Michele Wilson has started her own business when most look forward to the day they can put up their feet and enjoy those things they missed out on during their employable days. Sarah Carabott speaks to the 62-year-old who spends her day burning off calories to the beat of music.
“I just could not sit around doing nothing, so I thought of holding one walking class a week... But my enthusiasm got the best of me and in the past three weeks I have come up with four other classes,” Michele says from a brightly lit room right across from the Mosta Rotunda.
A former workout gym, the premises have been stripped naked of exercise machines.
In just eight days, the agile instructor painted the walls, put up new curtains and decorated the place, transforming it into a little sanctuary cut off from busy Mosta.
Michele has even set up a little counter where her clients can sip tea or a glass of orange juice inbetween workouts.
“They can stay here as long as they want after a workout session if it helps them relax. We rush around too much – they don’t have to rush out of this building,” she says as she pulls out a chair and sits down, probably for the first time in a long and busy day.
At 62, Michele has devised her own walking class – a workout that is quite common in the US. According to her pedometer, the 6,500 steps she takes in 45 minutes are equivalent to more than four kilometres and burn some 300 calories.
“Walking is one of the best things you can do to lose weight. Not everyone can twist, bend and stretch... but most people can walk. And not all those who can walk feel like going out and walking on the street.
Walking is one of the best things you can do to lose weight. Not everyone can twist, bend and stretch... but most people can walk
“So we walk and walk around the place with fun music in the background,” she says, as she gets up from her chair and walks around the room as if she is moving to the beat of music.
On her way back to the chair, she points at Mickie – a statue of a sitting dog, looking on at the workout area with a permanent beam on his face.
Michele Wilson. Photo: Jason Borg“Mickie is our mascot. I always remind people to take their dog out for a walk – it’s good for them and their pet.”
Michele will be leading three other specialised classes apart from the Walking Workouts: Funky Fitness, which includes dance aerobics; and Legs, Bums and Tums for a “pert peachy posterior”.
“We also have the Move ’n Groove circuit sessions,” she exclaims, jumping back on her feet.
Still brimming with energy after spending the day showing prospective clients around the place, Michele takes off her heels, picks up a rope and starts skipping.
“And then we take a step to the left and pick up the next item,” she says as she pounds on a pair of dumbbells.
“And on to the next… You keep going around and around moving to music – you can use hula hoops, the stability ball... and there are no mirrors around you to intimidate you,” she notes, jumping on a figure twister.
Michele trained and worked as an instructor with a leading slimming consultancy company in the UK and is bringing to Malta her expertise and energy. She will run these classes parallel with her slimming consultancy business, called Slim Easy, which was set up in 2007.
“Slimming is very satisfying. Sometimes, when I meet people for the first time, they are so depressed and feeling low. When they start working out you see a change in their personality – they become so happy and self-confidence just oozes out of them.”
Michele, who seems to have boundless energy, is probably one of the oldest instructors in Malta.
Originally from Kent, she spent her younger years – up until she turned 28 – doing office jobs until she took a course as an instructor, and soon started carrying out personalised consultations.
We walk and walk around the place with fun music in the background
“I’ve always loved dancing. The Swinging Sixties was the era of pop music. We moved and grooved... I always had that in me. So I immediately fitted into my new job, and I have been doing what I love since then.”
Michele came to Malta on holiday, and instantly fell in love with the place.
Together with her husband Miles, she moved here in 1999 and would not dream of going back again.
Within her new premises, Michele is also setting up a healthy living holistic therapy clinic with Cheryl Millen, a certified therapist and fitness instructor. She has also teamed up with two Zumba instructors and will be holding two classes a week.
Michele refuses to refer to her new premises as a gym, and she will not have a membership system. People can enrol for classes at a nominal fee, and get further discounts if they sign up for more than one class.
She is welcoming men and women, aged 12 and up, as long as they have their parents’ consent if they are younger than 18.
In the meantime, she is planning on starting modern line dancing and children’s classes.
“When it comes to exercising, you can go on and on, and anyone is welcome to get in touch if they have a class in mind and would like to join the team.
“I hope my health continues as I just cannot sit around doing nothing.”
Michele can be contacted on 2157 9093, 9940 2620 or miamigoroadshow@yahoo.com.