{"id":205148,"date":"2025-09-06T14:09:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-06T14:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/205148\/"},"modified":"2025-09-06T14:09:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-06T14:09:17","slug":"neurodiverse-personal-trainer-hoping-to-inspire-others","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/205148\/","title":{"rendered":"Neurodiverse personal trainer hoping to inspire others"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Sam Cohen, 24, from Whitefield<\/a> was diagnosed with ADHD when he was seven years old and later with autism when he turned 21.\n<\/p>\n

\n He says that he has \u201calways struggled with anxiety\u201d but the Covid pandemic had\u00a0caused his symptoms to get worse.\n<\/p>\n

\n It even got to a stage where Sam\u00a0stopped leaving his house<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

\n Sam said: \u201cFour years ago, during the height of the pandemic, my world turned upside down.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI’d always struggled with anxiety<\/a>, but suddenly it became overwhelming. I stopped leaving the house, barely ate, lost a stone and a half, and developed acid reflux.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI felt physically and mentally drained – like I was stuck in a cycle I couldn\u2019t break.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n After gentle encouragement from a friend, Sam started going to a nearby gym, which soon became his \u2018sanctuary.\u2019\n<\/p>\n

\n Get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox by signing up to the Bury Times morning newsletter as well as our breaking news alerts.<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n He added: \u201cAt first, it was the only place I went outside of my bedroom, but it was a start.\n<\/p>\n

\n “Being active made a real difference to my mental health, and the gym became a kind of sanctuary.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Sam enjoyed it so much that after going through\u00a0counselling to help his anxiety, he went on to undertake a L3 personal training<\/a>\u00a0course and qualified this year.\n<\/p>\n

\n He is now self-employed at The Gym Group on Moss Lane in Whitefield<\/a> and hopes to create a safe and inclusive space with ‘zero judgement’\u00a0for others who may face challenges\u00a0when it comes to looking after their\u00a0physical health.\n<\/p>\n

\n He added: \u201cLast year, I started thinking seriously about my future. I knew I wanted a career<\/a> that didn\u2019t involve sitting behind a desk all day.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cBecoming a personal trainer felt like the perfect fit – I love fitness, I can choose my hours, and if I\u2019m having a tough day, I can adjust things to suit my needs.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cFour years ago, I couldn\u2019t see any light at the end of the tunnel. Now, that light is shining brighter every day. I owe so much to the support of my family – without them, I wouldn\u2019t be where I am now.\n<\/p>\n

\n Sam\u2019s mum, Joanne Cohen, is \u201cincredibly proud of him\u201d.\n<\/p>\n

\n She said: \u201cExercise really helped his mind,\u00a0and I know he wants to help others in the same situation.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI am so proud of him. He doesn\u2019t go many places but goes to the gym and the change has been unbelievable.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n \"SamSam and his mum Joanne (Image: supplied)READ NEXT:\u00a0<\/strong>Bury author launches \u2018heartbreaking and inspiring\u2019 memoir<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n READ NEXT:\u00a0<\/strong>School headteacher’s \u2018period of absence to continue\u2019, trust confirms<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n Sam continued: “The future feels a bit scary sometimes. There\u2019s a lot I don\u2019t know, and it\u2019s hard not to think about everything that could go wrong.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cBut at the same time, I know that if I stay focused and things work out, there\u2019s also a real chance for something amazing.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt could be the start of something really successful and full of promise.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cSo even though it\u2019s hard, I\u2019m holding on to that hope and pushing forward.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sam Cohen, 24, from Whitefield was diagnosed with ADHD when he was seven years old and later with…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":205149,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[1198,210,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-205148","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-fitness","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115157753032757454","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205148\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/205149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}