Impact PR Secures Chemist Warehouse Magazine Cover Story for Fitness Entrepreneur
Demonstrating the capability of public relations in retail, Impact PR was able to secure our fitness and nutrition client 28 by Sam Wood as the cover story of Chemist Warehouse’s House of Wellness magazine this month.
The unpaid editorial of Sam’s launch into New Zealand is featured in print, in store posters and on the home page of ChemistWarehouse.co.nz – including during men’s health week.
Read the full article from House of Wellness below:
Celebrity personal trainer Sam Wood on DNA profiling, the power of ice baths, and the monumental shift in men’s health since Covid.
For a guy at the helm of a growing health and fitness empire, Sam Wood is refreshingly low-key about his own exercise regime. “I do strength training three times a week at the gym, a few of my 28 by Sam Wood workouts at home, and then I just try and move every other day. It might be a walk with the dog, a bike ride with the kids or a run.”
That’s it?
“Yeah,” says Sam, flashing the warm smile that propelled him to fame on season three of Australia’s The Bachelor. “Everyone assumes ‘Sam the trainer’ doesn’t eat chocolate, doesn’t drink beer – ‘Oh, he’s a gym junkie!’ But it’s definitely not the case. We’ve got 168 hours in our week. If you can dedicate three or four of those to exercise, you’re in a pretty good spot and you’re ahead of most people.”
Sam was recently in New Zealand to launch 28 by Sam Wood, a home workout app already used by more than a million Australians. Described as a personal trainer in your pocket, the app offers live and guided workouts that each take 28 minutes or less, along with quick, easy recipes and a mindfulness and motivation component.
The 28-minute length is to keep workouts under half an hour, which Sam says is a psychological barrier, as many people cite a lack of time as the number one reason they don’t exercise. “The feedback we get is, ‘I love that I can roll out of bed, press play on my phone, and do a workout in my dorkiest pyjamas without anyone judging me.’”
Sam’s also excited about the launch of his on-the-go protein-based range, 28GO. Protein, Sam advises, plays a pivotal role in supporting muscle health and weight management, sustaining energy levels, and promoting overall wellness. “With 28GO, we’re making it as easy as possible to power through your day with protein products that fit into your life.”
Mental health and mindfulness are a core part of the 28 app, and Sam has seen a “meteoric change” in this area since Covid, particularly among blokes.
On and off the app, he meets more and more men who are willing to have vulnerable conversations, and to admit they are struggling. “The first time they do it, guys are scared and it’s a real moment of bravery. But the reaction they get is so accommodating and welcoming to that type of conversation that so many of those fears are alleviated.”
He’s noticed a powerful new movement for men to meet up at run clubs or boxing classes instead of going to the pub. “If you can connect in the morning over a fitness habit rather than connecting at night over 10 beers, that can only be a good thing.”
Sam is a convert to that other manly health trend, the ice bath. Part of the Wim Hof method alongside breathwork, plunging into an ice bath is said to return your body and mind to an optimal natural state and keep your mind sharp and clear.
Sam was well aware of the macho hype but it wasn’t until he interviewed Wim for his podcast, The Sam Life, that the benefits of cold therapy hit home. “We’re continually stimulated with noise, social media, emails… When you are so cold that you have to just focus on your breath, you’re almost going into a mode of survival. It’s so powerful for our mental health to just shut everything out for those two or three minutes.”
As far as wellness trends go, Sam’s picking that the next cab off the rank will be DNA profiling, which will allow for increasingly personalised diet and exercise programmes. Five years ago, getting your DNA profile would have cost a thousand bucks, with the results taking months. “Now you can do a saliva swab and get your results in 10 days for a hundred bucks,” he says.
From getting his own profile done, Sam found out he’s one of the lucky 18 percent of humans who can eat late at night without gaining weight, alongside the insight that he is an early bird while his wife is a night owl. “It’s an interesting dynamic in our relationship where I want to get up early and exercise and she wants to stay up late and talk. It’s really challenging, but just understanding the why and then making a slight compromise at each end has helped our relationship a lot.”
Sam famously met wife Snezana on The Bachelor back in 2015. In those days, he says, he was focused on great abs and how he looked, but now, at 43, it’s more about looking after his mental health and having the energy to run two businesses and play with his four kids. “The connection between mind and body has never been more accepted. You shouldn’t just focus on the physical or on the mental. It’s a beautiful circle and you’ve got to look at both.”
Written by Bianca Zander for June 2024 issue of House of Wellness magazine.
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