St Mary’s Alumnus Joe Wicks Awarded MBE

Alumnus of St Mary’s University, Twickenham, Joe Wicks has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Joe, who studied Sport Science at St Mary’s, was awarded his MBE for Services to Fitness and Charity in the UK and Abroad. The award was given after he made headlines around the world during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown for hosting daily PE lessons to keep children fit and healthy whilst they were out of school.

Alongside the daily PE lessons, Joe also donated the advertising revenue from the videos to the NHS, raising £580k.

After graduating from St Mary’s, Joe worked as a teaching assistant and personal trainer before launching the Body Coach – his weight loss programme, which combined high intensity interval training with bespoke recipes. Joe has gone on to publish nine books and makes regular TV appearances.

Joe returned to St Mary’s in 2017, to speak to graduating students from his Faculty, you can find the full speech on the University’s YouTube Channel.

Speaking of the award, Deputy Provost Prof Symeon Dagkas said, “Joe has been an inspiration for our students for many years, and a number of St Mary’s colleagues joined him every morning during lockdown to stay fit and healthy. We were delighted to hear that he has been awarded this honour by the Queen and we look forward to seeing what he does next.”