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Name: Mitch Finn
Role: Sports Scientist & NDIS Personal Trainer
Qualifications: Certificate III and IV in Fitness, Bachelor of Human Movement and Exercise Science, Masters in Sports Performance/Strength & Conditioning, Level 1 and 2 Strength and Conditioning.
Interested in finding out more about a career as a Personal Trainer? Read our Career Guide.
I first realised I could turn something like this into a career when I wanted to combine my love of sport with my interest in how the body moves. Knowing I had a disability, I probably wasn’t going to stay in elite sport for very long, so I moved into a natural sweet spot and that’s where I took off from.
I knew I wanted to be in human movement, sports performance, or personal training from an early age.
I started out in the industry in athletic development and sports performance at schools. Everyone wants to move into professional sport after graduating from university. What I found was, as a personal trainer, the amount of love and respect you get for helping the general population reach their fitness goals is just as fun as those bigger sports teams.
I started out in this industry; however, I was in a project management role during COVID. As things began to open up, and in order to have the best health and lifestyle balance for myself, I’d open my own business.
One of my business mentors said, “Hey, you’ve got an interesting story, you’re able to build rapport with people with a disability due to your own. Why don’t you go and use those skills to your advantage?”
The types of training I’ve undertaken include a Certificate III and IV in Fitness, an undergraduate degree at QUT in Human Movement and Exercise Science, and an online Masters at Edith Cowan University in Sports Performance/Strength and Conditioning. I’m currently studying a Clinical Exercise Physiology Masters at Charles Sturt University.
I’ve also completed the level 1 and 2 courses with the Australian Strength and Conditioning Association.
In terms of training people specifically with disabilities, I rely on my lived experience. I’ve had my disability since birth and I’ve also interacted with disabled people for over 20 years, both on a personal level and in a work capacity.
My typical day starts at about 6am. I have quite a few general population clients in the morning before they go to work. They are normally mid-to-end stage rehabilitation clients after they’ve seen a physio.
After that, I’ll have my NDIS clients during the middle of the day. This is when some of my higher needs clients who can’t attend work can fit into my schedule.
I’ve got two favourite parts of being in the job: the art of coaching, and the science of coaching.
The art is developing relationships with clients and getting the best out of them. I’ve built a lot of trust with the long-term clients I have and that is constantly fulfilling. I’d like to think that I’m delivering a great service to them, but in return, I’m getting those good vibes back.
The second part of the job that I love is the science of coaching and really helping people understand their body, how it moves, their pain points, how to get through them, and then how to make their body work for them after years of not doing that.
The amazing thing is the gratitude I see from people when we get them to where they want to go.
Everyone’s always into learning more. Once you’ve got that initial certificate or degree, get into pattern recognition and get eyes on some clients. You don’t have to be decision making, but you do have to start seeing some patterns emerge. People in office jobs are going to have tight hips, people who are runners are going to have tightness in different areas etc. The more people you see like that, the more you will understand the human body. how it moves, and how to fix it.
You’ve got to love people, relationship-building, and investing in your clients. You’ve got to have the emotional intelligence and energy to do that.
You also have to want to continue to learn and build your knowledge base.
You are doing something that you’re passionate about. A lot of people don’t get that opportunity and I believe not taking it for granted is really important. Right now, some fitness professionals get into the industry and forget how much love they had for the job as well as forgetting how much of a privilege it is to wake up and go, “I’ve got six awesome clients today. Let’s do this.”
If you have a passion for understanding people, their physical activity, how the body moves and the amazing things it can do, then there’s no better way than in a gym environment.
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Active Queenslander Industry Alliance
This project is proudly funded by the Queensland Government through its Workforce Connect Fund.
