When I was 19 years young I took a leap of faith and went to Australia as I wanted adventure and to find out what I really wanted to do with my life. (I’m sure you’ve been there) it was phenomenal in every aspect.

From my love of sport which was  a big part of my life from playing 1st Team Rugby ,basket ball and Athletics at county and National level and also compete ting All over Europe to being a county and national canoeing champion this passion for sport lead me to walk into Sydney’s most prestigious, tough professional boxing club The  Rocks Gymnasium to be trained 6 days a week by the Legendary trainer BERNIE HALL Bernie was a Professional fighter in the 40’s and 50’s and when he retired went into ring side commentary and trained professional fighters, with his wealth of experience and knowledge he taught me everything he knew as well as having chats about old fighters and life ..I picked up the skill of boxing very quickly and then became a sparring partner for every pro fighter who was training for a upcoming fight I also watched and learned Bernie and the other fighters and started helping train the Amateur fighters in the gym.

After spending 8 months with Bernie I went to the Gold Coast and trained with Bernie’s friend and top trainer called MAX PESCUD who trained the top Heavy Weight DAVID TUA. Max took me under his wing and let me train with his pro fighters and taught me how to train fighters I also got great sparring and helped a world martial arts champion prepare for his next fight.

After my year out I returned to London and swiftly undertook, studied and passed my YMCA fitness training award to become a personal trainer and became a member of Fitness Professionals. After sound advice from DENNIE MANCINI I started training at Londons top Amateur boxing club the Fitzroy Lodge under the watchful experienced eye of the legendary late MICK CARNEY where I trained and sparred with DAVID HAYE former heavy weight champion of the world, TED BAMI former European light welterweight champion and many more top Amateurs.

My first trainer position was with the famous MATT ROBERTS company based at the ONE ALDWYCH HOTEL in London where I spent 2 years learning from the head trainer and ex British Army PTI ALISTAIR LANE and from MATT AND JOHN ROBERTS.

Working as part of a elite team of trainers was a great experience and it was a crucial part of my education to building my knowledge and experience which lead me to have the confidence to break off and start my own business which I had dreamed about as I knew that I had the passion and experience to take the next big step forward.

The first step started at the iconic PINEAPPLE DANCE STUDIOS. My client base rapidly grew and I grew as a person and as a trainer and I soon had to move to a larger more developed gym and that gym was at the world famous CLARIDGES HOTEL, the move to Claridges catapulted my business forward and I was privileged to work with an International client list from A list actors and film producers to Blue-chip company directors of major international firms and royalty. human hair extensions uk

I am very grateful for having my business based at Claridges and after 4 years I wanted to move on and develop my business further. The move forward was to the world renowned SOHO HOTEL and HAYMARKET HOTEL that became my new base for the next 5 years. Here I branched out further and setting up my own franchise of elite team of personal trainers, beauty therapists, masseurs, beauty therapists and a hair and makeup team. Our team was on hand to offer an unbeatable service to all of FIRMDALE HOTEL’S guests from all over the world. My company’s clients were Ridley Scott, Ildivo, Gerrad Butler, Dr Pamela Stevenson Connelly, Simon Callow CBE, Jessica Alba, Meg Ryan and many more.

The challenges of running a team at such a thriving high calibre hotel chain was a great experience yet I felt like I was spending too much time managing the team and being bogged down by administrative work and this meant I was neglecting my holistic approach to personal training. I got into the business to work closely with my clients and to be able to focus my energies on them and their goals.

After much deliberation, I decided to strip my business down to its core and return to being a freelance personal trainer.

It has been the best decision I have ever made, I am re-energised in the new way I train my clients. I have built up a solid reputation within the industry and have great clients that find training with me inspiring and challenging. I’ve trained some real personalities in my time and I always know how to get the best out of them, this ability to tune into people and motivate them with my

Unique style of training sets me apart from all other trainers as I know what makes my clients tick. By improving the whole person and making sure they are doing the right things to enhance their fitness. For me it’s about building relationships and not just going through the motions with an hour long session having a chinwag on the treadmill and forgetting the client until the following week.

I keep in touch with my clients when they are away working on film sets or business meetings to see what training they’ve been doing, what they have been eating and ultimately, how they are feeling. It is this personal ‘outside of the box’ approach that makes me stand out from run of the mill personal trainers.

How Rod keeps himself Mentally and physically in shape.

• Daily meditation and gratitude list
• Trained in authentic Japanese martial art-Fully licensed member in the Genbukan  www.genbukan.org
• Boxing- trained at the Fitzroy Lodge for the last 20 years www.fitzroylodge.co.uk  and with Freddie Roach at the Wild Card gym when I’m in LA www.wildcardboxingstore.com  and forties boxing gym when in Bermuda.
• Primal Workouts in Nauture
• Dynamic strength training
• Yoga
• Wild swimming
• Long walks in the country side
• Horse riding
• Mountain Biking
• Trained in S.P.E.A.R system - a modern self defence system for law enforcement, military and first responders. www.blauerspear.com