From full time footballer to rock bottom and back again

I Lost Everything at 35. At 40, I Built It All Back

This is the story of how I went from 3 stone overweight in rehab to the strongest, clearest,

and most present version of myself, and how the same system that saved me can work for you.

Meet The Founder

Hello mate, I'm Rick and This Is My Comeback Story. It Might Sound Like Yours.

I left full-time football at 23. Started my first fitness business in Bury at 24. Started my second in Manchester at 26.

From the outside, it looked like I had it all figured out. Semi-pro footballer turned successful business owner. But behind the smiles and the "success," I was burning out fast.

City life is relentless. The drink. The cocaine. Late nights with no off switch. I told myself I was just letting off steam, that I'd earned it. But deep down, I knew I was running from something.

And eventually, it caught up with me.

At 35, enough was enough.

Four months in rehab, I was broken, ashamed, and terrified I'd never get back to the man I used to be. That's what it took to pull me back from the edge. You see rehab just breaks the cycle, it is NOT a fix.

But when I came out, I was 3 stone heavier. Fat. Weak and 100 % out of shape.

For the first time in my life, I looked in the mirror and didn't recognise the fat mess, the weak man staring back at me.

The fit, confident version of myself? He was long gone gone mate. Replaced by someone I was ashamed to be associated with.

Sound familiar?

And it was these before pictures that gave me a choice.

I could accept this version of myself, unhappy, weak, carrying about a spare tyre I didn't recognise and embarrassed when I saw a photo of myself, bursting out of clothes that used to fit. That used to make me feel good.

Or I could do something about it.

At 36, I chose to rebuild.

Not with some bullshit 12-week shred or Instagram transformation plan. I didn't have time for that stressful bollocks.

I needed a system that worked in real life, I needed a system that met me where I was.

One that didn't demand i live like a monk or spend 90 minutes in the gym every day. So I built one.

And slowly, deliberately, I got to work.

At 36, I started again. New business. New mindset, a new purpose.

I bought my first house with Em at 38.

Started working at an unbelievable gym called Fuse Collective. Life was finally coming together.

Then at 40, Raffy was born.

And overnight, everything changed. I wasn't just fighting for myself anymore. I had a little boy who needed me to be reliable, strong, and actually there. To be a positive example.

But PT hours on the gym didn't work for family life. Early starts, late nights, weekends on the gym floor. I was helping everyone else get fit while missing the moments that actually mattered to me.

So I went back on the tools, picked up the trowel and got to work. It's early mornings but I'm always back for bath time and my weekends are mine. It works.

Here's something I know You Know

Becoming a dad was the biggest reality check of my life.

I couldn't do 90-minute gym sessions anymore. I couldn't follow those selfish "me first" programs that demand I sacrifice everything.

I needed something smarter. Something that worked in the chaos, not against it.

So I built it.

Short, effective training systems that go after consistency over intensity. Workouts that fit into 45 minutes. Nutrition that didn't require living like a monk.

Systems that survive real life, broken sleep, work stress, kids kicking off, and everything in between.

And that's how The Fit Dad Academy was born.

In the evenings, when the house is still, I quietly introduced my 4th fitness business in May 2025, because that fire to coach, to help people take care of themselves? It never left me mate.

I just needed to do it in a way that worked for the life I actually had now, not the one I used to have.

Raffy’s 2 years old now and as he grows up the challenges change.

The sleepless nights turn into tantrums. The nappies become negotiations. The chaos just... evolves.

But in those first 2 years, I had to figure something out quick.

I couldn't wait for life to slow down. It wasn't going to.

So I simplified how I trained. I built systems that worked in the battleground of being a family man, systems that let me stay strong, sharp, and present without disappearing for hours at a time.

And then I started sharing them.

With other dads just like me. Busy, knackered, juggling work, stress, kids, and a body that doesn't feel like it used to.

Dads who wake up tired. Who carry extra weight they don't recognise. Who feel guilty every time they think about training because it feels like time stolen from their family.

That's when I realised something:

These dads didn't need another 12-week shred or a program designed for 25-year-olds with no responsibilities.

They needed a system that worked WITH their chaos, not against it.

A system that helped them feel strong, lean, and present, without sacrificing their role as a father and family man.

So I really need you to understand this one thing...You need a plan that works with the life you have now.

Not the life you had at 25. Not the life you'll have "when things calm down."

The life you're living right now, no time, high stress, broken sleep, kids who need you, a partner who's knackered too, and a body you're not 100% happy with.

That's what The Fit Dad Academy gives you.

And more specifically, these are the issue that are built into The Fit Dad Launchpad.

As of this year, I’m coming up to 6 years, clean and sober.

A dad to Raffy. A partner to Em. A coach to 200+ dads. A football coach. A bricklayer. A new business owner.

And still a work in progress.

But here's what's different now:

I wake up clear-headed. I'm present with my son. I'm strong, lean, and full of energy. I've built a life I don't need to escape from.

And the system that got me here?

That's what I teach inside The Fit Dad Launchpad.

IF THIS SOUNDS FAMILIAR, THERE'S A WAY FORWARD

If you're carrying extra weight you don't recognise...

If you wake up tired and feel like you're running on empty...

If you feel guilty every time you think about training because it feels selfish...

If you've tried programs before and quit because life got in the way...

You're not broken. You're not undisciplined. You're not too far gone.

You just need a system that works WITH your chaos, not against it.

The Fit Dad Launchpad is that system

It's the 8-week program that helped me go from 3 stone overweight and broken biscuits to the strongest, clearest, most present version of myself.

And it's the same system I now use to help dads like you build a body and life that lasts.

No 90-minute gym sessions. No rigid meal plans. No all-or-nothing thinking.

Just real coaching, real support, and real results built for the life you actually have.

Ready to start your comeback?

The Fit Dad Launchpad

It's the 8-week system that helped me go from 3 stone overweight and broken to the strongest, most present version of myself.

It's the same system I now use to help dads like you build a body and life that lasts. No 90-minute gym sessions. No rigid meal plans. No all-or-nothing thinking. Just real coaching, real support, and real results, built for the life you actually have.

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