Joe Wicks has admitted that his father’s drug addiction and his mother’s mental health challenges helped him shape his life choices. The Body Coach is best known for uniting the nation with PE With Joe during the pandemic, which received over 100 million views online and earned him an MBE for services to fitness. However, during his childhood, exercise and movement were his therapy and provided him with an escape. Alongside his brother, Nikki, he has a brilliant team running The Body Coach app, but admitted that his father’s addiction was what really pushed him to find his love for movement and exercise.

Speaking exclusively to Express Online, he said: “My childhood experiences with both of my parents, who suffered from mental health issues and drug addiction, really pushed me to find my love of movement, which has completely changed my life into what it is now. Exercise is truly the best way to boost your mental health, and I would encourage anyone to start small – even 10 minutes of movement can make a difference to how you feel.”

Speaking about whether he’d ever go for another dream career, he said: “Exercise has been such a big part of my life since I was a little boy, it’s hard to imagine doing anything else! I’ve always loved working with kids, especially since becoming a dad, so maybe a PE teacher. There’s something really rewarding about inspiring young minds and making learning fun.”

Joe also voiced his concerns about social media addiction, adding: “As for social media itself, I think it’s super addictive and it’s something I struggle with myself sometimes. It’s also something I worry about when my kids get older, but I think we are seeing a positive shift in the conversations and understanding about the addictive nature of technology and social media.”

Joe has recently launched a new animated series designed to make fitness fun for kids. The series consists of short, five-minute episodes, each offering a burst of movement, fun, and energy to get kids’ hearts pumping and minds engaged. With Universal Music UK as the exclusive music partner, each episode features upbeat tunes from UK artists.

The Body Coach is on a renewed mission to get children moving. Wicks will appear as an animated character in the series, a first for the family fitness coach, alongside six new characters, ‘The Activators’.

The episodes will be available to watch for free on YouTube weekly, making it easy for families and schools to fit in a quick burst of activity anytime, anywhere.