A Letter from Linda
Linda Mather emailed Charlie the following letter on the 9th of December 2018. She expressed it's use on the website to help people understand her training journey. In January 2025, she has since completed our case study format which can be found below her letter.
"TO CHARLIE
Please use this as you want, if you want to put it on your website, or bits of it then that is cool.
Anyway, All of my life I was very fit and strong and could rise to any challenge, however I set up a few businesses some years ago and became more and more unfit and over weight. The stones piled on, I struggled to even get up a flight of stairs and then I became very badly aneamic. This made everything worse and the struggle became insurmountable.
Then I met Charlie. Charlie has worked with me for a year now and has worked with me to get me from being unable to run from 1 lamp post to the next to now I do Park runs and I run over 5k 3-4 times per week. I cannot tell you what this means to me. If 1 year ago you had said to me run across that road or a man will chop you up with an axe then I would have said, “ start chopping because I cant”. And that is truly how I felt. I had no energy, was constantly out of breath and just felt old, fat and unfit. November 2017 I thought it was a good idea to start doing some stair work and Charlie agreed but said I had to run to the steps. I said I could not and would not. Charlie somehow inspired me to give it a try and so began the couch to 5k.
I didn’t die and my legs didn’t fall off. So I kept trying to run and little by little I increased my distances and then increased my speed. Charlie also worked on injuries that I had and the stronger and fitter that I became the better my injuries became. The main thing is though, Charlie worked out my psyche and he worked with it. He worked with my injuries and health issues. He never let me quit but found ways to get me to do things that I didn’t want to do.
Due to matters beyond our control Charlie can no longer personal train me and I’m devastated, as I will miss my friend so much. However he now has me in a place where I can self motivate and run by myself. Every day I feel so thankful that I met Charlie. I’m so thank full that I can run. Every day it’s like a miracle and I never stop being amazed by it.
If you are ever thinking of having a personal trainer, choose Charlie. He is truly amazing and inspirational. I have had many personal trainers but never one like Charlie. He became my friend, we had some horrible moments when all I just wanted him to go away but he stuck by me. We had some great laughs also. Charlie is the best and if I had to design a second son, Charlie it would be you. YOU ARE THE BEST. I will miss you but wish you well always."
LINDA x
1. Before you started working together, where were you at?
At the time, I had been working really hard 7 days a week and had lost sight of my own personal health and wellbeing. I wasn’t feeling good about myself, was feeling unfit and had put on a lot of weight that would not shift.
2. What originally made you reach out to Charlie?
I wanted to lose weight and improve fitness. I reached out to Charlie through personal recommendation.
3. What did the process actually involve for you?
Daily motivational programmes that started off gentle and slowly increased in intensity. A lot of this was about accountability. It helped me to put aside work for a few minutes and focus on personal fitness and my own wellbeing.
4. How did you find the process itself?
The level of support was excellent as I was so overwhelmed and busy at the time. It would have been easy to quite without the unwavering support.
5. What stood out most about Charlie's approach?
Charlie totally understood how i was feeling mentally and physically, and worked with me every step of the way to design a programme that was personal to me and increased my fitness at a comfortable pace around my lifestyle.
6. What changed as a result of the work?
Doing this changed my life. I began to run more consistently and found a new found love. I went from not being able to run at all to completing park runs and even completed a 10-mile run. This was life changing to me, improving my self-esteem, physical and mental wellbeing.
7. Did you achieve what you originally came for?
I wanted to lose weight and be a little bit fitter, not having any real expectation. But when i began running, everything changed. It brought back the joy in life and I strived to better myself further with each session.
8. If someone was considering working with Charlie, what would you tell them?
Charlie is great on a one-to-one basis but also good with groups and ensuring everyone is involved and motivated. He is inspirational and encouraging but doesn’t let you get away with anything either. He is the man to see if you need tough love to keep you on track when it gets a little hard.
