From side-hustle to motivating millions

You spent years pursuing your acting dreams and with a promising acting career underway you made a pivot into fitness. Why?

I trained as an actor, completing a three-year degree at a leading drama school in London. While studying, my mum introduced me to my first group workout – a Legs, Bums and Tums class. We couldn’t walk for a week afterwards haha! A little later, she dragged me to my first spin class, taught by the amazing Instructor Vicki Banks, and I was hooked.

After graduating drama school in 2013, I balanced acting work with gaining my Level 2 Exercise to Music qualification. This is when I discovered cover instructing as a way to support my acting work.

As I trained in LES MILLS programs, I felt increasingly torn. Acting was what I had worked so hard for, but fitness gave me something different – a sense of belonging and the chance to create inclusive spaces where everyone feels welcome, no matter what their background. Teaching was where I finally felt accepted and able to be myself.

Over time, what started as covering classes around acting jobs and auditions became something much bigger, and I realized my heart was pulling me in a completely different direction.

I’m amazed to think that from not being able to walk for a week after my first class, I am now presenting globally – it’s incredible how life works out, right?

How did a sudden change in career goals transform your mental health?

I’ve felt the most grounded and aligned in the past few years than I have in a long time. Looking back, I realize how poor my mental health was while I was acting. It was almost 10 years of rejection, closed doors, and never feeling good enough – from amazing highs to weeks of crying and not wanting to get out of bed because of the relentless lows.

My relationships suffered as a result, and I went years without recognizing who I was. I was a shadow for a long time. Being a group training Instructor has helped me reconnect with myself and the important people around me.

Tell us about how teaching group fitness has given you renewed purpose and confidence?

Becoming an Instructor has helped me define my core values. Knowing them – especially inclusivity – drives everything I do. Inclusivity is so important to me as a woman of color. I want everyone who comes to my class, no matter their background, age, race, gender, or sexual orientation, to feel accepted and included.

As Instructors, we have the ability to create safe spaces for people who may not feel accepted anywhere else. That is really special.

You were diagnosed with ADHD and Dyspraxia in your late teens. How have you leveraged this to succeed in fitness?

To be honest, ADHD and high energy exercise can be like a match made in heaven.With ADHD your mind can get loud, you’re heightened to so many noises, you think a thousand thoughts at once, and your attention span can be all over the place. Exercise helps me channel that energy. When I work out I am hyper fixated on something that I am super passionate about, and that’s like having a superpower.

It also helps with connecting with others. People with ADHD are often very creative, with heightened senses to emotional shifts. This meansI naturally pick up on other’s needs, so I can be good at can showing up and supporting others.

You can’t have high energy all the time. How do you deal with the physically demanding aspect of teaching classes?

I used to take on lots and then I would crash, but now I listen to what I need and put non-negotiables in place. My biggest one is sleep – I need nine hours a night. Most things feel better after a good night’s sleep, and food of course, haha.

I also balance high-energy strength training with yoga for mobility and injury prevention.Beyond that, it’s about calming my nervous system – long baths, walks, candles, and downtime. I’ve also been enjoying glimmer hunting, focusing on small moments of joy.

On the topic of joy, can you always rely on classes to lift your mood?  

I’ve definitely coached classes feeling empty, low, or disconnected. Life has ups and downs, and sometimes you still have to show up and teach through them. But generally, music is huge for me – it can completely shift how I feel.

Focusing on the members helps pull me out of my own head and into something bigger. People come in with their own experiences, and part of our job is to meet them there and help lift them. Those moments of connection are a real privilege.

There was also a time during my first filming trip to New Zealand (to film LES MILLS masterclass workouts) when I received life-changing news – my grandad, who was a father figure to me, was terminally ill. I had to decide whether to stay or go, but he encouraged me to take the opportunity.

Looking back, I wasn’t fully present during that filming block, but it taught me a lot about resilience, perspective, and the importance of community and support.

Teaching group training can be full-on and challenging, but it’s an incredibly supportive community. I’m so grateful for my teammates, coaches, everyone at Les Mills for the opportunity to have such a positive impact on people.

It can’t all be great, what are the challenging parts about being an instructor?

There are always lows as well as the highs. We are all normal human beings at the end of the day.

Early on, I struggled with how others perceived me. But it helped me focus on showing up as my most authentic self, and that is when things flow most freely.

I’ve also learned I am a feeling person and to trust my gut. I know when I am aligned and when I am not. And setting boundaries – that’s key.

Want to learn more about the highs and lows?

You can catch Bronté in episode 2 of RISE: Search for the Ultimate Trainers, the YouTube docuseries that takes viewers behind the scenes of elite performance at the highest level of group training.

‍

‍
What are your top tips for people just starting out on their fitness journey?

Don’t be shy. Come along to a LES MILLS class. Get to class early and let the instructor know that you are new and they will let you know what you need and what to expect. This will help you feel set up for success. Remember, people are on different fitness journeys so do what feels right for you not anyone else. If the idea of doing a full class feels overwhelming, you might want to give yourself a time marker and tell yourself you’ll just try the first 20 minutes of the class. Then each week you come, try adding an extra track until you complete the entirety of the class. I think it takes away a whole layer of pressure knowing that you can leave after 4 tracks without feeling the need to be polite!  

For Bronte, becoming an instructor gave her renewed purpose, confidence and connection. Keen to explore how teaching could change your life?  Find out about Les Mills Instructor Training.

‍