At a Meta-Age Talk, I met Midlife Fitness Guru Wayne Lèal and discovered his plan to collaborate with his protégé, the Marketeer Stefan Pierre Tomlin.
What is Meta-Age
Wayne: Meta-Age is a social movement for people wanting to live healthier, longer lives. An alternative life stage to old age free from avoidable pain, anxiety and, in the worst cases, premature death.
Why did you create it?
Wayne: In my twenties, I was driven by appearance to improve my physical performance and attractiveness. Now, in my older adulthood, it’s not about the superficial fitness narrative of losing weight and getting a six-pack.
The biggest reason why most people who start exercising later in life give up so readily – is because they are trying to achieve an unobtainable goal.
Is it for everyone?
Wayne: Yes and no. An England-wide survey of over 5,000 adults found that 70% of UK adults have decided to change their lifestyle to get healthy in 2024 – they want Meta-Age! But the reality is less than five per cent will achieve Meta Age.
How did you get to the 5% figure?
Wayne: I based it on scientific research that determined a healthy lifestyle. The four criteria the researchers were looking for were being a non-smoker, having a recommended body fat percentage, having a good diet, and doing moderate exercise – at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each week. And the results showed that only 2.7% of people live a healthy lifestyle.
Do you think it’s needed?
Wayne: Wow, more than ever. Physical health diminishes rapidly during adolescence and early adulthood. Yet we are living longer but not healthier, and right now, the UK has over 10 million midlifers in the transitional period between young adulthood and old age.
The majority shun physical activity. Their ill health and obesity will cost the NHS around £6.5 billion a year and is the second most significant preventable cause of cancer.
Why join
Wayne: A person’s membership represents an identifiable bond with shared values. You meet others with similar values or opinions, enhancing the urge to drive upward and not into ageing decline.
Membership signifies a social identity, an upward trajectory leading to self-improvement and self-enhancement. Group members develop values such as cohesion, inclusivity, altruism, and collectiveness, which leads to increased self-esteem and self-worth.
What does membership include?
Wayne: The website has all the fitness tips and videos a person needs to get in shape, and the main benefit of our exercise videos is that they allow you to work out in the comfort of your home.
Working out at a gym is a great way to get in shape, but exercising alongside others is not for everyone. Our magazine contains well-crafted articles and in-depth stories to keep you posted about all the latest trends and provides practical tips and guidance to help you make informed decisions about your health and fitness.
Our regular in-person and online Talks are a great way to meet people face-to-face. In many cases, people don’t just meet others with the same lifestyle interest but also participate with people in that meetup group doing that lifestyle interest.
What are your Next steps?
Wayne: There are several things in the pipeline. We are partnering with NHS Central and NW London to prescribe the Meta-Age ethos to their staff and inviting them to participate in the Meta-Age fitness challenge to encourage physical activity at work. It can be done individually or as a group. Either way, we want to get people moving and have fun doing it.
Following our September school fitness challenge that attracted 1,200 children, On April 22, 2024, we have the Meta-Age Super6 Kids Challenge. Six doable exercises for all levels of fitness. It will be a mega event involving over 25,000 children.
Meta-Age is the fitness goal; otherwise, what is the point of training? It is the message that trainers at Virgin Active and Shredquaters are passing on to their members. And they will be running Meta-Age challenges to their members throughout 2024.
What is the role of the Marketeer Stefan Tomlin?
Wayne: Stefan represents the next generation. The earlier you start physical activity, the better. So, I am passing the baton to Stefan so he can use his platform to build the Meta-Age movement.
We are also in the process of producing a Meta-Age TV roadshow series with the help of Triumph Motorcycles, Rokker and Hedon.
We are both keen motorcyclists and will travel to schools, hospitals, community centres, and sports clubs across the UK to share our fitness philosophy.