Coach Gemma’s Story
Gemma has always been passionate about sports. She started playing football at the age of five, taught by her brother, although in retrospect, Gemma thinks he just wanted someone to stand in the net. However, this sparked a huge passion that spanned over 11 years. Football taught her a lot about herself, giving her confidence to tackle hard things, along with drive and discipline. She was playing professionally for a top UK academy before having to focus more on her studies. Gemma also played hockey, squash, and many other sports before getting into weightlifting and bodybuilding at 20 years old.
Initially, Gemma believed that as a woman, she shouldn’t lift weights, fearing it would make her bulky. But after a few months of heavy lifting with a persuasive bodybuilding friend, she saw significant changes in her body—she became leaner and stronger, and this led to a huge mindset shift. It was truly a game-changer for her, and this experience inspired her to change her degree from Computing and Business to Physiology and Nutrition. Gemma graduated in the top 1% of her class with a First-Class Honors Degree. She loved school, but she felt that real learning began when she entered the real world. In 2015, Gemma became a REPS-UK Certified Level 3 Personal Trainer and moved to Spain that same year. She worked in an exercise physiology lab at a university but grew disillusioned by focusing on minor athletic improvements like enhancing vertical jumps by 0.2 cm. She wanted to help people in a more meaningful and impactful way.
Gemma is passionate about posture because it is the key to better health, strength, performance, flexibility, and living pain-free. Especially as people get older, their goals tend to become more holistic, and they seek a strong, more supple, and well-functioning body.
Gemma loves to cook; it is her second biggest passion after coaching. She believes that being able to cook healthy and delicious food is one of the best investments one can make in their own health. She considers herself an experimental chef. Gemma makes her own sourdough, brews kombucha, grows her own kale, and is currently learning how to make tempeh with black beans from scratch. It's all a process, but she believes the key to enjoying life is to move often, eat good quality food, and spend time outside in nature.
When Gemma isn't coaching, she loves to hike, bike, walk with her dog along the beach, and spend quality time with her partner in Switzerland. She enjoys the great outdoors, where she can switch off her mind, rest, renew, drink coffee, write poetry, and watch the world pass by.