Who is Joe Wicks? The fitness guru leading PE lessons for British kids in lockdown

Wicks’s PE lessons for children have been viewed by millions of people worldwide

While the country remains in lockdown, people are having to think of innovative ways to spend their time indoors while also remaining physically fit.

This may be particularly difficult for adults with children in their households, considering it is recommended that young people aged between five and 18 do around 60 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity every day.

As the public continues to get to grips with self-isolation, Joe Wicks, otherwise known as The Body Coach, has been offering live-streamed PE lessons for children from Monday to Friday.

But how did Wicks become so well-known within the world of fitness influencers?

Here is everything you need to know about the fitness instructor.

Who is Joe Wicks?

Born on 21 September 1986, Wicks grew up in Epsom, Surrey with his mother, Raquela and his two brothers, Nikki and George.

The fitness instructor previously told The Mirror that his father, Gary, was “in and out” of his life, and that they have a strong relationship.

On his website, Wicks says he is “a man on a mission to rescue people from the awful dieting industry”.

“I am sick and tired of people struggling on low calorie diets and meal replacement shakes,” he writes, which is why he created his 90-day fitness plan that he states can “educate people and give them the knowledge they need to get a lean, healthy strong body without going hungry”.

Wicks has written several best-selling books, including his earliest in 2015 Lean in 15 — The Shift Plan: 15 Minute Meals and Workouts to Keep You Lean and Healthy.

He regularly shares nutritious recipes and workout videos on Instagram and YouTube, the name of his channel being The Body Coach TV.

The 33-year-old is married to model Rosie Jones and the couple have two children together, Indie and Marley.

How did he get started?

Prior to achieving fame in the fitness world, Wicks attempted to make it as a personal trainer.

In 2012, the fitness instructor was handing out flyers outside Richmond Tube station in an attempt to spur people on to attend his boxing-for-fitness bootcamp class, the Express reported.

His parents lent him £2,000 to help him set up his own business as a personal trainer, a loan that he was initially unable to pay back.

However, Wicks’ fortunes turned in 2014 as he continued to share recipes and workout videos on Instagram, gradually building himself up a dedicated online following.

Now six years later, the South Londoner has 3.3m followers on Instagram.

His YouTube channel boasts 1.8m subscribers, and he also presents his own television show on Channel 4 called The Body Coach.

He is estimated to have a net worth of around £14.5m.

How can you watch his PE lessons for children?

A week ago, Wicks announced that he was going to start putting on live-streamed PE lessons for children while they remain at home amid the coronavirus pandemic.

On Monday 23 March, the fitness instructor held his first virtual class, and it was a roaring success.

More than 790,000 households tuned in to watch it live, and the video currently has more than 5m views on YouTube.

The 30-minute sessions are now being held every day from Monday to Friday at 9am GMT.

The workouts include a warm-up and a cool down and are geared towards children of all ages from toddlers to teenagers.

Wicks is encouraging people to share the hashtag #PEwithJoe to inspire even more individuals to take part.