About me
Melissa Reid
Personal trainer
14 weeks pregnant, baby no. 2
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Level 3 Master Diploma
Personal Trainer
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Outdoor exercise
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Nutrition advisor
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Home workouts
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Gym based programmes
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First aid
My Story
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I joined my first gym around twenty years ago at the age of 16 and I can honestly say I remember no time since then that I was not a member of a gym or didn't train in some way. I have not always been 'healthy' in my life, but somehow I never gave up training.
Fitness has always been an outlet for me, right from the start it was about more than just getting fit.
I suffered from anxiety and a lack of confidence from a young age and I believe this led to my struggles with food throughout my teenage years. At one point I became seriously underweight, although was never diagnosed with an ED and did not receive professional help. In my twenties I began drinking a lot at university - like most people do! But I went on to depend on alcohol to make me feel better which led to more years of unhappiness.
I graduated from St Andrews university in 2003 with a masters degree in English and Art history and hoped to get into journalism, however I never found a job I was happy in and I realise now that the health and fitness industry would have been a much better option!
It was when I turned 30 that I really began to get my life together and it is now seven years since I drank alcohol. I have a healthy relationship with food, exercise and most of all myself. I have a wonderful husband, a beautiful boy and a baby on the way... all things at some points I never thought possible.
I love fitness and train now to be strong not skinny. I eat to nourish my body and find a clean diet works for me. I also try my best to keep my mind as healthy as I can too.
I hope my story can inspire others and show that you really can turn your life around at any time if you're willing x
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Setting up my business
I actually graduated from St Andrews university with a second class masters degree in Art History and English. I took many different career paths but never found anywhere I felt I belonged. Fast forward to age thirty four and unhappy at my job I decided to enrol in a PT diploma course.
I absolutely loved it and was thrilled with the high pass marks I achieved. I finally felt good at something. I found a job in a gym as a fitness advisor while I completed the end of my modules and to gain valuable experience, then after six months or so I began setting up my own business as a self employed PT. I transformed our large garage into a professional looking studio with gym flooring, large studio mirrors and equipment.
Getting my first clients was a challenge but I worked hard at it - I remember standing outside our local Asda on a freezing November day handing out flyers I'd had printed and pretty soon things grew, word spread and I had a decent client base. I'm still in touch with many of my first clients today. It wasn't easy as such but definitely achievable and I never looked back x