Joseph Trevor Wicks (born 21 September 1985), also known as The Body Coach, is a British

fitness coach A personal trainer is an individual who creates and delivers safe and effective exercise programs for apparently healthy individuals and groups, or those with medical clearance to exercise. They motivate clients by collaborating to set goals, p ...

, TV presenter,

social media personality An Internet celebrity (also known as a social media influencer, social media personality, internet personality, or simply influencer) is a celebrity who has acquired or developed their fame and notability through the Internet. The rise of social ...

and author. His fitness method uses High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workouts. 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 YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

. His first published cookbook ''Lean in 15: 15-minute meals'' was a best-seller in 2015, having sold over 900,000 copies. He has created a "90 Day Plan" with workouts and meals with portions tailored to the individual. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

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. 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. He is a

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

television presenter with his own show ''The Body Coach''. 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 Tuesday 24 March 2020 for his second live stream. The award was presented to him virtually due to the pandemic.

Early life

Wicks was born in

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

, Surrey to Gary Wicks, a roofer, and Raquela Mosquera, a social worker of Italian descent. His maternal grandparents were from the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

. He grew up on a council estate with his parents and two brothers, Nikki and George. Wicks attended

Blenheim High School Blenheim High School is a secondary school located at Longmead Road, Epsom, Surrey, England, that opened in 1997. It is a coeducational, publicly funded academy that educates children from ages 11–18, with 1,350 pupils on roll. Academic stand ...

in Epsom, Surrey and NESCOT technology college in

. He went on to study

sports science Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sport and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. The study of sports science traditionally inc ...

at St Mary's University in

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

Career

Joe Wicks worked as a teaching assistant after completing his sports science degree. After realising it was not his ideal job, he became a personal trainer for the next five years. In 2012, he appeared as a contestant on the

game show ''The Bank Job''. He went out first after being the only player left in the vault when the time ran out. Wicks has been a guest on several UK daytime talk shows, including '' Good Morning Britain'', '' This Morning'', '' Loose Women'' and ''

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...

''. A segment on

named ''Joe Wicks: The Body Coach'' aired in 2016 with Wicks as the presenter. As of 2020 there have been 3 episodes. Wicks launched a range of kitchenware in 2018.

Online presence

Wicks 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. He has amassed over 4.1 million followers on his Instagram account. He launched a website called The Body Coach where he sells his kitchenware and a range of fitness/nutrition plans. Wicks has been recognised by several major publications, such as '' Harper's Bazaar'', '' Elle UK'' and ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'' for his online fitness efforts.

YouTube

He began posting fitness content to his

channel, named 'The Body Coach TV', in 2014. His first video garnered over 6 million views. The channel has amassed over 2.7 million subscribers and more than 282 million views. Wicks also topped both the YouTube charts as the number one trending and breakout creator of the year. On 19 March 2020 Wicks uploaded a video announcing that he would begin to produce "P.E with Joe" videos on his channel. These videos were exercise videos aimed at children to keep fit during the

as schools were closed. Wicks announced on his Instagram that he will donate profits from these videos to the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

. He raised approximately £500,000. In November 2020, during the second England National Lockdown, he produced a series of videos called “Wake up with Joe” On January 28, 2023, Joe Wicks hosted a 5K fun run at Nonsuch Park. It was attended by celebrities including fellow YouTube personalities Matthew Houghton and Alex Gurteen.

Books

In 2015, Wicks published a cookbook named ''Lean in 15: The Shift Plan'' which sold 77,000 copies in its opening week. He released a further two books in the ''Lean in 15'' series, including ''Lean in 15: The Shape Plan'', released 2016 and "Lean in 15: The Sustain Plan", also in 2016. Since the success of the ''Lean in 15'' series, Wicks has published several more cookbooks. His new cookbook, ''Wean in 15'' was released on 14 May and focuses on 'weaning babies onto solid food and recipes for time-pressed parents'.

Charity

In 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 A ''Blue Peter'' badge is an award for ''Blue Peter'' viewers, given by the BBC children's television programme for those appearing on the show, or in recognition of achievement. They are awarded to children aged 6 to 15, or to adults who have b ...

as a thank you on behalf of Children in Need. In June 2021, Wicks became Patron of The Amber Foundation, a youth homeless charity. 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

Wicks married glamour model Rosie Jones in June 2019. Together they have three children—a daughter born July 2018, a son born December 2019 and a second daughter born September 2022. Wicks was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2020 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2020 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...

for services to fitness and charity.

Bibliography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wicks, Joe 1985 births Channel 4 people Living people Diet food advocates English food writers English television chefs English television presenters Alumni of St Mary's University, Twickenham English people of Italian descent English people of Manx descent Members of the Order of the British Empire