Arron’s Story

MyoMinds had the pleasure of helping Arron Woods spread his amazing story and message for the first time with this interview.  We are so grateful to be a part of this important step.

Arron had a tough childhood. He was often picked on for being what he described as “a fat kid”, he didn’t have the usual father figure as his dad worked for the military and he suffered from childhood epilepsy.

His story has an extremely difficult start. It is not easy to say but at 8/9 years old Arron felt the need to attempt taking his own life and did so. Arron’s absent epilepsy (without triggers) was getting worse and doctors were forced to provide him with some relief, but this medicine affected him mentally and he began experiencing what he described as “emotional instability”. These huge mood swings, on top of the bullying for his weight became too much and pushed him to the point that he just could not cope.

This story escalates from here as we approach the point that Arron started playing rugby. As mentioned, he was a big kid (great for a sport like rugby) but due to the absence of a father figure to spur him on and a lack of confidence he didn’t begin playing sport competitively until he reached Year 8 in school.

Arron started the interview by saying “Rugby made me who I am” and after hearing his life story, it is understandable why he immediately mentioned this. He said that education was not something he was interested in but the confidence that came with rugby drove him towards bigger and better things. The ambition to chase his love for this sport led him to a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education and a master’s degree in Sport Business - something he confesses is very much out of character as no one (including himself) would have believed he would get two degrees.

Arron is a perfect example of the MyoMinds message of being more than an athlete. Yes, rugby was a huge part of his life, but he saw it as a way to expand new parts of himself. He became a better student and conversationalist, gaining an improved perspective on what he had been through and learning that an active lifestyle is what made him happy.

Just like many others, this story has bumps in the road. In September 2019, Arron felt he was back in a similar state of mind to before he started rugby. He gained a significant amount of weight, he felt unconfident, anxious and depressed. Coming to this realisation, Arron decided he was never going to let himself get to this point again. He began CrossFit and training in the gym and to the point of the interview he had lost 3.5 stone (22.2kg). Arron went on to highlight that the exercise was not just about the weight loss; being active, getting outside, eating nutritious foods make him happy. Not only that, but the “CrossFit family” feeling of positive reinforcement from friends made him realise the importance of those around him, making the difficult decisions to begin to be selective with the people he spent time around.

So, this brings us to the present day with Arron currently undergoing his personal trainer level 1 & 2 courses with CrossFit training courses in mind for the future. Arron’s passion to promote the ability for sport and exercise to improve the whole self, not just physical, is captivating. He is motivated to show people that things like physical education at school and physical activity in general are such an important aspect of childhood - one that may have helped him out of his rut if he had been introduced sooner. He believes there is a sport or form of physical activity out there for everyone, whether its rugby, CrossFit or darts; there is always something.

Arron plans to promote these ideas through personal training and the creation of a gym and also plans to move to Australia to progress in these ambitions. Through these ventures he aims to help others who want to get fit by showing them the importance of seeing exercise as a source of mental and physical improvement. He spoke about creating a CrossFit environment in a commercial gym, a place that is judgement-free, supportive and accepting of all ability levels.

To sum up Arron’s story is difficult but a sentence he said, I think that does a good job: “Everything gets better, always”. After a childhood of insecurity and anxiety leading to an extreme low point, discovering rugby and excelling in education, hitting another low in 2019, to now beginning plans to help people using the methods that helped himself - his story is truly inspiring.