Hi, my name’s Jamie I’m 23, from Tower Hamlets and I am a wheelchair user.
After receiving my Graphic Arts degree in 2011 I had no luck finding a job. With nothing to occupy my mind I begun to get a bit fed up with myself, so I decided to get back to the gym and get fit. It was whilst I was back training at Ability Bow gym – a gym which specialise in enableing people with disabilities and health conditions train alongside general members of the public I was told about a new course. The Instructability course allowed people with disabilities to become qualified gym instructors. I have always been interested in sports and fitness but unfortunately found it difficult to pursue this as a career when I was at school age; now the opportunity had arisen and I wasn’t going to let it go. It took me 3 months to gain my qualifications and as part of the course I also had to complete a gym based work placement, luckily Ability Bow took me under their wing allowing me to gain experience from some of the best instructors there are.
These qualifications mean a lot to me, they probably mean more to me than my degree as I have had prove to many people that I was and am capable of breaking the mould.
Volunteering at Ability Bow has made me realise how passionate I am about getting adults involved in sports and fitness no matter their ability. I have now gone onto complete my level 3 qualification in exercise and disability. These qualifications mean a lot to me, they probably mean more to me than my degree as I have had prove to many people that I was and am capable of breaking the mould.
My next step is to gain paid employment in the industry. In the past year I have also managed to do a 5K charity walk with a little help from my Ability Bow colleagues, to raise money for our gym.