Leo is a husband, father, and entrepreneur and is well known and respected in the fitness community not only in Calgary but in Canada.
- Tell us a little bit about yourself, what is your background? How many years have you been a fitness trainer and What made you get into bodybuilding?
I grew up in England and moved to Canada in 2009 when I was 19, I have always enjoyed sports and fitness, I starting lifting to get stronger and bigger to be more competitive in sports. I started training others at 21 years old, so a little over a decade. I was training and am a competitive person by nature, so wanted to direct that work towards something and I have always been fascinated by bodybuilding, so wanted to try out the challenge and have been competing ever since (2011 was my first show).
- You compete in Bodybuilding & Powerlifting, how would you compare the 2 fitness levels? Do you have a trainer?
Yes as a natural athlete, I like to use the strength work as my foundational training and like I said above, I am a competitive person so like the challenge of both powerlifting and bodybuilding. They are similar but also different, powerlifting is more physically challenging while bodybuilding is more mentally challenging. I always use a coach for both, it helps me stay objective with all the decisions made.
- Tell us about some of your accolades, You've placed 2nd at WNBF Worlds and have also travelled as far as New Zealand for a IPF Powerlifting competition, what was it like preparing for such a big event like that?
You nailed it, I have competed at 3 World Championships in Natural Bodybuilding (WNBF) and 2nd is my best placing as a lightweight, I have also just got back from IPF Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships where I placed 3rd in the 74kg class. It is a whole different ball game travelling that far to compete, but I like to travel and see new places and if I can compete at the same time, that’s a bonus.
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Congratulations on acquiring Fifth Avenue Fitness, downtown Calgary location... you know own/run 3 including 2 King's Fitness locations, is this something you seen coming when you opened your first gym?
Never, but I love creating spaces for people to train, lift and feel involved in a bigger community, rather than just going to a “Goodlife”. It’s been a lot of fun and will continue trying to improve and grow in the future.
- You have a beautiful young family with Wife Charlotte, son Carter 3 years old and daughter Madison 1 year old.. How important is it to have a full family support system? To balance business/family time?
- What is it that you like to do for fun...away from gym time.
Hang out with family, go on vacations, spend time with the kids (zoo, theme parks etc), watch sports.
- You are the President and Charlotte is the Vice-President respectively of WNBF Canada, it is known as one of the best Natural Bodybuilding Federations, how has it been for you, how challenging is it running a respected Federation?
What drew me to the WNBF back in 2011 was the drug testing and the platform for athletes to compete on worldwide. I have never gone back and it eventually led to Charlotte and myself acquiring the federation back in 2017. It has had its challenges, but we’ve been able to grow the corporation into new cities and are excited to continue to grow the federation and be apart of so many athletes lives.
- As a fitness trainer, what is your ultimate goal for your clients, how is someone able to contact you for advice?
I want to work with the clients who want to be there and make a change in their lives, which looks different for every person, I don’t just work with one type, the stay at home mum just looking to get some energy back and be a little stronger or those highly competitive physique athletes looking to perform/look their best on stage. My ultimate goal is to educate my clients, so they know what they are doing and have the goals to do this on their own, I have learnt from all my mentors and want to reciprocate that feeling.
The best places of reaching me is: Email: leo@kingsfitness.ca
