Chris: It’s really important
– it gave me the freedom
and confidence to know I
could move abroad again.
When I looked into which PT
qualification to do, it was a key
factor for me as I knew I may
get the travel bug again at some
point and I didn’t want to have
to redo qualifications.
REPs UK’s unique
membership of ICREPs
has provided many
fitness professionals with a
letter of portability as it is the
REPs membership that offers
international recognition.
What advice would you give
to someone who is thinking
of coming to Australia?
Q
Chris: Even if you don’t use
all the other benefits REPs
provides, if you’re considering
working abroad at some
point in your career, keep up
Q
How does the fitness
industry differ from the
UK?
Chris: I’ve always thought of
Australia as an alternate-reality
version of the UK (just think
Marmite versus Vegemite), and
the fitness industry is the same.
99% of things are identical
and then you find a few things
that make you realise you’re in
another country. For example, all
the gyms I’ve used in the UK are
busy in the evenings whereas
in Australia they’re much quieter
but super busy very early in
the morning; I guess because
it’s cooler. Also, Aussies really
seem to love boxing – no idea
why. People exercise outdoors
a lot more than indoors, for
obvious reasons! And here in
Sydney at least, people seem
generally to be a lot fitter than
I’ve experienced in England, so
you can push them really hard
and they love it!
What does having an
internationally
recognised
qualification that allows you
to gain professional
recognition in 10 countries
mean to you?
Q
your membership. I cannot
stress how easy it makes the
transition.
“
People
exercise
outdoors
a lot more
than
indoors,
for obvious
reasons!”
BENEFITS OF DIRECT PORTABILITY OFFER
If you have been inspired by
Chris’ story and you too fancy a
change of scenery, why not take
advantage of the unique direct
portability offer from REPs,
which has links to the following
countries:
Australia
Canada
India
Ireland
Next
steps
New Zealand Email
Poland [email protected]
South Africa Or visit
UAE www.icreps.org
USA
@REPsUK
FM 21