11/09/2026
This weekend feels pretty significant for 3D.
On Sunday, the first ever 3D Training Academy begins.
And on Monday, Third Dimension Fitness Paignton turns six years old.
Six years.
And the two dates landing next to each other feels strangely appropriate.
Because 3D was never created simply to be another gym.
It exists because I believe the traditional fitness industry model is broken.
At one end of the spectrum, you have the budget gym model.
Stack ’em high. Sell it cheap.
Hundreds — even thousands of members.
Here’s your code for the door.
Here’s the equipment.
Good luck.
(But please don't actually turn up, we'll just collect your membership every month and expect you'll lose interest after a few weeks)
For people who already know exactly what they’re doing, that can work brilliantly.
But millions of people don’t.
They need coaching.
They need confidence.
They need accountability.
They need somebody to notice when they haven’t turned up.
At the other end of the spectrum you have personal training.
Fantastic, if you can afford to train with a PT three times every week.
Most people can’t.
So they compromise.
One session a week.
Then they’re largely on their own for the other 167 hours.
There has always been a massive gap between those two models.
And six years ago, we decided 3D was going to occupy it.
Proper coaching.
Every session.
Small groups.
People knowing your name.
Knowing your injuries.
Knowing your goals.
Knowing when you need pushing and knowing when you need support.
A place where people who never thought they were “gym people” could finally feel like they belonged.
Safe. Seen. Successful.
But we’re not stopping at changing the member experience.
Now we want to change the coaching experience too.
I’ve spent almost three decades working in this industry.
I’ve watched trends arrive, explode and disappear.
I’ve watched brilliant coaches build incredible careers.
And I’ve watched hundreds of enthusiastic new PTs enter the industry and disappear almost as quickly as they arrived.
We should be willing to admit something:
The barrier to becoming a Personal Trainer is too low.
Passing a qualification does not automatically make somebody a great coach.
Memorising the sliding filament theory does not make you a great PT.
Yes knowing anatomy matters.
Programming matters.
Exercise technique matters.
But great coaching is also learning how to communicate.
How to read a room.
How to make somebody feel safe.
How to build trust.
How to adapt.
How to coach the person standing in front of you rather than simply count their reps.
There’s a reason so many new Personal Trainers don't make it beyond their first couple of years.
The industry has to do a better job of preparing them.
So on Sunday, we start doing our bit.
The 3D Training Academy isn't simply about helping people pass a Level 2 and Level 3 qualification.
We want to develop coaches.
People who understand that being a PT is a responsibility.
People capable of changing somebody’s relationship with exercise.
People capable of building an actual career in this industry.
People who raise the standard rather than simply meet the minimum requirement.
Six years ago we started with one studio in Paignton because we thought there had to be a better way to do fitness.
Six years later we have two studios, an incredible coaching team, an amazing community…
…and now we're going to start developing the next generation of coaches too.
First we changed the gym model.
Now we’re coming for the coaching model.
The next chapter starts Sunday.
And we're nowhere near finished yet. 🧡
