doing, I haven't consumed alcohol in 8 weeks and I have gone back to my training and nutrition plan that works for me. I am now as happy as I can be. Lucky I know myself well and can fix these issues fairly quickly.
Sometimes people know what to do but just need to remind themselves to do it.
How do you help yourself when you’re not feeling great?
Well to surmise here is exactly what I do:
Workout 1 hour everyday
Eat unprocessed, nutrient dense, protein rich foods 80-90% of the time. Then the other 10-20% of the time eat the foods I love which might not be the best for my physical health but are certainly great for my mental health as they taste fucking amazing.
Drink 3L of water everyday
Sleep 8 hours
Be outside in nature 1-2 hours
I write thoughts down good and bad.
Focus on myself and what makes me happy. Being selfish sometimes is necessary.
Stop drinking.
Express gratitude, it creates a positive mind.
What is it about your personality that brings that little something special?
I am not ashamed of my personality, I am me. People can judge and choose to not like me, or to like me. My brain works perhaps differently to most. I am full of optimism and think more logically than emotionally. I am also very bloody weird. One part of me is passionate, disciplined and focused, the other part of me is an unrelenting force of craziness, creativity and fun. Guy, when work is not on his mind, is a whole other beast that is difficult to tame. But for me it’s about having a balance, disciplined Guy helps me get to where I want to be, crazy Guy is all about living life to the full and having fun.
