8 Million Strong — This Is Our Community
We’ve reached 8 million strong — so we’re celebrating all the people who have got us to where we are now.
As part of that, we spoke to some of the most dedicated people in our community to hear their stories of personal progression and to find out what fitness means to them.
Panicos Yusuf
“Every fight camp and fight is its own challenge. Not just the fight itself, but the whole 6-week process.
During that time, I sacrifice time away from my family, I cut weight so I’m forever hungry, and pick up injuries along the way.
Panicos is one of the biggest names in British Muay Thai, with impressive career highlights including being a two-time Muay Thai world champion.
He was always a sporty kid and tried everything that was available to him, until he found Thai boxing and it became his passion.
He now spends half his time competitively fighting and the other half as head coach at his martial arts gym, All Powers Gym.
Mark Ross
From a young age, Mark has always played sport, especially football, at a high level. This led him to get scouted to go to university in America, where he quickly learnt that he had to be super-dedicated to athletic performance.
He was expected to train two, sometimes three, times a day on the soccer team and it was from there that he ‘caught the bug’. As soon as he returned back to the UK he went straight into a PT qualification.
One of his greatest achievements has been to feature in some of the UK’s most respected fitness and style publications, including Men’s Health and Mr Porter.
Laura Todd
Growing up, Laura was always sporty — playing netball at school and horse riding on the weekends. However, a fast metabolism paired with a lack of knowledge on the basics of nutrition and training meant that she struggled to gain weight and worried about being too skinny.
When she moved away to university she met her partner who introduced to weightlifting and helped her to gain confidence in this new environment.
She found a community of like-minded people which motivated her to educate herself on proper nutrition, and she was able to invest in herself and make the changes she’d always wanted to make.
A defining moment in her fitness journey, after years of feeling weak, was coming third in her first ever competitive powerlifting competition, where she actually deadlifted almost x3 her bodyweight at the time.
Aran Billen
As a teenager, Aran was underweight and had no motivation and a lot of self-doubt. He got into fitness at the age of 15, when he decided to join a local kickboxing gym and loved it.
It was from there that his mindset completely changed.
He wanted to progress further, and in order to do so he decided he needed to start building muscle and strength. He found a gym, went to his first session — and never looked back.
For Aran, the most significant part of his journey has been gaining confidence and overcoming negativity.
Hear more from our 8 Million community right here.
Lauren is an English Literature graduate originally from the South. She’s always loved swimming, has discovered the power of weight training over the past few years, and has lots of room for improvement in her weekly hot yoga class.
On the weekends she’s usually cooking or eating some kind of brunch, and she enjoys trying out new recipes with her housemates – especially since shaking off student habits, like mainly surviving off pasta. Above all, she’s a firm believer in keeping a balance between the gym and gin.
Find out more about Lauren’s experience here.
