Interview With Anthony Oxford

Sarah Shortt (SS): Hi Anthony! What was your journey to becoming an Instructor?

Anthony Oxford (AO): I’ve always exercised. I started when I was 13. I’d come home from school and work out in my bedroom: push-ups, squats, crunches etc. I would fill my school bag up with anything that weighed anything — phone directories, dictionaries, bags of sugar.  As soon as I could I joined the gym. I was about 15 years old.

I played lots of sports as a child — athletics (mainly sprints) and football were my passions.  Even at that age, training was an escape from everything that was going on in my life. I realized how it made me feel, experienced the mental health benefits from a young age and that’s stayed with me throughout my life. No matter my emotional state, I always know I’ll feel better if I train.

Up until my early 20s I did a bodybuilding style of training. The group fitness studio never appealed to me, and I did have that stereotypical view that it was just for women… My first experience of trying a Les Mills class was BODYPUMP™ and I was that guy who goes in, puts too much weight on the bar, struggles through the Warm-Up, struggles through the Squats, and then has nothing left for the rest of the class. I was just looking at the clock wanting to get out of there as soon as possible!

After that, I tried BODYCOMBAT™, and at the end of the class, I asked the Instructor: “How do you listen to the instructions?” because I was convinced he had an earpiece where someone was telling him what to say and do. I was like: “How do you listen to the instructions, listen to the music, move at the same time and get everybody to do what you’re doing?” And he kind of looked at me in confusion and explained he didn’t have anybody in his ear — that he'd learned everything. I said: “What, every strike? Everything to the music?” I was blown away. I left feeling mesmerized not only by the Instructor but also by the participants.   My eyes were opened to the magic of the studio and Les Mills Classes.

A place became available on a BODYCOMBAT™ module very last minute. I was working in sales at the gym and got offered the spot… my initial response was: "No way, I can’t", but for some reason (and at that time very out of character for me) I said: "Why not, let's try". That was the start of my teaching journey.

SS: What was the module like for you?

AO: Tough. I was way out of my comfort zone with a group of strangers and minimal preparation.  One of the songs I got given at Initial Training was a real challenge. It wasn’t the kind of music I would ever listen to and the choreography seemed so complex. While I didn’t realize at the time, it was the perfect start.  I didn’t know what my teaching style was, but having that track made me think about how I wanted to show up as an Instructor. It taught me that I needed to be adaptable, how to use/not use the music, how to make the track my own.

LES MILLS GRIT™ was my second module and it transformed my mindset around training. I had gotten to the stage where I was doing so much weight training that I had lost my speed. I wasn’t as supple on the football pitch. When I started doing GRIT, the athleticism of the training, the mix of cardio and strength, not only changed my mindset around training, but also around life.

Every time you step in the GRIT Studio, you’re in for a rough ride. You’ll want to quit from that first minute right up until the last one. But you get through each working set, have a little rest, refocus, re-energize, and then you take on the next one. And to me, that’s just what life’s all about. Not quitting because you’re faced with a challenge, but rather embracing the challenge, finding a way to get through it, and then dealing with the next one when it shows up.

My purpose in every class I teach is to make people feel better walking out the door than they did when they came in. I understand that you never know what someone’s going through. You can’t presume that just because someone walks in with a smile, they’re actually happy.

SS: What’s your motivation for training?

AO: My family members have always struggled health-wise. Growing up, I watched my granddad lose both of his legs to diabetes and my father has been close to the same fate on a few occasions. And as a young child, not really understanding what was going on, it was quite upsetting and scary. Nothing really got explained. Maybe I was too young to understand, but when I look back on it, I do think it would have been helpful had someone sat me down and told me what was happening.  My dad was also massively overweight, and I used to get teased about him at school, so I suppose both of those factors are part of my motivation for training.  I wanted to make sure I would never be in their position.

SS: And what would people be surprised to learn about you?

AO: I'm really, really, really shy. I still battle with it now. Growing up, at functions and parties, I'd always stick with the people that I like felt the most comfortable with. I’d be the quietest one in the room. When the book got passed around school and it was my turn to read, the page would just turn blurry and my mouth wouldn’t work because I was so nervous. Back then, had someone told me that in a few years I’d be training Instructors at modules, speaking to universities, talking to thousands of people in L.A…. I would have been like, nope, no way, never!

SS: And how has teaching helped you personally?

AO: So many ways: confidence, self-worth, it gives me purpose. I like to instill these qualities in others. Obviously when we exercise our bodies create endorphins, right? But my approach is to ask, how do we heighten those endorphins? My purpose in every class I teach is to make people feel better walking out the door than they did when they came in. I understand that you never know what someone’s going through. You can’t presume that just because someone walks in with a smile, they’re actually happy. I know that I walk in with a smile when I’m not feeling good. Most of the time, I’m trying to make myself feel better by helping others to feel better, so I’m bouncing that energy back and forth between us so that we all leave feeling good. I suppose my strength is that I’m comfortable with my emotions and vulnerabilities and knowing that my strengths are also my weaknesses.

