The world of fitness as we know it has grown immensely with the advent of the internet. What used to be shared by fellow gym rats, team mates, or possibly a region, are now out there for the world to see. If one wants to find information on any type of fitness regime or nutrition protocol you are merely a google click away from thousands of pages that will fill your need. Yet as I explained in the first article we are still largely blinded by our own selves, the latest crazes, and largely by the western world, US and Canada. We get in our cliques, or groups as fitness enthusiast and even coaches and get blinded to the world as a whole. My aim with this series is to open our minds to both this global market, give us all a glimpse of the state of the industry elsewhere from the eye’s of the people living it and I’m sure as well learn a few things we may adopt. 
(Candidate photo from local elections 2008)PS: With that I welcome Harry Hayfield from the UK. Harry thanks for lending us your time today for this interview and a glimpse into your life and the state of training and nutrition in the UK.
HH: Thanks for having me Phil, it’s my pleasure.
PS: First off Harry about as simple as it gets, you mentioned your from a small village, where exactly in the UK are you from?
HH: I live in a small village on the Irish Sea coast of Wales called Ffosyffin (pronounced Foss E Fin) which translates as "Boundary Ditch" in English. It is located about a mile from the county town of Aberaeron and is roughly halfway between the towns of Aberystwyth and Cardigan.
PS: So you are officially in the middle of Nowhere huh? : ) I take it most of the fitness and nutrition info comes then via the internet?
HH: The middle of nowhere with knobs on! (in fact we are thinking of moving to a location to be nearer my uncle who lives in the middle of nowhere halfway up a mountain!). That is indeed correct, but I am very wary of the source of the information. If I get a message regarding something I always look at the names of the people cited. If they are natural I take it on board, if not, it gets binned!
PS: When and how did you get interested in fitness. You mentioned you first got into fitness in 1979 so you were what? 4 or 5? were you into athletics as a youth or was it much later, and was your childhood relationship typical of those in your village? You also told me you didn’t get serious until 2000 what brought that on?
HH: That's correct, mainly due to having a neighbor who was a regional strongman competitor. I have only lived in this village since September 2002. I have lived in a large number of locations since I was born stretching from the Welsh coast to the Midlands of England. Here in the UK, fitness (in terms of bodybuilding and strength athletics) are usually only thought of as sports participated by those who are gay or brutish (i.e bouncers or hooligans) and therefore is not usually discussed in English families. That was a result of two things. Firstly, the Sydney 2000 Olympics and the wettest autumn in the UK since records began. I lived in the village of Bontnewydd (New Bridge) and during the month of September, I recorded 14 inches of rain. This left me and my grandparents who I live with all suffering from varying amounts of SAD and when suffering from this I saw a person my age clean and jerk three times their bodyweight I thought, "Time to perk things up a bit!"
PS: What does your training revolve around now and how does that relate to years past, prior to the change in 2000 as it relates to fitness?
Prior to 2000: Nothing
Post 2000: Walking
PS: So have you not ventured into things more then walking? After being inspired by the Olympic performances have tried to under take any type of strength training at all, be it body weight or odd implements much like your childhood neighbor must have having been a strongman competitor?
HH: Sadly no, this is due to the restricted income I am on ($90 a week as of August 5th 2009) and of this $17 has to be paid towards a state tax, about $34 on foodstuffs (inflated due to local supply and demand) $17 into a personal pension plan and the remainder is spent on making sure I am able to travel to the place where foodstuffs are sold. Therefore there is little or nothing left to travel further a field to enroll at a gym. The nearest (based on UK Government assessments of 30 minutes, three times a week) would entail a total weekly cost of $31 (in other words, the personal pension plan would have to go by the wayside and in this day and age of company pension plans going south, all governments are recommending self provision)
PS: How about your nutrition growing up, did that evolve along with your love and knowledge of fitness? Where is it at in the grand scheme of things and how has it progressed?
HH: I don't remember that much about food when growing up. All I do is that I always preferred reduced fat spreads to butter from a young age. Today I don't have any butter or reduced fat spreads at all, but have cheese triangles / spreads that are rated between 3% and 16% fat. Due to our location, they are usually the 16% variety, but when I travel to a large town I always stock up on 6% fat varieties.
PS: so other then the cheese spreads, what is a typical view of your diet?
