Hi, I’m Andy. I’m from Birmingham in the UK, but I live in Tokyo.
I wear two hats in my professional life, both focusing on changing the fitness industry for the better.
🇯🇵 In Japan, I am known for AthleteBody.jp, which I started in 2012 is now the most trusted and widely read nutrition and training information site in the country. We sell books, video tutorials, and online email coaching.
🇬🇧Elsewhere, I am known as a fitness author and online training and nutrition coach. You’ll find my articles, books, and details about coaching on RippedBody.com.
Both of these businesses happened entirely by accident after I started putting my writing online to help friends.
(I’m fortunate to have some international readers who think my writing is worthy of translation. I’ve listed all the links here. 🇪🇸🇮🇹🇯🇵🇩🇪🇭🇷🇨🇳🇹🇼🇭🇰)
Why Japan and Why Fitness?
I can identify three defining moments in my life that lead me to this point:
- Getting hit in the head with a glass bottle when I was 15.
- Volunteering in Calcutta, India, for three months when I was 19.
- Realizing the fitness supplements industry was full of shit when I was 27.
The first led me to start karate classes, the second gave me a thirst to explore the world, and the combination of the two resulted in me boarding a plane to Japan after graduating, for lack of any better ideas on what to do. The third led me to start a little fitness blog to fight against the industry nonsense.
This site will be about non-fitness related things once I’ve figured out how I’m going to use it.
Business and Life Philosophy
I make an active effort to surround myself with high achievers — they inspire me to do/be better.
Trying to be useful first, while expecting nothing in return, has been the source of the most meaningful human connections in my life.
I can be blunt, but I’m trying to be less so. Though I feel conflicted because I find this to be a great filter.
I like most things involving speed.
I am blessed with loving parents.
I try to do one thing each day to make someone else’s day and leave places I go a little better than how I found them.
