From gutter to the gym to Kinsale for health guru Kelly Berry

Born to a drug-addicted mother, a one time gym instructor to the stars told Conor Power how she is bringing her inspiring life story to bear at a groundbreaking new fitness project in Kinsale, Co Cork.

A traumatic upbringing saw Kelly Berry homeless and living on the streets of London at the age of 15, with no qualifications and no obvious prospects. Her life had fallen apart spectacularly following the death of her Kinsale-born grandmother who had been the one functioning adult in her life.

Within a few years, however, she had dragged herself from the gutter to a position where she was personal trainer to A-list celebrities and international royalty, commanding fees of up to £100 (€140) per hour and sharing her expertise on national radio, TV, and newspapers in the UK.

“I was personal trainer to people who might have literally stepped over me in the street,” she says, smiling.

Something that offers insight into Kelly’s character is that when she was sleeping rough, her main concern was not to find food or shelter, but education. “I went to a career guidance counsellor for some reason. You’d think I’d have been more interested in getting a roof over my head”.

It was that move that led her to a bedsit and valuable career advice. Her sights were set on getting “qualified in something as quickly as possible”.

“I wanted to say that I was something. I needed the security of being able to say, ‘I am this and I can do this job’.”

In order to fund a vocational course in gym instruction, she worked at night packing fruit in Kent, travelling with her mostly male foreign co-workers in a van.

Once she was qualified as a gym instructor, she went with her instincts again and put all her money into renting out gym space in affluent Kensington and Chelsea. From this point on, her career began to snowball.

“I just got lucky,” says Kelly. “All you need are a few names because once you start training people, word travels fast if you do a good job.”

A steady income was only one step in her plan though and she set her sights on further education. Even though she still hadn’t completed her A-levels (equivalent of the Leaving Certificate), she managed to get into Westminster University, where she was accepted on a bachelor’s degree in nutrition and exercise science. She loved academic life and stayed on to complete a master’s degree.

Her big research interest was the psychological benefits of exercise and good nutrition and what a positive it can be in a person’s mental health. She loved that good food and exercise were a non-pharmaceutical option for people as she despised drugs. She had been exposed to drug abuse since birth (virtually) as her mother, a lone parent, was a regular user.

Kelly proved to be first-class academic and became a research associate at the university, where she pioneered a number of drug rehabilitation programmes, using exercise participation as a therapy for children that had experienced abuse and neglect.

Along with academic colleague Andy Sheppard, she developed the “Fit for Life” intervention programme for young people in care, a groundbreaking project that was nominated for the Biomnis Health Initiative Award.

Kelly always wanted to return to her grandmother’s hometown and now, she’s bringing her personal and professional experience to bear on a project in her adopted home. Andy Sheppard has also come on board.

Long before she moved to Cork, Rogue Fitness existed. Established by former high-flyers in the world of US multinationals Robert O’Rourke and Sylvia Guerin, Rogue was based on a more holistic approach to health than your average Irish gym.

Kelly has joined forces with the husband-and-wife team and is educational director and lead tutor at the Rogue Institute, which opens in March. This will offer internationally approved weekend courses in personal training and will also teach students about chronic disease prevention through diet and exercise.

For Kelly, the move to Co Cork and the launching of a place of education where her extraordinary life experience can be put to use in “creating an army of positivity” is a dream come true.

She has also developed a service to promote the health, fitness, and nutritional needs of young people living within the care system in Ireland.

“I can’t put into words the peace I feel here,” says Kelly. “All my happy childhood memories are in Kinsale with my grandmother… It’s home and I will not leave Kinsale.

“I do feel incredibly lucky,” she says. “I think that I was dealt a raw hand when I was young, but it’s how you play your hand that ultimately counts.”

So what does she think of Ireland’s current homeless crisis?

“From someone that has lived on the street, I think that it’s shocking and appalling. I think about this time of year and how cold it is. I didn’t spend years and years on the streets but I spent enough time to know what it’s like: It’s the 2ams, the 3ams, and the 4ams. That’s when it’s really cold.”