Joe Wicks’ emotional response to receiving MBE from Queen after hitting ‘low point’
The ‘nation’s PE teacher’ raised £585,000 for the NHS during lockdown with his daily YouTube videos
Joe WIcks has described being made an MBE by the Queen as a ‘dream come true.’
“If you met me as a little boy you’d have thought, he’s not going to go anywhere, he’s not going to do anything great,” said Joe after the news was announced last night.
The 35-year-old dad, who also goes by the name ‘The Body Coach’, received the honour after helping children keep active with his online PE lessons when schools closed during lockdown in March.
Joe was also praised for his charity efforts with his workouts raising £580,000 for the NHS when he refused to take profit from the sudden surge in popularity on his channel.
After starting out as a fitness trainer where nobody would attend his bootcamps, Joe claimed a Guinness World Record when his online classes were watched by nearly a million people.
Speaking to PA following his MBE announcement, Joe said he was stunned by the acknoweldgement.
“I can’t quite believe it … To receive this is just incredible.
“I’m so proud that I’ve done something which helps so many people.”
He thanked those who joined the workouts and made it a “special moment in my life”. “To all the children, the parents, the dinner ladies, the school teachers, everybody who took part in any one of my workouts, thank you for being there,” he said. “To get this … It’s something I couldn’t even imagine, I couldn’t even believe. “I haven’t even told my mum and dad yet, so it’s a surprise for them and I hope they are going to be proud of me.” And he added: “My childhood and how I grew up, if you met me as a little boy you’d have thought, he’s not going to go anywhere, he’s not going to do anything great. “But I’ve turned it around and I really am proud I’ve become this person who’s helping people.”
Wicks has previously told how he got into exercise and fitness because of his father’s addiction to heroin, a man who was “in and out of my life”.
The fitness guru said after a troubled childhood and falling into addiction himself he is now a firm believer in using exercise as a mental health tool and wants to use his experience to help others.
“I’m so determined to keep the conversation going around mental health and exercise and bringing your children into that environment where you exercise together.”
He said: “I haven’t celebrated yet because I’ve been waiting for it to come out.
“I’ll probably have a nice gin and tonic with my wife and (sit with our) kids in our kitchen, maybe have a nice sit-down meal together and celebrate and talk about it.”
Wicks, who struggled at first to get his business off the ground before uploading motivational clips on social media, said that PE With Joe is his “proudest achievement”.
But “the MBE is the icing on the cake”, said the father-of-two, whose young children and wife Rosie also appeared in his workouts.
“The impact I made on families and children’s mental health is what I’ll remember forever and I’m sure I’ll be talking about it in years to come.”
Joe said that when PE With Joe finished he hit a ‘really low point.’
“I really felt quite flat.
“I had so much purpose and had this structured thing in my life that I was doing every day. I really loved it and loved being there for people.
“So when that finished I felt like, ‘What am I doing?’ I felt a bit confused, a bit lost.
“I want to get back on YouTube and keep doing the workouts, do some more live workouts as well.”
He said of his workouts: “I would have been there if there was one person or a million people.
“I loved it, when it finished I really did miss it.
“If you want me back, let me know!
“And if we go into another (national) lockdown I promise you I’ll be there every morning at 9am!”
He added: “Joe Wicks MBE, I just can’t believe it! It’s like a dream come true!”
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