The story behind the Lycra
Growing up in the 1990s, I fondly remember tuning in to breakfast television’s Mr Motivator before heading off to school. There he was, getting the nation ready for another day. But what I remember most are his outlandish, colourful Lycra leotards.
‘I still wear them!’ Derrick Evans, the man behind the Lycra, laughs.
It was at the local leisure centre that the seeds of his fitness career were sown. ‘I was doing a karate class and decided to wander round the building because I could hear music coming from one of the rooms. When I looked inside there was a sea of ladies exercising.’ It was a workout known as pop mobility – quite simply, doing a set exercise routine to upbeat pop music.
‘I was transfixed,’ he says.
He joined a class and after two months he began teaching – and it grew from there. He became the face of a British Heart Foundation campaign called Exercise For Life and ran classes at Center Parcs and Butlin’s.
Gloria Hunniford hired him as a personal trainer, and he soon counted Eamonn Holmes and Lorraine Kelly among his clients. But it was his fitness regimes such as Cardio Funk that led to TV appearances. On a filler slot on ITV’s This Morning with Richard and Judy, he was introduced as Mr Motivator for the first time. Then in 1993 he joined GMTV and shot to fame promoting health and fitness as a way of life.
So what does he suggest for those who want to start a fitness regime? Find something that you enjoy and that’s accessible. ‘There’s no point in saying “I’m going to try swimming” but in order to do that you need to get in your car and drive for 25 minutes, because as soon as the weather closes in you’ll say “I’m not doing that”.
‘Then you need to find a buddy,’ he continues. ‘The beauty of a buddy is that when you think “I can’t be bothered with this”, they’ll go “Come on, let’s do it”. My wife is my buddy. Every morning we train together. If a morning goes by and we haven’t trained, I don’t feel right.’
He also suggests including music in your regime. ‘It can lift your spirits, it can make you feel relaxed, it can make you feel excited, and if you get something that’s 145 beats per minute that’s what will really get you pounding away.’
But the key thing is sticking to it. ‘For something to become a habit, you need to do it at least 21 times, so you need to give yourself 21 weeks before it’s a part of your nature,’ he says.
Now aged 63, he is as active as ever. I ask for his tips on keep fit for older people. ‘I’d say the best thing to do is get yourself out there and walk. Whether you walk slowly or fast it’s going to do you a lot of good. You can breathe fresh air in. And if you are doing it with a friend it’s very social.
‘But don’t walk round the block; every time you pass your home you’re going to think “I’d better go in and have a cup of tea”. Walk as far away from home as you can, say 20 minutes away. You’ll have a 20-minute journey coming back, so before you know it you’ve done 40 minutes of activity.
‘And you should do it every day because the day you don’t do it is the day you feel stiff. If you do it every day you ward off stiffness. Your muscles will be glad for it; you’ll get fewer aches and pains and you’ll sleep well.’
He’ll probably be remembered as the man who got Britain moving, but how would the man himself like to be remembered?
‘As a person who, no matter what, put a smile on people’s faces.’
The Warm Up: The Story Behind The Lycra, by Derrick Evans, is published by Filament, £14.99.
‘I still wear them!’ Derrick Evans, the man behind the Lycra, laughs.
It was at the local leisure centre that the seeds of his fitness career were sown. ‘I was doing a karate class and decided to wander round the building because I could hear music coming from one of the rooms. When I looked inside there was a sea of ladies exercising.’ It was a workout known as pop mobility – quite simply, doing a set exercise routine to upbeat pop music.
‘I was transfixed,’ he says.
He joined a class and after two months he began teaching – and it grew from there. He became the face of a British Heart Foundation campaign called Exercise For Life and ran classes at Center Parcs and Butlin’s.
Gloria Hunniford hired him as a personal trainer, and he soon counted Eamonn Holmes and Lorraine Kelly among his clients. But it was his fitness regimes such as Cardio Funk that led to TV appearances. On a filler slot on ITV’s This Morning with Richard and Judy, he was introduced as Mr Motivator for the first time. Then in 1993 he joined GMTV and shot to fame promoting health and fitness as a way of life.
So what does he suggest for those who want to start a fitness regime? Find something that you enjoy and that’s accessible. ‘There’s no point in saying “I’m going to try swimming” but in order to do that you need to get in your car and drive for 25 minutes, because as soon as the weather closes in you’ll say “I’m not doing that”.
‘Then you need to find a buddy,’ he continues. ‘The beauty of a buddy is that when you think “I can’t be bothered with this”, they’ll go “Come on, let’s do it”. My wife is my buddy. Every morning we train together. If a morning goes by and we haven’t trained, I don’t feel right.’
He also suggests including music in your regime. ‘It can lift your spirits, it can make you feel relaxed, it can make you feel excited, and if you get something that’s 145 beats per minute that’s what will really get you pounding away.’
But the key thing is sticking to it. ‘For something to become a habit, you need to do it at least 21 times, so you need to give yourself 21 weeks before it’s a part of your nature,’ he says.
Now aged 63, he is as active as ever. I ask for his tips on keep fit for older people. ‘I’d say the best thing to do is get yourself out there and walk. Whether you walk slowly or fast it’s going to do you a lot of good. You can breathe fresh air in. And if you are doing it with a friend it’s very social.
‘But don’t walk round the block; every time you pass your home you’re going to think “I’d better go in and have a cup of tea”. Walk as far away from home as you can, say 20 minutes away. You’ll have a 20-minute journey coming back, so before you know it you’ve done 40 minutes of activity.
‘And you should do it every day because the day you don’t do it is the day you feel stiff. If you do it every day you ward off stiffness. Your muscles will be glad for it; you’ll get fewer aches and pains and you’ll sleep well.’
He’ll probably be remembered as the man who got Britain moving, but how would the man himself like to be remembered?
‘As a person who, no matter what, put a smile on people’s faces.’
The Warm Up: The Story Behind The Lycra, by Derrick Evans, is published by Filament, £14.99.