About me
Who am I?
Hi I’m Matt Knight
My mission: To provide a high standard , results driven coaching service. Delivering the tools and education needed to empower, transform and uplift every individual no matter how hard the journey
– I’m relentless about results
Early years
From a young age I was always fascinated about the human body and how we could simply manipulate a few things to completely change our look, health and fitness.
I actually started lifting weights in my bedroom at 10 years old, like a lot of boys I wanted to be strong and muscular.
My Teenage years
My obsession started. As soon as I turned 16 and was allowed to workout in a gym, this is where I spent most of my free time. I remember my dad buying me a book on building muscle written by Arnold Schwarzenegger for Christmas which further fuelled my obsession. I actually stayed up to the early hours on Christmas night in bed with a torch pouring over it.
This was the turning point for me. It was knowledge I needed, knowledge on everything that could help me improve my physique. I started searching out all the books and material I could on training, nutrition and programme design to get the most information I could to learn how to manipulate my own physique. The internet was just getting going then so it was book shops I visited to get my information. Which in hindsight was the best place for me to go as there is so much misinformation and garbage on the internet which people fall victim to. At least a book must be written with scientific backing behind it.
In the gym and at college I worked hard! I think my work ethic and dedication to something I’m passionate about is extremely high (I was actually given the nick name ‘diesel’ by one training partner). I would always ensure I would outwork, push more and push harder than any of my training partners and I loved it.
I even started training a few of the other guys at the gym for pocket money and I was asked by the gym owner to work there part time whilst I was studying sport and exercise science at college. This pretty much took up the most of my time and thoughts when I was younger. My teenage years and early 20s were spent going to college then going immediately to the gym training alongside bodybuilders and athletes who I was questioning and learning from all the time, then going home to read about nutrition or training.
My 20s
Qualifying as a personal trainer was an obvious progression for me in my early 20s. I moved on to working at a Fitness First in South East London where I gained a massive wealth of experience over the years, training hundreds of people with a huge range of goals and conditions, even a few celebrities I was privileged to work with.
Fitness First got into financial troubles around the same time as the recession. This is when I also had a tough time. The gym was closed down and I left the area for a short while to work at Gymbox in Covent Garden in the West End of London.
My tough year (late 20s)
After the sudden redundancy I sustained a shoulder injury which left me with chronic pain so the upper body bodybuilding style workouts and training I had done for years dramatically came to a halt. I also sustained a knee injury with a partial tear to a lateral ligament which left me useless in lower body training.
With my normal training out the window and the added tension of having to rebuild my business from scratch I was left with comfort eating and extremely high levels of stress.
The weight piled on until I ballooned to over 17 stone.
My confidence took a beating and I subjected myself to baggier and baggier t-shirts. My self-esteem diminished and I felt myself shying away from openly advising people and educating people. I thought to myself ‘how can I tell people how to lose weight when I’m fat?’
Denial crept in and the baggy t-shirts were my hiding place for a good while as I plodded along through life, still studying, still reading, still helping anyone I could.
I knew I had a good foundation of knowledge and I knew I could get my clients into awesome shape but I put my own physique on the back burner as training usually led to some form or pain or frustration.
I then became covered in eczema, literally covered. I used to stay awake at night scratching and had it so bad on the soles of my feet which were cracked and bleeding and infected that I was constantly on courses of antibiotics and would often limp to and from work as the pain of simply putting my trainers on would often last until my feet softened up.
Something had to change and like most people the first place I visited was my GP for another major foot infection.
I was in pain and sick, not only physically but emotionally. I was sick and tired of feeling ashamed of my body, my lack of energy, my belly, my painful feet and shoulder, constantly itching and scratching my arms and legs, sick of feeling unwell and exhausted all the time.
Rock bottom
I quickly realised I was getting nowhere fast with the doctors as I went for numerous patch tests to see if my skin was allergic to anything applied to it. (Little metal discs are stuck to your skin for a few days, then you go back to see if any of them have flared up)
I was told there was no such thing as an allergy or intolerance to food in adults by a ‘specialist’ at the hospital.
