Meet Bella Barnes: Personal trainer, mindset coach, fitness model and business owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bella Barnes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bella, what do you want people to remember about you?
I want people to remember me as the woman that changed the world’s view on skinny shaming and pioneered a healthy space for women who want to gain healthy weight. Not only do I want to be remembered as a personal trainer but also someone who helped transform and elevated people’s mindsets just like I had to do with myself. A lot of my work now comes from somewhere within. I’m creating a book club based on self-help/self-development books and really want to build a community where people are actually working through their traumas and becoming happier people. We need happier people in this world. These kinds of books really helped me develop my own state of mind so I really hope this book club will do the same I feel like the fitness industry is so saturated at the minute and a lot of these Instagram pages and programs are only focusing on the outside, the aesthetics. For me, mental and physical health go hand in hand but it starts with the mind. I want to be remembered for making a real difference in real people’s lives.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My career started very young. I didn’t ever plan to be doing what I’m doing now but it just fell into place and I’ve never looked back since. I was very academic in school and actually wanted to go on to do forensic psychology. After dropping out of college in my second year I decided the traditional route was not the one for me. Around this time I was getting familiar with the gym and training with some of my friends that needed help. One of the PTs at my gym told me I should get into it myself as there’s not a lot of females in the industry. It didn’t take me long before I was signed up for my personal training qualification. I was 17 at the time, after a 6-week intensive course I was ready. I started working in my first gym which I had planned to stay for about 2 years before I moved on to a ‘fancier’ gym. Jan 2020 I went traveling around South America for 3 months and come back to a UK lockdown. Gyms shut I had to think fast and move my business online. Weight Wanters was already growing steadily so a couple of months in I decided to create the Weight Wanters Academy hub which is a membership hub for the serious Weight Wanters. I also started to teach online fitness classes, me and a good friend and a colleague of mine joined together on the fitness classes so it would allow us to be more flexible with what we can teach and how many times a week without wearing ourselves to the ground! I had brand deals coming in as well things seemed to really be going okay without the gym! One day I said to myself within a couple of months I built up a foundation for two of my businesses to be online. Why go back to paying £1,000+ a month in rent at the gym when I can work from my room which also allows me to be more flexible and have more time for myself instead of those 12+ hour days in the gym. 8 months on, I’m currently living in Mexico, working from my laptop and my apartment. Living my best life and now starting my new community business, Bellas’ Book Club. I’m only 21 and honestly I’m incredibly blessed to be in the position I am now, it was not easy, but everyday I wake up excited thinking about where I’m going to be in 5 years!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
So im a London-born and bred girl, but as London is in lockdown and I’m currently in Mexico ill talk about Mexico. Mexico is SUCH a culturally rich country and has so many different habitats there’s so much to explore. We would be staying in a nice hotel with a sea view with less than a 2-minute walk to the beach. The local authentic Mexican restaurants have the best tacos so that’s where we are heading to dinner or lunch on most days. We would go and visit the chichen-itza pyramids which is one of the wonders of the world. We would also visit one of the thousands of cenotes this country has. Which is essentially a natural well. Even after being to a couple, I’m still amazed at how they’re formed. Tequila, obviously the national drink of Mexico, we would need to go tequila tasting and when I tell you true Mexican tequilia is nothing like what we have at home, you will be SHOCKED! After a long night of tequila the next day, we would lounge around on the beach soaking up the gorgeous sun, have some fun on the jet skis then take a yacht over to Isla Mujeres or Cozumel. Swim with some dolphins, enjoy more Mexican food and sail back in the sunset. When the weekend comes well be off to Tulum. The restaurant and party central dressed up real cute we would eat at rosanegras or taboos. We would stay nearby and hit up the beautiful spots in Tulum that were desired for the best pictures to be taken. The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My sister has played the biggest role in shaping me into this wonder woman I am today. She’s always been so supportive of everything I’ve done and as she’s the older sister I’ve also gone to learn from some of the mistakes she’s made. Any little idea I have, anything I achieve, and the problem I have. She’s always the first to know. She’s my personal cheerleader with everything I do and I wouldn’t be me without her. Secondly. Books. They literally changed my life, the way I view myself, the world, and others around me. For my age id like to say I’ve read a hefty amount which has now led me to create a book club so I can help transform other people’s lives as well!

Website: https://www.fitbeetraining.com/weight-wanters

Instagram: @Beeingbellaa / @Weightwanters / @Bellas.bookclubb

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bella-barnes-2b8993172/