Why We’re Launching a National Study Into the Value of Coaches

There is a strange contradiction at the heart of the fitness and wellness industry.

On one hand, it has never felt more important.

We talk constantly about inactivity, loneliness, mental health, prevention, ageing well, community, confidence, resilience and the need to keep people moving.

On the other hand, the people who could help solve part of that problem are often treated as oddly disposable.

• The PT.
• The instructor.
• The coach.
• The dance teacher.
• The community activator.

The person who gets someone through the door, keeps them coming back, notices when they are struggling, and helps them feel a little less embarrassed about starting again.

We say these people matter.

But do we really know what they are worth?

The Question Behind the Whitepaper

That is the question behind the whitepaper we are putting together.

Not in a vague “fitness is good” way. Everyone knows that.

The real question is more specific.

What is the true value of a PT, instructor or coach in the community?

How much value do they create economically? How much confidence do they build socially? How much preventative health work do they support quietly, before anyone becomes a statistic?

How satisfied are they in their work? How much are they earning? How long are they staying? What support do they actually need?

And why, in a growing sector, are so many careers still being cut short?

The Industry Has Changed

That last question bothers us.

Because the industry is expanding. The language has changed. The market has changed. PTs are no longer just standing on a gym floor waiting for one-to-one clients.

Many are moving into small group PT, specialist coaching, hybrid delivery, online programmes, classes, workshops, corporate wellbeing, community sessions and event-led fitness.

Some of that evolution owes a lot to the major forces that have shaped modern fitness.

Les Mills showed the power of instructors as experience-makers. Barry’s turned group training into theatre. CrossFit made coaching, community and intensity part of a shared identity. F45 brought structure and franchised team training to high streets around the world. Hyrox has turned functional fitness into a participatory sport with a clear goal, a medal and a reason to train.

Credit where it is due.

These brands have helped change the public’s idea of what fitness can be.

Beyond the Headline Brands

But there is a much bigger spectrum outside those headline names.

In leisure centres, village halls, boutique studios, school gyms, council spaces, parks, spare rooms, community centres and converted shop units, thousands of trainers, coaches and instructors are trying to build a living.

Some are thriving.

Many are not.

And not always because they lack talent.

Coaching Is Skilled Work

Anthony understands that life deeply. Before fibodo, he was a golf pro. That means he knows the rhythm of coaching from the inside: the early starts, the cancellations, the weather, the client relationships, the constant need to fill the diary, and the quiet emotional labour of helping someone improve.

A coach does not just coach.

They sell, schedule, reassure, follow up, remember names, manage confidence, absorb frustration, create belief and build trust over weeks, months and sometimes years.

That is skilled work.

But it is often not valued like skilled work.

What Great Instructors Really Create

My own view of this was shaped by years inside the group fitness world, particularly through Les Mills and Beachbody.

At Les Mills, I saw first-hand how powerful instructors could be to a business. A great instructor was not just someone who delivered choreography or counted down from eight.

They could fill a room. They could create loyalty. They could make a nervous beginner feel like they belonged. They could turn a timetable slot into a community.

They were often the difference between someone trying a class once and someone building a habit.

At Beachbody, the same truth appeared in a different form. The content mattered, of course. The programming mattered. The brand mattered. But the human bridge — the coach, the instructor, the person making it feel achievable — was still vital.

And yet, across the sector, instructors and coaches are too often treated as a nice-to-have.

• Useful when the room is full.
• Replaceable when the budget is tight.
• Celebrated in marketing.
• Overlooked in strategy.

That disconnect is exactly why this whitepaper matters.

Moving From Folklore to Evidence

We keep hearing a worrying claim in the industry: that a large proportion of personal training graduates leave within their first year.

The exact figure is often repeated, but not always well evidenced. And that, in itself, is part of the problem.

We do not want to build an argument on folklore.

We want to find out what is actually happening.

Are people leaving because they cannot get clients? Because income is too inconsistent? Because they were trained to coach, but not to trade? Because the gym model does not work for them? Because too many new professionals are launched into the market with passion, but without a clear route to earning?

Probably, it is a mixture.

The Harder Industry Question

The fitness consumer can be fickle. People start, stop, disappear, come back, change goals, chase trends, cancel at short notice, ignore the good advice, buy the wrong thing, and occasionally expect transformation without discomfort.

But putting the consumer to one side for a moment, we need to ask a harder industry question.

What are we doing to help good coaches stay?

Because when a promising coach leaves, it is not just one person exiting the sector.

The learner loses. The education provider loses. The operator loses. The community loses. And the clients who might have been helped never get that support.

Coaches Are Community Infrastructure

That matters because the UK is trying to solve big, difficult problems around inactivity, poor health, loneliness, youth disengagement and pressure on public services.

None of that gets fixed by policy documents alone.

It happens through people.

• The coach at the local club.
• The PT helping someone rebuild confidence after illness.
• The instructor who makes an older adult feel safe in a class.
• The dance teacher creating belonging for teenagers.
• The small group trainer who turns exercise into friendship.

These are not minor roles.

They are community infrastructure.

Launching a National Study

But if we want the sector to be taken seriously, we need better evidence.

That is why, with support from friends across the industry, we are launching an ambitious national study into the real-life experience and wider value of PTs, instructors and coaches across the UK.

We want to understand what their working lives really look like: how they earn, how satisfied they are, what support they receive, what barriers they face, why they stay, and why they leave.

We also want to understand the value they create beyond the session itself.

• The confidence they build.
• The habits they support.
• The loneliness they reduce.
• The communities they strengthen.
• The preventative work they do before anyone becomes a statistic.

This is not about producing a glossy report that sits on a website and gathers dust.

It is about moving the conversation from instinct to evidence.

Why This Matters

Anthony has lived the life of a coach as a golf pro. I saw the power of instructors first-hand at Les Mills and Beachbody. Operators know it when the right person fills a room. Clients know it when a coach helps them do something they did not think they could do.

But belief is not enough.

If we want better support, better education, better tools, better recognition and better routes into sustainable work, we need to show the value clearly.

That is what this whitepaper is for.

Be Part of the Study

And we want the industry to be part of it.

If you are an education provider, training organisation, awarding body, operator, tutor, coach, instructor, PT, sector leader, or simply someone who believes this work matters, we would love to hear from you.

We are now registering interest from people and organisations who want to participate in the study, share insight, support distribution, or help us reach the people whose voices need to be heard.

Because if the industry keeps growing while too many careers are cut short, something is not working.

And if coaches are as valuable as we believe they are, it is time to prove it.

Contact us to register your interest in participating in the study, and we’ll be in touch with details on how to get involved.