By 
ONE of Omagh’s longest-established personal trainers has said doctors, midwives and a commercial flying instructor were among the hundreds who responded to a video he posted criticising the negative impact he believes unqualified social media influencers within the fitness industry are having on people’s mental and physical health.
In a video posted on Facebook, Darren Teague, who runs Total Workout just outside Omagh, took aim at ‘every Tom, Dick and Harry giving out all this information about fitness, about mental health, about nutrition, with probably zero qualifications’.
But speaking with the TyroneHerald, he explained how his sentiments resonated with people far beyond the local fitness community.
“I’ve watched over the last few years as really smart, really well-qualified trainers have been pushed out of the fitness industry by people who frankly haven’t got a clue what they’re talking about,” began Darren, former captain of Strathroy Harps.
“You might look at this and say, ‘Oh, that’s just sour grapes’, but, personally, our gym is doing okay, so I’m not saying this out of self-interest; I’m speaking out for the people who are being charged big money for dodgy training programmes, plagiarised nutrition plans and unqualified, often counter-productive mental health advice.”
One the great promises that was made around the advent of the internet was that this new technology would act as a kind of free university for all; an all-encompassing library where anybody, provided they had the requisite intelligence and determination, could become an expert in anything.
Unfortunately, Darren believes that such an idyllic argument for the internet’s positive social impact can no longer be made in good faith.
“Social media, by and large, is a place where people try to get attention and ‘make a name’ for themselves. On Instragram, it’s not really about what you know, it’s about what you can convince people you know.
“It’s not about what qualifications, credentials or experience you have; it’s about persuading people that your way – regardless of whether it works or whether you even believe that it works – is the best way,” said Darren.
“So nowadays you have all these influencers, some of who have tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of followers, peddling a hard sell on why their plan –which almost always includes promises that can’t be delivered – is the one you need to buy.
“When after two months the life of the person who parted with their hard-earned money has not be totally transformed, they end up feeling like it’s their fault. When we only had a handful of these fakers, it was okay.’
“But these days they outnumber the real experts, and the result is that the whole fitness landscape has become polluted with nonsense. It’s gotten to the point people can’t tell the amateurs from the professionals and the genuine, well-meaning experts from the grifters.”
‘saturated with rubbish’
Darren said it has reached the point that he is reluctant to encourage his son into the industry.
“My young cub, my oldest cub, is fitness mad,” he described. “He wants to follow in my footsteps, and I think that’s class. But at the same time, see the way things are at the minute, I’m not even sure I want to put him down that road. It’s saturated with rubbish… and I actually feel really sorry for people these days who are paying for programmes or nutrition plans and being left more confused than when they started.”
After posting the video, Darren was contacted by some high-profile athletes and coaches who agreed with his opinion.
“I wasn’t overly surprised at that,” he said. “There has been an exodus of talented people from the industry in the last few years because they can’t stand what’s going on.
“These are passionate people who have become utterly demoralised and disillusioned by the way these bluffers have managed to confuse people into giving them their money instead of going to somebody who really knows what they’re doing.”
But what surprised Darren was the backgrounds of some of the other people who got in touch with him.
“A midwife contacted me and said she has young nurses telling her that they’ve seen stuff online that contradicts the advice she is giving them, and they’re questioning her authority and experience. I had a doctor text me and said the same thing; that junior doctors are giving opinions they’ve picked up online as though they have equal weight to what he has learned through decades of experience,” said Darren.
But the example of this internet-inspired rebellion against received wisdom that struck Darren as most ludicrous came from a man who works for a popular commercial airline and teaches aspiring pilots how to navigate the skies.
“He’s literally up ascending into clouds with guys and he’s saying, ‘Do this next’, and they’re going, ‘Would I not be better doing it this way?’ I know people should think for themselves and not take everything at face value, but that’s just mental.”
Darren has accredited qualifications in strength and conditioning training, crossfit training, sports massage therapy and nutrition.
And while he does not believe being you must necessarily be as well qualified as him to offer people helpful advice, he does believe that people should know the limits of their own understanding.
“It’s about having a bit of humility and thinking you know everything. In some cases, the worst thing that will happen is that a client doesn’t get the results they hoped for. But in other cases, people are promised unrealistic outcomes and then blame themselves when they don’t reach them, leaving them feeling worse than when they began.”
Concluding, Darren said, “The reality is that fitness culture and wellbeing culture are booming, and there are people who see it as a way to make a quick buck.
“But at whose expense? It’s grand if you’re flogging cups of coffee and yogurt bowls, but the stakes are higher if you’re claiming you’re selling the secret to happier, healthier and more fulfilling life.”
