In HRchat episode 648, I chat with Derrick Evans MBE, better known as TV celebrity Mr Motivator. A famous fitness instructor, Derrick rose to fame in the early 1990s through appearances on the UK breakfast television show GMTV, where he performed live fitness sessions and offered tips and advice to viewers.
I’m a big fan of Derrick and it’s an absolute honor to have him on the show!
Listen as Derrick offers his take on what it takes to remain motivated at work and live a healthier life.
Questions for Derrick include:
- You are known for your positive personality and outlook, how do you stay motivated?
- How can physical exercise help mental health?
- What did the pandemic do to our mental and physical wellbeing?
- When applying to join the GMTV team, you were told by GMTV boss, Peter McHugh ‘We’ve checked with the advertisers and they don’t really want a black man doing fitness. It had to be a white woman with two kids.’ They felt that was the right image.” How do you think attitudes towards Diversity Equity and Inclusion in the entertainment industry have changed since your time on GMTV?
- How can business leaders make access to mental and physical wellness initiatives easier?
- In a November 2022 interview for The Guardian, you were asked: “What’s the secret of your success?” You replied “I think it’s the way I make people feel. There’s a lady called Maya Angelou, a great poet, she’s dead now, and there’s one thing she said that I embrace: ‘People may forget what you said and what you did, but they’ll never forget how you make them feel.’ That is really who I am. I’ve never size-bashed anybody because if you love you when you look in the mirror, that’s the most important thing. To say that you must lose weight is rubbish, but if you want help I will help you to do it.” Where does your desire to help people come from?
- In the same interview, you say “You don’t forge friendships in television. When you’re on TV, they’re all like: ‘Motivator, we love you’, but the moment you’re not on television, you don’t hear from them.” There is the odd exception, he says. “Lorraine Kelly is lovely. But most of the so-called stars have faded into oblivion,”. Tell us more about why you believe the culture within daytime TV is fake and can you suggest ways to change things?
- What would you like your legacy to be?