FORMER Great Britain fencer Nick Jones has found a swashbuckling approach to launching his own business as a personal trainer is reaping rewards.

The 22-year-old is building up his Bolton clientele with tailor-made training programmes after recognising a gap in the market.

The Anderton-based athlete initially embarked on a course at Manchester Metropolitan University, studying history and religious studies, but after a few months he decided he did not want to continue.

“I started doing weights in the gym and while doing so I would watch personal trainers with their clients,” he said.

“After watching them, I thought there was something lacking in what they were doing. They would just watch their clients going through their routines and seemed a little disengaged.

“So I began to think there may be an opportunity for me to start my own personal trainer business.

“I started to design bespoke personal training programmes for people, offering a free initial consultation.

“My programmes would include anything from weights, to cardio, tailoring the training nutrition programmes and lifestyle.”

Mr Jones now has 100 people on his books and is carrying out 20 one-on-one sessions, sometimes from clients’ own homes, but he also runs sessions in venues like Fair View Community Centre in Adlington.

“I’ve got a mixture of clients. There are people who are reasonably fit who want to maintain and improve their fitness and there are people who possibly need to lose weight for health reasons and the work we do is linked to diet. I don’t specify who I train.

He also offer boot camp sessions for local schools.”

As a youngster, Mr Jones would travel the country as a rising star in the world of fencing.

“I put my heart and soul into the sport, and rose to the number three ranked Great Britain fencer at under-21 level,” he said.

“But I stopped when I decided to focus on my studies. In January, I was approached by Stuart Marshall who runs Oldham Fencing Club, the number one club in the North West, to be its strength and conditioning coach, which was very pleasing.

“Otherwise fencing is a very southern biased sport.”