logo
Joe Wicks: ‘We had a chaotic childhood — Dad was a heroin addict'

Joe Wicks: ‘We had a chaotic childhood — Dad was a heroin addict'

Times27-06-2025
I'm one of three boys. Mum met my dad and had Nikki at 17, me 18 months later, then my brother George ten years after that. We grew up in Epsom, Surrey, in a chaotic home. Both my parents suffered with poor mental health: Dad was a heroin addict and Mum had eating disorders and OCD. It was quite unstable.
Nikki and I are both emotional but we have different personalities — I'm quite reactive and impulsive, while Nikki is calmer, more considered. He's very sensitive and really caring. If anything happens in my life he's my first port of call aside from my wife, Rosie.
When we were teenagers we argued a lot. There were times I'd irritate him or grass him up for coming home late. But when Nikki was 18 he spent the summer working in the States, supervising students at Camp America. I really missed him. When he came back our arguing and annoying each other had dissipated. We realised we were brothers and we needed each other. From that point we had a strong bond.
Saying that, we did have a huge row in 2009. It was on a cycling trip from Madrid to Barcelona, over a lilo I'd got for Nikki to sleep on. It wasn't a punching fight but I was on top and we were just screaming. He went off to ring Mum; I was ringing her too. It was a pivotal moment because we got all that childish aggression out. I've never raised my voice or been angry like that since. We might have a little row on the phone if I feel like my ideas get shot down, but we don't hold grudges.
• Joe Wicks: 'I would have turned to drugs without exercise'
My first connection with fitness and dealing with stress was when I was about nine. Rather than get angry and bottle things up, I thought I'd run around instead, do a karate club, anything. It was an instant shift. It calmed me down and gave me something to focus on.
In 2012 I did a personal training course. I borrowed £2,000 off my mum, then my dad lent me £1,500 to get my equipment. I did my first fitness boot camp in Richmond — it was friends, family and one other person who didn't come back. I had a bike and trailer and would cycle there, five miles from home. I thought, 'If I can have boot camps in Surbiton, Cobham and Clapham and a few trainers working for me, that would be wonderful.' That was as far as my vision went.
It was weeks before it got any traction. I remember sitting on the carpet one day and I burst into tears. I said, 'Dad, no one came — I'm never going to pay that money back.' Nikki could see I was deflated. It would be seven in the morning, pissing with rain, I'd just walked in the house and he would be, like, 'Did anyone turn up today?' He could see how hard it was for me.
Nikki was working on a magazine in Singapore in 2014 when I started to take off on social media. I asked if he'd come back and help me. He had reservations about mixing business and family, but he came home and became my social media manager. Now he's my manager, agent and CEO. He's an amazing leader. I trust him with my life and he has given me the freedom to do what I love and be with Rosie and our children, Indie, six, Marley, five, Leni, two, and Dusty, one.
We're really proud we're self-funded — and we've got to this point because we've worked hard. In the year after the first lockdown began in March 2020, my YouTube channel PE with Joe got 100 million views globally. We still get two million views a month.
• Joe Wicks: Anti-obesity drugs are a temporary fix
I had no idea I was going to build this big brand, but we've done it together as brothers. Nikki asks me the questions no one else is asking. Hand on heart, half the success you see is me, half is Nikki.
Joe and I have such different memories of childhood. It's almost like two different lives. Joe was wild and fearless, while I was anxious and scared of everything. I used to think the police were going to come and take us away. I was very aware of what was going on with our parents but I don't think Joe was. When he did the BBC documentary Joe Wicks: Facing My Childhood, that was the first time he'd spent proper time thinking back. But I understood when I was young that my dad had problems with addiction. I'd know instantly if he'd used and would try not to let Mum find out. I'm 41 now and realise I took on the role of protecting everyone.
As kids Joe and I were inseparable. We were both naughty and we had no boundaries. We'd play 'knock down ginger', go out at eight o'clock in the morning and come back at eight o'clock at night. We had the same friends and all the same things, but in different colours — we were obsessed with the Ninja Turtles. And we fought constantly. I've got two boys and I've realised being together and fighting is weirdly a sign of closeness. At Camp America I really missed Joe. When I came back it was like a switch had been flipped.
We lived with Dad in his flat for a while. I was working as a journalist on the London Olympics and Joe was doing his boot camps, and he would come home at 7am as I was getting up. I remember feeling sad for him when he said no one came. We were on a bike ride one evening when he said he'd thought of a name for his business: the Body Coach. I said, 'I love it.'
• Joe Wicks: I've taken my five-year-old out of school
When he asked me to come and help him, the question in my head was: if I don't, will he end up with someone who takes advantage? I told him I'd do the thing I'm good at, which is content — we'd set up a blog and a YouTube channel. My plan was to have my own content agency; but I never had time for any other clients. I say I'm an accidental CEO. We were building a tech team for the app and someone asked who they should report to. I told Joe, I think I need to be the CEO as people want to know who's running the company.
We're both bad at acknowledging the impact of things we've done. When we did the HIIT workout world record in Hyde Park in 2017, almost 4,000 people came. I cried; his boot camps with no one there felt so recent.
People would tell Mum, 'Your kids are going to end up in all sorts of trouble.' Even now it's a shock that Joe and I have been successful together. We've built this whole thing on our instincts. I was in his ear during PE with Joe, doing shout-outs and making sure the camera didn't cut out. He says his MBE is half mine, but I don't feel that.
Joe never wanted to be famous. I think being a dad has changed him more. It's 13 years since he started and he is still talking about the same things he'd have said at his first boot camps.The Joe Wicks Festival at Kew is on July 6; kew.org. For more information, visit thebodycoach.com
Joe on NikkiNikki is unnaturally grumpy in the morning. I've learnt not to speak to him or make eye contact until he has downed his coffee
Nikki on JoeJoe is annoyingly energised in the mornings. When we travel together he tries to get me up at 6am for a workout
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Methodist church in Boston gets £250,000 for renovation work
Methodist church in Boston gets £250,000 for renovation work

