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  • Mike Chapman + Amy Costello / Q&A

    16th May 2018

    16th May 2018

    By Shivraj Bassi

    Mike and Amy are joint owners of F45 Tottenham Court Road and huge supporters of Innermost. Always focused on putting in the work and maintaining an attitude of self-belief, they constantly strive to be happier, stronger, faster and fitter. We sat down with the power couple to find out more about their fitness journeys. "Health and fitness have been at the centre of both our lives from a young age. We both played sports competitively at school; Amy in long distance running, and Mike in rowing and alpine ski racing. Aside from the physiological and mental benefits associated with exercise, there’s a load of social benefits too, which holds true for us on so many levels. Our first date was a run on the beach and we’ve worked out together pretty much every day since. We took that passion and used it to open our very own F45 studio on London's Tottenham Court Road in 2017. It's been a wild and crazy ride ever since!" - Mike and Amy.

    What's your hustle?

    Mike: Always be the hardest worker in the room. Do so much, that no matter what they do, you can be confident that they’ll never catch you.

    Amy: Never underestimate the power of a smile.

    What does #liveinnermost mean to you?

    Mike: To live with virtue. Lead a life where your external and internal compasses align.

    Amy: Soul and compassion. Spending your life with the people that matter to you.

    Favourite Innermost products, and why?

    Mike: The Health Protein blend because I love the addition of the Japanese medicinal mushrooms. The Energy Booster pre-workout because I like a good beta analine kick. 

    Amy: The Fit Protein blend in chocolate because it provides my sweet fix, and contains maca powder to give me the extra energy boost I need during my busy schedule. I've recently become obsessed with The Energy Booster pre-workout; it just takes my workouts to the next level.

    What do you do to maintain a healthy lifestyle?

    Mike and Amy: Get our daily F45 fix, eat well (always with a little chocolate), spend time around great people, always tell each other what we are grateful for every night before bed.

    Usual breakfast?

    Mike and Amy: Eggs, always eggs.

    Biggest health vice?

    Mike: Maltesers. Can't. Get. Enough.

    Your last workout?

    Mike and Amy: Ummmm… oh yeah, F45! A very sweaty Athletica session, which is functional cardio with plyo and agility work.

    What’s on your bucket list?

    Mike and Amy: Travelling the world together. Opening a studio somewhere exotic.

    Favourite inspirational quote/words?

    Mike and Amy: Life is what you make it. Always has been, always will be.

    Where do you see yourselves in three years? Be bold!

    Mike: Married to my best friend, living somewhere hot and sunny with waves on our doorstep, owning 5-10 gyms, and investing in clean tech and 3D printing.

    Amy: Owners of multiple studios in London and beyond. Being back by the ocean. Having a puppy. Life MADE.

    What’s your favourite thing about the City you live in?

    Amy: FOOD! London’s food scene is epic. Most weekends you’ll find us at some kind of street food market or brunch spot.

    Mike: Our gym! It’s home to us, and all the people there are like our family now, which makes being so far from my actual home in Sydney, much easier.

    Favourite healthy meal?

    Amy: Back in Australia I was kale obsessed, much to the disgust of my housemates. Now we whip up a great healthy-ish brunch on a Sunday, with eggs, veggies, roasted tomatoes (and maybe possibly the greatest loaf of bread to have ever been baked).

    Mike: Pasta? Steak? Depends what counts as "healthy". Everything in moderation.

    Most physically challenging thing you’ve done?

    Amy: Most F45 cardio sessions?!

    Mike: Hiking Kilimanjaro.

    Where’s your happy place?

    Amy: Manly beach in Sydney holds a special place in my heart. It felt like home as soon as I arrived there. It's where I met Mike and where we spent many days working out, eating Acai bowls overlooking the ocean at sunrise, and planning our future together. Soppy but true.

    Mike: The bedroom. All the best things happen there 

    Current fitness goal?

    It’s always the same… be better than yesterday.

    Favourite decadent meal?

    Amy: Decadence isn’t really my thing... just give me a giant bowl of pasta covered in parmesan to the point where you can no longer see any pasta, and I’m the happiest human around.

    Mike: Ditto.

    What or who motivates you?

    Amy: Mike… he’s superhuman. He has a great mind, he’s very inquisitive and extremely competitive, so whether we’re coming up with business ideas, talking about random stuff or doing a workout together, he always pushes me outside my comfort zone and makes me a better person. Also, my team and F45 members. I sometimes get a little overwhelmed with how much love I have for them, and they make our job not feel like a job one tiny little bit.

    Mike: Amy, Muhammad Ali, Kelly Slater, Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Rock.

    Best advice you’ve ever received?

    Mike: It’s good to be different (and by different, I mean weird).

    Book currently on your bedside table?

    Mike: Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari.

    Amy: Sadly, reading only ever happens on holiday. But I am flicking through Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Encyclopaedia of Modern Bodybuilding. He's a legend.

    Best vacation ever?

    Amy: Does taking a two-year vacation in Australia count?

    Mike: Hiking in Africa!

    Latest obsession?

    Amy: Sausage dogs.

    Mike: Elon Musk.

    Favourite place to eat?

    Mike and Amy: Cicchetti (epic Italian tapas), Sushi Samba, Patty & Bun.

    What did you want to be when you grew up?

    Mike: A professional athlete.

    Amy: A TV presenter.

    To see more of Mike and Amy, head to their Instagram pages (@amykcostello and @michaelandrewchapman). Also, click here to get your sweat on with them at F45 Tottenham Court Road (@f45_tottenhamcourtroad).

