Student Spotlight: Peter Fittock

We are thrilled to announce our first Student Spotlight winner for 2021, is Peter Fittock!

Peter is a Certificate III in Fitness Graduate and Certificate IV in Fitness student of ours, who has shown passion, dedication and generosity throughout his studies. We were so inspired by Peter’s incredible story and are beyond proud to have Peter as a student of ours! 

LET’S GET TO KNOW PETER…

Could you tell us a bit more about your journey to becoming passionate about health & fitness? 

I debated how much of my story to share because it’s so personal, even the retelling can still be painful. My hope is that in sharing my story, it will help at least one person. To help them keep going and not let depression defeat them. To help them realize change is always possible.

In 2011, my fiancée Lelianna died in a motor vehicle crash. Up to that point, I had never really envisioned my life without her. We had been together for close to a decade. She was my compass, my reason for existing, without her my life just unravelled. I became severely depressed, rejected my friends and family, developed an eating disorder, became obese and eventually lost my job. It was the most humiliating experience of my life. 

After a couple of years, it finally came to the point where I knew I had to get help. I felt ashamed I had let things get this far out of hand. I was very aware of how I had hurt the people around me. I felt like I had burnt down all the bridges and had no right to ask for help. I eventually turned to my best friend Nadeem, who had been watching/monitoring my downward spiral. I’m still incredibly grateful that he was still receptive and hadn’t given up on me. He urged me to see a therapist and to start exercising. I wasn’t prepared for how intense grief counselling could be. I remember leaving one session, bawling my eyes out and thinking “I’m done with this, this is making me feel worse.” That’s when I decided to give exercise a go. It was one of the best decisions I was forced to make.

Nadeem dragged me to the local PCYC and paid for my first gym membership. I still don’t know to this day if this was some sort of strategy or it was him being the kind, generous person he is. Perhaps he knew me better than I knew myself. But whatever it was, it worked. By paying for the membership, I felt like I owed it to him to turn up and do the work. So day by day, month by month, year by year, I turned up and did the work. I lost the weight, regained some of my confidence and made lots of new friends. I finally went back and saw that therapist. This time it stuck. The therapist taught me how to fight back against my depression. She helped me develop strategies to manage my anxiety, negative thoughts and emotions. I began to learn things about myself that I didn’t know or realize.

“I had found my purpose again. I knew what I wanted to do” 

However, it wasn’t until the end of 2019 that the last piece of the puzzle would fall into place. I’d been talking and thinking about studying Fitness for a while. By chance, my mum noticed an article in the local newspaper about Certificate III courses being run at Beenleigh PCYC. This might sound silly, but I was a little scared. All my talk had finally caught up with me. It was a put up or shut up moment. I wasn’t ready to give up on my dreams, so I acted. I picked up the phone. All of a sudden, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my chest. I could breathe again. 

It’s one of the best decisions I have ever made. The course would reignite my passion. I remember listening to the instructor’s stories of working in the industry and thinking, “This is it. This is what I want to do.” It was truly inspiring. I remembered Lelianna, how kind and compassionate she was. How she was always giving without the thought of receiving. Always helping strangers. I remembered all the people who had gotten me this far. At this point I realized, I had not done any of this on my own. I had always been surrounded by people who loved and cared for me. People who had helped me when I was down.

I had found my purpose again. I knew what I wanted to do. If I was going to do something for the rest of my life then it would have to involve helping people. Being the first person to extend their hand in friendship. Helping people become the best versions of themselves. This would be something Lelianna would be proud of. Something I could be proud of. This would not be a waste of my life.

How has getting fit and being involved in the fitness industry had a positive impact on your life? 

I no longer take my health and fitness for granted. By learning about nutrition and exercise, I was able to lose around 50kg and keep the weight off. My outlook on life changed, I regained my confidence and became more optimistic and happier. I felt like this great big weight had been taken off my chest and I could breathe again. 

You see having good health gives you the energy and vitality to experience life to its fullest. This in turn allows you to give more energy to those you love. It brought purpose back into my life. I grew passionate about health and fitness. I found myself wanting to help people like myself. To be around people who shared the same passion. There is something truly inspiring about people that have a purpose. Trying to be the best version of themselves. It’s the best feeling in the world. Today, I count myself very fortunate. The people I now call friends, I met them all on this journey.

What appealed to you the most about becoming a Personal Trainer?

Helping people who are struggling with their body image. No matter our age, weight or level of confidence, we all struggle with body image at some point. No matter where we are in life, we are all worthy of respect and are worth far more than our physical appearance.

Personal Trainers have the opportunity to make a real difference in the health and lifestyle of their clients. Honestly, I can’t imagine doing anything else. Getting to do that every day? Yeah, that’s something that gets me out of bed early.