HH: In simple terms, whole grains (where possible), low fat foods (where possible), occasional treats (once every 4 - 6 weeks), and a small piece of chocolate every day between December 1st and January 6th (less than 5g)
I am a non meat eater (so therefore meat plays no part whatsoever, neither does poultry or fish). I do eat some vegetables in the form of frozen ones but only when they are on a bargain. My fruit intake is restricted to a low calorie, non sugar sweetened orange drink (which according to every website I have read does mean I get my five allocations of fruit a day)
PS: Is your choice to be a vegetarian a usual one in your community? Is this choice one of health or moreso an economic decision, or other?? How do you assure you get in your proper protein intake, and what about fats. You say you steer clear of fatty foods what about nuts and oils?
HH: It was purely a personal decision (and as I have lived in several communities over the years it's difficult to assess how usual or unusual it is). I have no idea what protein levels I should be getting (as this is one element the UK government doesn't publish). All I do know is that I am nowhere near the maximum salt intake a day (6g), always try and keep to 50% of the maximum calorie intake (2,500) and am well below the daily fat intake (90g / 20g sats). As I don't really like nuts and don't fry things, those aren't issues
PS: Since 2002 when you moved you say you have been trying to promote fitness and nutrition in a rural community, you’ve even went as far as trying to be elected in the city council can you tell us a bit more about this?
HH: Certainly. In Wales there are several structures to government. Working in reverse order you have community / town councils, county councils, the National Assembly, Parliament and the European Parliament. I became a member of the Welsh Liberal Democrats (positioned in-between the left wing Labor Party and right wing Conservative Party) in July 1992 but was not able to stand for election until 1995. Sadly in Wales, a large number of people stand as "Independents" for local elections and so when I asked if I could stand for the Liberal Democrats in the local elections of 1995 was told that the Independent had the Liberals support. The next opportunity to stand was a special election for a town council seat in February 1997. I was told that I could stand provided I did not confuse my candidacy with that of the newly appointed candidate for the Montgomeryshire district, so agreed to stand as an Independent Liberal Democrat (and made it clear that if elected I would take the Liberal Democrat whip).
That didn't occur but I did manage to poll 23% on a platform of making sure that the town council made sure that the recently developed Celtica centre made sure that local residents were able to attend the exhibition for free and that the local leisure centre offered either free or reduced training sessions. The next local elections were due in 1999 but as I had moved, I fell foul of a 12 month residency rule so was not able to contest those elections and when we moved here in September 2002 thought the same thing would happen again in May 2003.
However, the Assembly put back those elections to 2004 and so I was able to stand for the Henfynwy (Old Mother) community council and without realizing it forced the first election for the council since it was formed in 1973. I polled 151 votes for that election (but came bottom of the poll and was therefore not elected) on a similar platform. In 2008, the sitting Independent county councilor announced his intention to stand down and so I was adopted as the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Ciliau Aeron ward and fought that election on three planks 1) Make sure that the existing speed limit was enforced 2) Ensure that the electors were able to access fitness (regardless of their age) 3) Nominate our community to host a small nation for the 2012 Olympics.
I was opposed by a Welsh Nationalist and an Independent Anti European Union candidate and despite losing to the Welsh Nationalist by 67 - 19, did manage to beat the Anti European by 4% (a result that was hailed as one of the best results in the county by a first time candidate).
PS: You have also been pretty aggressive with your networking as well in the fitness community have you not?
HH: Guilty as charged! On the various social networks I am a member of I would have to guess as having connections with over 300 bodybuilders (pro, am, natural and non natural) ranging in age from 17 to 80 and although I never like to boast about my connections, I do count amongst my friends:
* A gold medal winning Gay Games athlete
* A former Mr. Olympia runner up
* A multi time state champion from Washington state
* And several up and coming stars
PS: OK Harry, now lets move away from you and more onto the culture of the UK as a whole, fitness and nutrition wise, from your point of view.
HH: There seems to be a huge culture divide when it comes to fitness. Firstly satellite television was marvelous for watching bodybuilding and fitness shows (as they were screened regularly on the Eurosport Channel) then from 1990 to 2009 they were restricted to just fitness infomercials but this month two fitness channels launched. One backed by LA Muscle.com and the other called Fitness TV. Whether this will address the main problem that low income families are unfit and high income families are fit will remain to be seen.
PS: As you know North America and much of the world is in a Obesity epidemic. Is the same true for the UK? Are the people generally fit, obese, or somewhere in between. Is the average person interested in fitness and nutrition? Is there a difference in those in the smaller towns vs. the larger cities?