A few months later I was back for MRI scans on my shoulder and I was told I had arthrosis and was given a hydrocortisone injection directly into my shoulder joint
3 days later the pain was exactly the same
I walked away from the NHS. I had:
- Gut issues caused not only by my diet choices but also due to constant antibiotic prescription. Becoming quickly bloated after eating then having slumps in energy and dark circles under my eyes.
- Shoulder pain despite a diagnosis and a ‘cure’
- A mechanically broken knee for which there was no answer on how to fix
- I was covered in eczema, constantly itching and scratching, avoiding getting hot or sweaty and was told ‘this is how it’s going to be now’
- Border line insulin resistance going from sugar cravings to mental fog and energy slumps throughout the day not being able to focus properly on anything..
NO!! Enough is enough
I refused to accept any of this
So I became absolutely obsessed again with educating myself to overcome these issues. But unlike my teen age years, it wasn’t simply reading books on diet and training. It was a studying of the hormonal system, endocrinology, biomechanics, specific nutritional and supplement protocols for different conditions and ailments within the body.
I have amassed quite an extensive library and course list which has helped me and hundreds of clients I’ve worked with.
Knee injury – I became qualified as a strength and conditioning coach and rehabbed my own knee and I’m stronger than I ever was.
Eczema – I studied food intolerances and the hormonal system. Affiliated myself to laboratories and ran tests on myself to discover what was really going on inside and made the appropriate changes to my diet and lifestyle. My eczema completely cleared up and my quality of life drastically improved.
Shoulder injury – I studied biomechanics and attended numerous workshops and rehabbed my own shoulder back to pain free, full range of movement training and improved posture.
Training – I sought out and worked with some of the best coaches in the industry to help me further advance my own training and physique. Learning all I could from them so I can humbly call myself one of their peers.
Body fat – I went from 110kg – 80kg in a year. Losing 30kg of fat to massively improve my physique
Gut – I healed and improved the function of my digestive system ensuring bags of energy and a hormonal system which I can now manipulate healthily and naturally to assist in fat loss and muscle building.
Confidence – with all my ailments corrected I truly believe I’m in the best place to help and serve so many people and I’m extremely passionate about doing this and I will not stop educating, transforming and uplifting anyone that thinks there is no hope or help for them.
My 30s – Dedicated to providing results driven, high standard personal training
I now spend my time using my own journey and experiences helping people completely transform their lives and physiques and I’m relentless about results.
I have been featured as a writer in numerous publications and websites such as P.T. Magazine, Aquirefitness.com, Fitness & Beauty Professional, Idleman.com, Myprotein.com and several others.
I’ve earnt the reputation as the “go to” guy for results in fitness, weight loss, fat loss, muscle gain and nutrition. I stay at the top of my game by making sure I’m always one step ahead of other personal trainers because the way I see it, my clients deserve only the very best. You don’t have to take my word for it… read what my clients say…
There’s nothing more rewarding than helping someone completely change and improve their life and body.
You can do it to with the right education, dedication and application.
I truly believe that due to my own experiences, background, and learning that I am in the best place to help nearly every individual I come across.
Let’s get started on your own transformation – contact me
Professional Qualifications
- Level 4 Personal Trainer
- Personal Training Tutor PTTLS
- Premier Advanced nutrition for physical performance
- PICP Level 2 Strength and Conditioning Coach
- Poliquin Group Fundamentals of Designing Hypertrophy Programs
- BUPA Health Check Advisor
- YMCA Nutrition and Weight Management
- YMCA Advanced Gym Instructor
- YMCA Client Lifestyle and Fitness Assessment
- Phil Learney Advanced Nutritional Strategies
- Phil Learney Advanced Hypertrophy
- Phil Learney The Science of Contest Preparation
- Matt Lovell Function Sports Nutrition
- Chek Scientific Core Conditioning
- Chek Programme Design
- YMCA Exercise and Fitness Knowledge
- YMCA Training in Different Environments
- Lorisian Food Intolerance Practitioner
- M10 Physique Camp
- M10 Practical Physique Coaching
- Future Fit Advanced Diploma Nutrition & Weight Management
- BTEC National Diploma in Sport and Exercise Science