BBC News

time25 minutes ago

  • BBC News

Methodist church in Boston gets £250,000 for renovation work

Boston's Centenary Methodist Church has been awarded £250,000 for renovations by the borough church said the funding was vital for the upkeep of the Grade II* listed plans to create a new community room, and said the money would help support the services it provides to people in money has been allocated from Levelling Up funds. The Reverend Val Ogden told BBC Radio Lincolnshire: "We need to do things like doors and floors and walls."We had damp problems to fix. We needed to refurbish one of the upper rooms that's underused at the moment, which will be for community space."The church provides services including community meals and providing a warm space during cold church said in a statement: "This investment ensures the long-term future of a cherished community space that serves people across the town and the borough."Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices

Museums 'could close' over UK watchdog guidance on single sex spaces
Museums 'could close' over UK watchdog guidance on single sex spaces

Daily Record

timean hour ago

  • Daily Record

Museums 'could close' over UK watchdog guidance on single sex spaces

Museums Galleries Scotland made the claim in light of guidance issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission A publicly-funded body has claimed museums could shut over guidance about trans people and women's toilets. ‌ Museums Galleries Scotland said the 'time and resources' needed to implement new guidance by a watchdog could force closures. ‌ In a landmark decision in April, the Supreme Court ruled that "sex" in the Equality Act 2010 refers to biological sex. ‌ The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) recently closed a consultation on proposed changes to statutory guidance in the wake of the ruling. An interim EHRC update said trans women should not be permitted to use women's facilities and trans men should not be allowed to use men's facilities. A response from MGS said the Commission's proposals may "risk leaving trans people with no facilities at all" if changes could not be made. ‌ It urged the UK-wide watchdog to understand the "impacts and needs of trans individuals and organisations committed to trans inclusion". A consultation response from MSG said: "We have concerns that the content and process of the EHRC Code of Practice does not uphold the spirit of inclusion. "There is no guidance on how to include trans people, there is only information on how to exclude them. This has not made sufficient effort to offer advice to organisations who wish to remain or become trans inclusive." ‌ The response added: "When there is a need to 'prove' your sex, what proof will be acceptable given gender recognition certificates are not, nor are altered birth certificates. It is likely this role would fall on front-of-house staff, which we believe puts undue pressure on them." It added: "To avoid discrimination, it would require every person using toilets to be checked, adding substantial workload and staff costs. "The guidance implies that to allow trans people to use toilets that fit their identity would put organisations at risk of legal consequences. Yet, to not check everyone could lead to individuals in museums taking decisions to exclude trans people based on subjective tests, related largely to appearance." ‌ It also warned that some museums may be forced to close "while they invest time and resources to ensure adequate facilities". The response said MSG was aware of the public "policing toilets at heritage sites by making assumptions based on stereotypes". They said this created an "environment of suspicion and policing of everyone's gender presentation'. The response concluded: "We strongly encourage the EHRC to review their processes around this guidance and take the necessary time to understand the impacts and needs of trans individuals and organisations committed to trans inclusion." However, a spokesperson for analysts MurrayBlackburnMackenzie said: 'It is deeply concerning that a major national institution signed off and submitted such an ill-informed response to the EHRC consultation. The response fails to consider the needs of women and instead repeats trans activist talking points.'