If I’m totally honest, sometimes I teach my best sessions when I’m feeling my worst. I know some people might think, I’m not going to teach today because I’m not feeling great. Whereas I know that if I do teach, I will feel better. I’ve got that discipline that, no matter how I’m feeling, I will always turn up. And as soon as the Warm-Up song hits, it’s game time.

Overcoming my internal dialogue that tells me I'm not good enough or I can't do it has been a struggle. I fight with dips in my mental health. It’s a constant battle and I always try to praise myself on how disciplined I am because sometimes getting out of bed is the hardest part of the day. Once I’m up and I’m doing what I’m doing, I’m fine. I’m alive. It’s just that initial challenge to get over my thought: "I don’t want to be here".

I tried to end my life three times between the ages of 16 and 25. I went through and experienced so much as a child, I won’t go into everything… but the biggest thing was that my sister died when I was young and since that time I’ve always felt like I didn’t belong in the world. I haven’t made an attempt since I found my place in the fitness industry, especially with Les Mills. I do, however still struggle with major depressive episodes but instead of avoiding or trying the escape my troubles or problems, I handle them by creating better habits and immersing myself in helping others.  This gives me so much peace.

I tried to end my life three times between the age of 16 and 25. My sister died when I was young and since that time I’ve always felt like I didn’t belong in the world. I haven’t had an attempt since I found my place in the fitness industry, especially with Les Mills.

SS: A lot of Instructors would love to emulate your success. What advice do you have for them?

AO: I get messages asking: “How do I get on the UK TAP team?” or “How do I get on the presenter team?” and there's no real answer to that. It was never a goal of mine because I never believed it would be possible. I just knew I loved what I was doing.  I always made sure I went to the Quarterly Workshops and got the upskills, took on feedback and enjoyed attending the big events.

I tell people: “Listen, just enjoy what you’re doing. Be the best you can be, and if the opportunity comes, it comes." There’s not a science behind it. You make your own luck. Keep working hard, but you’ve got to enjoy the process. If you’re not enjoying it or you let other things take over, it’s going to become the barrier rather than the amplifier.  I’m a firm believer in the saying: "Everything happens for a reason."

I'd also advise that you never turn down an opportunity that excites you. The day I did that, so many things started to happen. If there’s a bit of you that thinks: "I’d like to do that but I don’t think I can", take the opportunity. That’s how I felt the day the email came round asking if anybody wanted to take up the spare place in the BODYCOMBAT module. Since then, anytime an opportunity presents itself, I take it. You never know where it’s going to lead. The day I stopped fearing failure and switched my mindset from “I can’t” to “I will try” was a game changer.

SS: Do you have any amusing anecdotes from teaching you could share with us?

AO: Just yesterday filming BODYPUMP 129, my grip completely went in the Back Track in the last few reps. I thought they were going to stop filming actually, but they just kept rolling so I’m really hoping they can edit around that one!  The transitions between tracks were so fast, I ended up lifting a heavier weight than I had planned on, and I knew from the first set-up that it wasn’t going to end well. I think it was a mixture of adrenaline, sweat and fatigue and then, yeah, my grip just completely went.

Also, the time I nearly broke my back when I’d just qualified in GRIT! The class was packed and I'd also asked a few friends to come along.  I was demonstrating a Burpee Bench Jump but when I jumped on the bench I didn’t land my whole foot — so the bench slid forward, I went up, and crashed down on my back.  Lesson learned, exactly why you need to land “whole foot on the step!”

SS: Finally, we talk a lot about our “why” as Instructors, what do you love about teaching?

AO: For as long as I can remember, my two passions have been movement and music.

Movement – it always felt good to move and challenge my body, whether that was during play as a child, sport as a teen or training as a teen to adult.

And music – music touches my soul. I feel the heavy beats and bass lines, the smooth melodies… I love the piano. Lyrics speak to me and I feel that many songs tell my story.

To be able to combine these two passions to inspire, motivate and empower others and create epic life changing fitness experiences everyday fills me with absolute joy.

Anthony Oxford is a Les Mills Global Ambassador. He teaches BODYPUMP, BODYCOMBAT, LES MILLS GRIT, LES MILLS SPRINT, LES MILLS CORE, LES MILLS STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT, and LES MILLS FUNCTIONAL STRENGTH. He is based in West Yorkshire, UK, where he also owns his own gym and studio.

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