Three rising stars named winners of Future Fit Training's Legacy Award

Three health and fitness industry professionals at the beginning of their careers have been named as winners of Future Fit Training's Legacy Awards.

The Legacy Awards were set up to commemorate Future Fit’s 25th anniversary and "give something back to the sector" by rewarding individuals who are passionate about training and making a difference to their clients and communities.

The trio – Zoreh Jahedi, Josh Harkness and Joseph Bleetman – will now receive business support and training to further advance their careers in the sector.

Zoreh Jahedi was given the “Dare to be Great” award for her journey to become a nutritionist, following the illness of her own mother. Taking up a course with Future Fit, she plans to use her newly acquired knowledge to benefit old people's homes, her local community, hospital and schools and, as a volunteer, wants to make her services available to those in the community that are most in need of crucial advice.

The winner of the "Get on Track" award was Josh Harkness, who has been part of the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust's (DKHT) Get on Track programme in Edinburgh. Josh who, in his own words had "lost interest in life and went to a dark place" due to personal circumstances, entered the DKHT programme and has since focused on training martial arts in order to become a professional fighter.

The winner of the "Raise Your Bar" award – which was open to Future Fit graduates and current students – was Joseph Bleetman. An 18-year-old who has experienced social and mental health issues of his own, Joseph has dedicated himself to exploring the topic and has created a business plan to offer fitness training to underprivileged youth and adolescents facing mental health difficulties. He is currently undertaking a Level 2 gym instructor course with Future Fit Training.

The three winners were announced during an award ceremony held in London on 10 October.

The event was hosted by CIMSPA chief executive Tara Dillon and Duncan Stephenson, deputy CEO of the Royal Society for Public Health.

“This has absolutely been one of the most inspirational afternoons of my life and I have been blown away by the finalists," said Dillon.

"We don’t sell cars or shoes, we sell life and health, and that’s about relationships and rapport, which I saw in abundance today. These people are absolutely the future of our industry.”

The Future Fit Training Legacy Awards were created to reward individuals who are passionate about training and making a difference to their clients and communities. The winners were picked from a shortlist of 25 finalists. The finalists and winners will share a total prize pot of around £75,000.

Rob Johnson, founder and MD of Future Fit Training, said: "The awards are an opportunity for us to give something back to the industry that has served us so well – and to look back at the last 25 years and to look forward to the next 25 through our winners.

"Through the Legacy Awards we hope to encourage people who really want to make a difference to get involved in the fitness industry and to those passionate individuals already working in our sector to do all they can to bring about positive change.”