    Other Insights

    Moving For Body And Mind With Sarah Mariko
    On Resolutions And Staying Authentic With Anj Magecha
    We sat down with Innermost Insider and mindful wellness advocate Anj Magecha, who shares how she stays on track with new goals and habits whilst remaining true to herself, and what to do when faced with setbacks. Hey Anj! Can you introduce yourself to our readers? Hey everyone, I’m Anj! I’m a 24 year old wellness geek working in consulting. I’m all about navigating life in London, trying to find a balance in my approach to nutrition, exercise and socialising, and improving my mental health and personal development 1% at a time. (And hopefully helping other people do the same!)  How did you become an Innermost Insider and what’s your goal as an ambassador for the brand? I’ve been a Innermost user since I joined F45 TCR in 2018, I was new to the gym, vegan, and in need of some serious protein intake to pack on muscle— at a time where most vegan protein powders were a bit rubbish! I also run on caffeine and hate coffee so got hooked on the pre-workout to fuel going to the gym, uni, working at lululemon and a busy social life!  I joined the Insider program as soon as I was able to, and have seen so much growth for the brand since then! I love all the extra merch, the sweatshirt and duffel are essential - so would love to see more of my go to gym bag essentials become Innermost 👀 Our topic this month is resolution. How would you personally define resolution and has it been a pivotal part of your life?  Resolution means taking control of your own life and making conscious choices that lead you towards the often intangible ‘better’. It's about having the determination and drive to create the future you want for yourself, and accepting the task of navigating the challenges that come your way. To me, resolution is about being true to myself and living with purpose. It's about not letting fear or doubt hold me back, but instead trusting in my own strength and abilities to overcome any obstacle even when it feels like it’s too difficult, or unfair. To be resolute requires a strong sense of self-discipline and self-control, as well as a clear vision of what you want to achieve. It requires a sense of resilience and adaptability, and the understanding that things sometimes get worse when they get better. Resolution has showed up for me in my journey with eating disorder recovery and weight restoration, with difficult conversations with therapists, even with holding boundaries with friends when sometimes it feels easier to let things slide. It’s not just about the big things! Ultimately, resolution is about living a life that is authentic, meaningful, and fulfilling. It's about having the conviction to pursue my passions and make a positive impact on the world around me. How do you go about setting goals in your life? So this is an interesting one. I suck at New Years resolutions. Or so I thought. With a background in disordered eating and a late diagnosis of ADHD I can retrospectively look back at some of my new years resolutions and understand why they felt so insurmountable.  To keep it brief, they were generally unrealistic, overly restrictive or prescriptive, and boring. And to be honest, sometimes goals aren’t going to be exciting.  I’ve read quite extensively around habit forming and achievement and currently quite like the 12 week year format (it’s a book, decent read but for a short version there’s a video on my TikTok!) The 12 week year has really resonated with me - it's all about focusing on what's most important and taking consistent, small steps towards achieving your goals over the course of three months, and then re-evaluating. So a year long goal gets broken into 4 three-month goals, then 12 one-month goals, and so on, until the minutiae of daily habits. It helps you focus on what matters most It keeps you accountable It allows for flexibility It helps you make progress faster Do you ever struggling with sticking to your goals and resolutions? How do you overcome setbacks? Overcoming setbacks in pursuit of your goals can be tough, but it's also an essential part of the journey towards success. Every challenge and obstacle presents an opportunity to learn, grow, and become stronger. I am a very emotionally driven person, when I get sad or anxious or I’m face with a negative life event, my goals are quite easily derailed. So for me it’s important to allow myself time to recuperate after a major setback, as it can be emotionally and physically draining to deal with challenges and obstacles. Taking a break to rest and recharge helps refocus and regain energy and motivation.I practice self-compassion and am not afraid to reach out for support when things feel overwhelming. I’m also a strong believer in setting boundaries for myself to protect my time and energy. Naturally some setbacks are less personal, things like the pandemic or tube strikes. In those cases I try to keep things in perspective: an old manager at lululemon used to say, at the end of the day, it’s just black stretchy pants and I apply that thinking to most areas of my life. Don't let setbacks define who you are or what you're capable of. Instead, use them as an opportunity to learn and grow. Are there certain times where you feel more motivated to set goals or resolutions? Naturally times like birthdays and new years have loads of messaging around goals and time passing, but in my experience I find birthday goals and new years goals are just that. They exist until I feel less festive and then things get difficult. I find the goals that come to me in the other 75% of the year are actually more in line with what makes me feel happy and healthy. The 12 week year method really helps facilitate this for me. Furthermore according to a study published in the journal Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, people are more likely to succeed in their goals when they start working towards them immediately, rather than waiting for a specific time (like the new year) to begin. When we set a goal, we often have a burst of motivation and energy that can drive us to take initial steps towards achieving it. By waiting to start working on our goals, we risk losing that initial motivation and energy, which can make it harder to get started. So why wait for the new year to make changes that will make you happy? What advice would you give to others about setting goals and resolutions for the future? Check in with yourself to make sure your goals are your own and not what you think people expect from you. And don’t be afraid to set goals that people aren’t going to see happen, there have been points in my life where my goal has been to get out of bed every day for a week and they were probably more difficult and transformative than any weight loss or fitness goal I’ve set for myself.  Do you have any important personal resolutions for the next year? I have some goals from my previous 12 week cycle, including the turf games in summer 2023 hopefully, which naturally lends itself to some commitments around training style and frequency.  I think saying no more often is a big one for me. Not to everything by any means but I do a lot of things that I think I ‘should’ do and I usually go in eyes wide open knowing it’ll leave me not feeling great. So hopefully this year I’ll have the resolve to just say no straight off the bat!  That's a wrap! To keep up with Anj, check out her Instagram and TikTok. Read more