Readers reply: Are there too many pets?
Readers reply: Are there too many pets?

The Guardian

time2 hours ago

  • The Guardian

Readers reply: Are there too many pets?

Are there too many pets? Pet ownership goes up and up, particularly dogs and cats. But how many is too many? Gene Leonard, London Send new questions to nq@ This needs to be qualified: 'There are too many pets … for people who dislike dogs so much they can't enjoy green spaces, cafes and other public areas.' rewilder As I get older, I find myself questioning pet ownership. A pet exists for the sole purpose of pleasing its owner, giving it comfort, pleasure and companionship but also putting it at risk of abuse, pain, displeasure and abandonment. They are bred (often conforming to a human-designed ideal) or captured in order to perform human-pleasing duties. So, yes, there are too many pets for their human masters. 02Dscythe This is probably true unless you live with a cat, in which case the roles are reversed. kiramango I think there are too many abandoned pets, too many pets in rescue, too many designer pets with health problems because of their breed standards and too many dogs tied up outside leading lonely, deprived lives. We have one rescued dog, who is adored. He is walked on a lead three times daily, enjoys off-lead time playing in the fully fenced back yard, is fed the best possible food and is treated like a member of the family in all ways. I love cats, but I also love birds; I wish people would keep their cats indoors to protect the birds. The worst problem in our world is too many irresponsible humans, not too many animals. MythKenner From an ecological point of view there are too many of everything associated with humans, so yes, there are definitely too many pets. I doubt there's an easy way to solve that, though. unclestinky There are certainly far too many people involved in the selling of mindless rubbish surrounding the keeping of animals at home. Cat and dog fashion, cosmetics, toys: too many containers of senseless junk being shipped around the world. There are way too many nonsense pet food brands as well: 'Delicious morsels lovingly selected and served with rosemary and green beans.' What? It's a pooch, or a moggy; it can't read, it doesn't understand infantile advertising slop and it's not Jay Rayner. Pets are for companionship, a haven from loneliness for many, also to assist in teaching children about caring, responsibility, kindness, life, death and how not to develop into cruel, selfish brutes who think only of themselves and the next fix of cheap entertainment. bricklayersoption How many is too many? Well, I did a house-sit with 17 cats and I can tell you, categorically: that's too many. (Now, I ask people to define 'a few cats'.) Leoned There are far too many dogs now. Every public space, outdoor and indoor, is overrun with them. It's time to reintroduce the dog licence at a realistic (high) level and set some rules and expectations around dog ownership, as there are currently none. So, one dog a household. On leads in all public spaces except enclosed dog fields, which would be funded by the licence fee. Breeding banned. Tougher rules on dangerous dogs. Some basic hygiene requirements on cafe and pub owners who allow dogs. Ownership banned if you fail to pick up dog mess – no excuses. This'll do for starters. Dennis1970 'Every public space, outdoor and indoor, is overrun with them'? They really aren't. And cafes and pubs already have to meet hygiene standards. And there are rules and expectations around dog ownership. You can argue they need strengthening, but saying there are none is just untrue. Oldhairynose Too many inconsiderate dog owners use those extending leads in public spaces and expect others to get out of the way or else trip over them, or let their dogs foul the public spaces they insist on using for their dog's toilet needs. Add to that letting poorly trained dogs off their leads and then saying: 'He won't hurt you, he just wants to play!' Sundaygal NYC has too many. The streets reek of dog urine and too many owners don't clean up faeces – especially in Brooklyn – so walking is a dangerous hopscotch around smears of festering mess. It can't be very friendly for the dogs, either, which are kept locked up most of the day, against their nature. 80xd35 Dogs are an environmental disaster, from the contamination of waterways from improperly disposed waste – and how long will it take for those plastic poo bags to degrade even if they're used properly? – to the harmful effects on wildlife. Dylan Dog ownership is shown to improve people's physical health, pet ownership improves mental health and many people socially benefit from pets. The frustration is those few who mistreat their pets, have too many pets, don't pick up after their pets, let their cats out to kill birds – and those who spend all their time moaning about other people's pets. But the majority, who own pets with kindness and with social benefit, shouldn't have to be judged by the minority. specklefreckle We need dogs. They take us out, even in the rain. They help us to relax. They are true friends. It would be a sad world without them. Anne Meile I'd welcome a ban on the 'exotic pet' trade. Murdomania

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store