HH: It just so happens that I also collect data on this issue for the Liberal Democrats. Sadly though the figures are not that up to date. The most recent numbers I have relate to 2005 when a report was published listing all the council areas in the UK and how obese they were (compared to the national average). The best areas were: Kensington (37% less), Westminster (36% less), Camden (32% less), Hammersmith (30% less) and Wandsworth (29% less) which are all located in London. The worst areas were: Sandwell (18% more), Sedgefield (19% more), Knowsley (20% more), Corby (21% more) and Easington (22% more) which are all scattered across the country but are connected by having formerly large numbers of heavy industry.
PS: Are training facilities/gyms abundant and if so what are they like on average? More the fitness facility or the hard core gym?
HH: If you live in an urban area you can find everything. Bodybuilding, Powerlifting, Yoga, Aerobics. In a rural area you are very lucky indeed to find a 60 year old leading a weight loss class.
PS: The personal training industry? Are personal trainers abundant, and if so how are they regarded in general as far as competence, effectiveness, etc.. by you, and then as well the general public. If there is a difference?
HH: That I cannot comment on (as I haven't seen any!)
PS: So physical activity wise. If people are going to take part in it what would be the most popular. I'm guessing it lend more toward walking or endurance activity as opposed to strength training. Is there even what you would call a prevalent / visible populous of people into strength sports such as powerlifting or strongman there?
HH: Bingo. you have hit the nail on the head. The London Marathon and the Great North Run are the most attended personal physical events in Britain. Those into strength events tend to be involved in strength themselves.
PS: Where do people in general turn for the vast majority of their fitness and nutrition knowledge? Does the government push training and nutrition to any degree, the schools or is it up to the individual to seek knowledge.
HH: Believe it or not, Supermarkets. In 2008, several of them launched "food wheels" which listed the five main category of nutrient and coloured them red for Watch it, orange for Go Steady and green for Go Right Ahead. The government does publish guidelines but does not advertise them and gets the food manufactuers to.
PS: How are athletics / athletes viewed by average adults? In the US we are seeing a larger separation between the average person and the athlete compared to in the past So sadly an athlete is something many feel they cant be. Its just not an option. Is it he same in the UK you know?
HH: Athletics in general is quite widely viewed (thanks to the success of the Olympics in Beijing) but how many of those people make the move into the gym? About 0.1%
PS: How about the supplement industry?? Is it large and booming much like in the states?
HH: Cannot comment
PS: Wow, so honestly from the sounds of it there is largely an un tapped market for some young entrepreneur in the fitness industry if they were to find a way to address much of the rural market in the UK, No?
HH: In a word, no. To establish a personal training business in the UK in an area such as this you would need to have an inital outlay of nearly £100,000 ($170,000), which would mean charging each customer a minimum of £100 ($170) a session. A price so high as to make it uneconomic
PS: What about Anabolic's and performance enhancing drugs. I know many of the eastern block countries we see large imposing athletes that are openly using, have been popped by various federations and governing bodies, but it is totally legal in their country and at times pushed by their coaches. As you know they are all the rage in the US media when ever fitness and sports are brought up and I and most I the industry feel the issue is largely over blown. Is this topic something you deal with, hear about there on a regular basis as it pertains to athletes or general population of enthusiasts?
HH: The media only covers bodybuilding in one of the following three catergories:
1) BODYBUILDER CHARGED WITH DRUG POSSESSION where they point out that the bodybuilder was supplying and using steroids
2) BODYBUILDER DIES AFTER STEROID ABUSE which is self explantory
3) AND FINALLY... where the bodybuilder is either very old or in a profession where muscles are not usually linked to.
Generally speaking, steroids are banned in the UK but can be sought with a prescription.
PS: Harry I want thank you so much for joining me today and sharing with us your view of the training and nutrition world in your country. I feel you’ve given us exactly what I was hoping, a unique perspective into the world you live, a whole other fitness and training economy that many of us may never have otherwise had the chance to view. .
HH: That's quite all right. Anything to assist those who want to highlight that fitness isn't always bronzed bodies on the beach wearing next to nothing and flexing huge muscles every time a lady or camera crew is within sight.
PS: Stay tuned everyone in the coming weeks I have interviews in this series lined up with people from the Netherlands, Japan, and more. If you are someone in a country aboard and would like to chime in drop me a line.
Originally Posted on Staley Training Systems
