A celebrity personal trainer has blasted the fitness industry as ‘full of lies’ in an extraordinary attack.
Javeno McLean, from Manchester, specialises in training disabled people in his gym, and say the industry is too obsessed with image.
Speaking to Bryony Gordon on the Mail’s Life of Bryony podcast he discussed his experiences creating a ‘safe space’ for the disabled and terminally ill to find joy in exercise.
Javeno, a former professional cricketer, ended his career after a serious injury. He then saw a young man struggling with a wheelchair in the gym and decided to focus his attention on helping the disabled.
‘Let’s be honest, the fitness world and the health world is so full of lies. It can be so intimidating’, he told Bryony.
‘I wanted to create a new narrative, a safe space for people.
‘A lot of people are ignored, belittled and covered up. I wanted to take that cover off and bring those people into the spotlight.
‘‘I have been training disabled and disadvantaged people free of charge for 23 years. I have realised that the most important thing is care and love – muscles will go, but that will last forever.’
Javeno McLean: ‘The fitness world is so full of lies.’ Listen now
Born in Jamaica, the fitness coach and social media star, specialised in supporting disabled people in their fitness journeys after an injury ended his career in professional cricket
‘I didn’t want to be the typical PT, with my top off, flexing my muscles. I
‘ am not interested in selling sex – I am trying to sell real inspiration and real human struggle. That’s something that connects us all.’
In sharing uplifting fitness content, McLean has amassed over 642,000 followers on Instagram and recently authored a book on his philosophy to exercise called ‘You Are Not Your Limits’.
McLean told the story of how a chance meeting in a local park with a man in a wheelchair changed his perspective on the value of sport and fitness.
He remembered: ‘When I was 16, I was playing cricket and doing a lot of coaching. I was doing a session in a park in Manchester with about 12 lads.
‘As I was doing the session, I noticed there was this Asian family on the other side of the field. I couldn’t take my eyes off them.
‘There was a gentleman in a wheelchair with them, a guy called Ishmael. He’s passed away now, but I remember he had this look of need.
McLean has amassed over 642,000 followers on Instagram and recently authored a book on his philosophy to exercise called ‘You Are Not Your Limits’
After finding success documenting the challenges and triumphs of his clients, McLean opened the J7 Health Centre in Manchester, a gym tailored to help disabled children and adults reach their fitness goals
Javeno McLean: ‘When somebody feels empowered, there’s no stopping them. Normality is the most powerful gift.’ Listen here
‘You know when you watch Wimbledon, and the crowd follows every time the ball gets hit – he was doing that.
‘Long story short, I went over to him and said: “You’re going to bat”. I rolled him into the middle of the field and gave him a cricket bat.
‘We had the greatest game – afterwards, his wife gave me a hug that touched every molecule in my body.
‘I knew what was meant in that hug.
‘Ishamel wasn’t born disabled, and he said that was the first time in 15 years he’d felt alive.
‘I don’t know why I went over to him, but it felt like God’s work, and I knew from that moment it was what I was meant to do.’
Asked by host Bryony what McLean thinks exercising and conditioning provides to disabled people, he explained that it gives them a semblance of normality, ‘the most powerful gift’.
‘You deserve just as much happiness as anybody else, it breaks my heart when people don’t see that in themselves’, the influencer began.
‘You deserve to be included and to experience the beautiful things in life. If you’re in an environment with people that doesn’t make you feel normal: you need to change that environment.
‘You’ll start feeling empowered, and when somebody feels empowered, there’s no stopping them. Normality is the most powerful gift, and I realised the greatest thing I can do is just showing up.
‘Be around people who want to be around you and who will show up for you like you show up for them.’
To listen to the full, empowering interview with Javeno McLean, listen to the latest Life of Bryony now, wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes are released every Monday and Friday.
