Last summer Harry Jameson hit the headlines when he became the Prime Minister’s personal trainer. Having spent his entire career working with high achievers, Harry, 38, was the perfect man for the job.”
Harry says, “I studied sports science and psychology at university and then moved to London where I wanted to make my way. I qualified as a personal trainer and was extremely fortunate to land a job in a private studio on Harley Street in W1.
I then moved into gyms in five star hotels. My clientele has always been business people and entrepreneurs. I have worked with Middle Eastern royal families and people all over the world with ultra-high net worth.”
TRAIN FOR LIFE
Long before the wellness industry evolved, Harry aspired to bridge the gap between fitness and medicine with a holistic approach. He explains, “In Harley Street I spent a lot of time with the medical community. You had trainers who could help you burn fat and put on muscle and doctors who would treat you once you got sick. I wanted to look at mind, body and soul and adopt a preventative approach to healthcare. Feeling great every day is not just about being in the gym, you’ve got to eat right, sleep right and have good relationships. Happiness is the ultimate measure of wellbeing and I wanted to help create high performing happy people.”
STRESS BUSTER
Harry coaches clients in their own homes or in his fitness space at the Rosewood Hotel in Holborn. Key to Harry’s success is his assessment of each client’s stress levels.
“Too often coaches feel that they need to kick their client’s butt. This has its place but one of the common threads of high achieving people like CEOs is that they have an elevated level of stress because their decisions have bigger ramifications.'' says Harry.
“A methodology of dealing with stress could be to put on some boxing gloves and punch a boxing bag to loud music for 20 minutes. That will give you a cathartic release of anger, but your body will release more adrenaline and cortisol, more stress hormones. Trying to deal with stress like that is like trying to put a fire out with petrol.''
Harry continues “What you need to do is lie down on the floor and breathe and relax, or go for a slow and rhythmical run or cycle ride. I try to remove my clients' blue light emitting devices, so we might go for a run and chat, at the end of which we will stretch and do a breathing exercise. I mix up the exercise but, if your life is extremely fast paced, that type of low and slow activity needs to make up a portion of what we do.”
FITNESS GOALS
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Harry has achieved some impressive transformations. One executive was goal orientated in his professional life but found it difficult to translate that into his health. He would drink two cans of cola every morning. He had an amazing car, so I said, “Would you wake up and pour two cans of cola into your Ferrari?” He looked at me like I was crazy and something switched in him. We were able to get him from being 25kg overweight to running a half Ironman in Miami. |
MY CLIENTELE HAS ALWAYS BEEN BUSINESS PEOPLE AND ENTREPRENEURS
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Whether training his clients or enjoying some rare downtime, Harry loves to run in London. “I'm very lucky that I live a five minute jog from Primrose Hill and often do a loop through Regent’s Park. I’ve run three marathons - London twice, New York once. I am a 95kg guy so way too heavy to be running that sort of distance, but I’ve always liked to challenge myself. I live in Camden and I like to run along the canal all the way to Victoria Park in East London, do a lap of the park and then run back - it’s exactly 21km. It’s probably my favourite running route because I can collapse at my front door knowing I’ve done a half marathon!” |
FAMILY FIRST
Over the years, Harry’s business interests have grown. He has collaborated with luxury hotels to provide wellness retreats in the Maldives and Turkey, and he contributed a fitness column to Esquire magazine for 10 years. 2021 will see him write a monthly wellness column for The Times and progress his new business, Pillar, with partner Handley Amos. Harry explains, “Handley was part of the team that accelerated the growth of Nando’s in the UK, and he and I are implanting health and wellbeing services into luxury hotels. We are just about to sign our first contract and will be coming to London at the end of 2021.”
This year will also see Harry raising money for his favourite London charity. “My challenge is to do a cycle with a friend through Tuscany, from Pisa to Florence. We are doing it for The Felix Project which supports children who live below the poverty line. The project partners with organisations such as Waitrose and redistributes food to schools so kids get a good breakfast.”
In December, Harry and his wife Amy welcomed a new addition to the family “We have a little boy called Otis who is two years old, and now have a little girl,” beams Harry, adding, “Otis goes to a nursery down the road which is where my mum sent me a very long time ago.”
Harry’s mother is the actress Louise Jameson, who acted with the Royal Shakespeare Company and appeared on television alongside Tom Baker in Dr Who and on EastEnders. “She’s my biggest inspiration in terms of drive. She’s the hardest working person I know and managed to turn her passion into a career.”
The same can be said of her son who, with hard graft and determination, has turned his enthusiasm for fitness and wellbeing into a booming business.
Harry’s London
What do you miss most about London when you are away?
I miss the energy. I love Tate Modern, going to the Emirates Stadium to watch Arsenal, taking my boy to Richmond Park to see the deer and going to watch my mum in plays. I have a massive passion for travel and my work has taken me all over the world. Last year I was in LA, Cape Town, New York and Portugal and I loved it but, when my plane approaches Heathrow and I see the O2 and the Thames, I’m glad to be home.
London's best kept secret is...
A great little basement boxing gym hidden away on Redchurch Street in East London. I am a coach who believes in being coached and I train with Oriance Lungu who is preparing for the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo.
Where do you go to unwind?
I am a Soho House member and use the Shoreditch and White City houses to socialise with friends. Scarfes Bar at the Rosewood Hotel is a very good place to unwind with a cocktail.
Who have you got on speed dial?
My agent Tom Caplan at 10Ten, which looks after an amazing roster of talent including the England manager Gareth Southgate. Tom’s a good friend and if I need help or advice, he’s the guy I go to.
Who is on your radar?
I follow Teo van den Broeke who was my editor at Esquire and is now style and grooming editor of British GQ. I enjoy fashion and he’s a very stylish chap.
