Simon Kenion Shears is half Canadian, although he was born in Manchester, and he first moved to Mallorca when he was six. His mum moved his sister, Rachel Kenion, and Simon to the island after she married their stepdad, the late Geoffrey Kenion. He owned Wellies restaurant in Portals and it made sense to the family that they move to live nearby. He has lived away from the island for much of his adult life, starting with boarding school in Dublin at 15. But he came back to live permanently six years ago after his daughter was born.
Simon says that, “Of all the places I’ve been, this has to be the best for children to grow up in.” Simon worked for several years in the marine industry but now works as an author and fitness coach, training groups of people every week in Santa Maria. He will also soon be a guest speaker at the Mallorca BJJ and Yoga Festival Spring Weekend.
What attracted you to working in the fitness industry?
A few things. I’ve always enjoyed my body, and played multiple sports from basketball to hockey, trampolining and football at school and university. I’ve always liked a good endurance challenge too, and I learned that in order to succeed at them I needed to prepare my body for those events. A couple of friends and I kayaked around the Balearic Islands 15 years ago which is when I started training daily for the first time on PalmaNova beach. Shortly after that, CrossFit Mallorca opened up in Santa Ponsa and it seemed like a natural progression to continue to strengthen and develop my body and abilities. The amazing community at CrossFit Mallorca helped me stick to my new habit.
But fitness wasn’t just about me. I’ve always wanted to spend my energy on something that I felt was good for the planet.I believe that if everyone were a little healthier, then we’d have a better society at large: more people who can be the support and provide rather than being a burden, especially in our twilight years. I also wanted a career that did little harm either. The fitness industry has a tiny environmental footprint, having studied marine biology, working in fitness gives me the peace of mind I didn’t have working in the shipping industry.
Why did you stop working as a loadmaster and switch careers to become a fitness coach?
The long version is that I studied philosophy at St Andrews University because I love challenging myself with difficult questions. Nine years ago I flew to New York to read a short diploma in philosophical consulting. On the back of that, I decided I could help people by sharing my approach to fitness. It was what I knew, or so I thought at the time! That led me to start writing my book on exercise psychology. This was back in 2015 in Hamburg. To get real insight into the fitness industry, I took my CrossFit Level 1 coaching course that same year. But it was just a hobby at first, coaching occasionally at CrossFit Sankt Pauli between shipping jobs and sitting in the small Cafe Rolo for much of the morning (after training at 6 am, of course) writing my book.
You’ve written a book about exercise. What are three things that you wish we all knew about the subject?
1) That anyone can make exercise a habit. I’ve had clients say to me, ‘What if I just don’t like exercise?’ and it just shows that people don’t understand how our interests come about. No one is a rigid statue, stuck in their current lifestyle and habits. We are all malleable systems continuously interacting with our communities and environments. These influences mold our interests, choices, and subsequent behaviour. So, when we make the right adjustments to our environment and communities, we can come to enjoy exercise like anyone else.
2) That no one is lazy. Laziness is just preemptive fatigue: an emotion our nervous system evolved to protect our bodies from the dangers of wasting energy.
3) That work and effort are two separate things. We can get the exercise we need with less effort when we understand the nature of mental effort and how our nervous system interacts with its environment.
What is your connection to the Mallorca Bjj Yoga Fest ? How can people watch you in action?
I’ll be giving a talk on exercise psychology, expanding on those three points I’ve just mentioned and other areas of my book, at the upcoming Mallorca BJJ and Yoga Festival in Camp de Mar in April. You can check my instagram handle @thefitnessauthor for dates and times of the talk.
What about your Fresh Fitness clubs? How do they work?
In early 2021, when coaching indoors was prohibited half the time, my friend Tracy Courtney asked if I could coach a small group of parents from the Orange Tree School at Parc C’an Borreó in Santa Maria. Early last year, we decided to turn it into a business and we have grown to 80 members since January 2023. Having written a book on exercise psychology, I apply principles from the book to the structure of the business. I’ve designed everything about the club, from the programming, the timetable, the membership options, the coaching methods, the class size, to even the music with psychology in mind. I think we have more clients, percentage-wise, making exercise a habit than any other fitness business out there. So many clients in their 30s, 40s and 50s come saying that they’ve never managed to make exercise a habit and now have been with us, training 3 or 4 times a week, for over a year.
As for the programming at Fresh Fitness Clubs, it was a case of trying to find the right answer. People were coming to me for an hour in their day because they wanted what we all want: to feel young for as long as possible. So, then I was left with a puzzle. What is the best way to spend an hour exercising for optimal health and performance? At Fresh Fitness Clubs, our simple motto is ‘Feel Better. Look Better. Play Better.’ It’s a cliché but it helps guide my research and planning for the exercise we do every day.
We need to maintain and grow muscle and bones without damaging joints. We need some form of athleticism: to enjoy sports and activities, but also to prevent injuries from slips, trips, and falls. We need sufficient cardiovascular endurance that significantly reduces our risk of all-cause mortality from diseases like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. It is a puzzle because some clients come to 5 classes a week whilst others (not many, to be frank) come just once a week on random days. Because of this, the workout each day ticks most boxes for health and longevity and every week ticks them all. If you’re interested in learning more, go to our website www.freshfitnessclubs.com. Or check out our instagram @freshfitnessclubs.com We’re looking to open a second location before the summer offering the exact same programming and structure as our first club in Santa Maria.