This is who I am. This is what I do.
Each week Coach Jack Mann writes Fitness & Thinking Fridays; recently, he's recognised a disconnect...
There are over 2,000 people following me across social media now. Some of you have been here since Day 1. Some of you are brand new. According to Instagram, it’s mostly men aged between 18-45 in the north of England who watch my content. But the face of my coaching group is very different.
If I don’t know who I’m talking to at the moment, how can I expect you to know who I am?
I’m Jack. I’m 33. I’m 5 foot 10 (for legal reasons) and a Sagittarius (can’t apologise for that).
I’ve been coaching online for three years, with 18 months of in-person experience under my belt, mostly in Sheffield city centre. Before that? I studied English Literature as an undergrad. Then I got a Master’s in Psychology. I’ve always been fascinated by how people think, feel, change and grow. Fitness was the basis for properly learning who I was in the world and how to take up space – and now it’s the framework I use to help other people do the same.
On the surface, for 9 out of 10 people who come to me for coaching, fat loss will be their goal. And while wanting to lose fat is a great goal to have – over 70% of Brits and Americans are overweight, after all – it’s nearly always a symptom of something deeper. Guilt. Shame. Insecurity. The belief that they don’t deserve to feel good in their bodies. The people I predominantly work with are 25 to 35-year-old women and non-binary folk. They’re dealing with change. They’re curious. And they’re ready to do the work.
Yes, I help people drop kilos. But I’ve also helped clients:
get their cycle back after years of under-eating
show up to events they were scared to attend
wear fitted clothes after years of hiding in oversized jumpers
regain strength after hysterectomies or surgery
train for pregnancies, or weddings, or holidays
find the confidence to pursue (or end) a relationship.
You won’t always see that on Instagram. But that’s what I do.
So why am I here?
Honestly? Because I want to keep pressing life’s buttons. To help people get results they didn’t think were possible – then support them in deciding what they want to do – and, in some cases – who they want to be next.
A few years ago, I was depressed. Perhaps because I’d spent a summer high-living in Berlin travel writing and six months before that backpacking and hitch-hiking around Australia – instead of going straight into a graduate job or further education like all of my peers did – when I came back, I had nobody to talk to about any of it. I had no right to be “sad”, right? But I was, and, unable to fix the funk by staying still, instead of jumping on meds, I applied to study psychology at St Andrews and got in.
I’m not saying that’s the right call for everyone – I’m saying I’m someone who wants to understand. If there’s something I don’t know, I’ll go and learn about it.
I’ve recently passed my motorcycle test and bought the kind of bike I’ve dreamed of riding for years. I’ve published two poetry collections – one online, one in print – and would love to craft a third. I’m driven by creativity, curiosity, and a desire to build something meaningful out of words.
In five years? I’d like to be writing and performing full-time. Books. Podcasts. Audiobooks. Something that combines the inner work with the outer results.
This next phase – for me, for my clients, for anyone paying attention – is about honesty and alignment. About doing the work in a way that makes sense for the life you want.
So tell me: what do you want from me? What do you want to learn? What’s your “why”?
Why are you here?
Jack x