Gladiators star to visit North Devon school this week

A star from the hit BBC One show Gladiators will be making an appearance at a North Devon school this week to deliver a health and fitness workshop.

Zack George, known as STEEL on Gladiators and crowned the UK’s fittest man in 2020, will visit Holsworthy C of E Primary School on 25 October to present his Zactiv workshop to 332 children, aged 3-11.Zack’s programme, Zactiv, is designed to inspire children across primary and secondary schools to focus on fitness, nutrition, and building self-confidence. 

The visit, organised by the Friends of Holsworthy C of E Primary School through successful fundraising efforts, aims to leave a lasting impact on the children's well-being.

Vikki Moore, assistant headteacher at the school, said: “The visit has been organised through the efforts of the Friends of Holsworthy C of E Primary School, which has successfully fundraised to bring this event to our school. The children and staff are all incredibly excited! 

“Zack will be sharing important messages about health, fitness, and nutrition. His philosophy aligns perfectly with our school's goals of inspiring children to be aspirational and confident, believing that anything is possible.

“We want our children to aim high and believe they can achieve anything. Zack's visit will build on the lessons our children have been learning regarding fitness and nutrition in the classroom, helping to reinforce these important values in a fun and memorable way.

“I am confident that Zack's visit will have a lasting impact on both their physical and emotional well-being.

Zack hopes his story will motivate children to live healthier, more active lives, using his own journey from childhood struggles with weight to becoming a fitness champion.

 has more than 230,000 followers on Instagram but has become a major household name this year for appearing in one of BBC TV’s prime-time Saturday night entertainment programmes.  

Zack said: “When I go into schools, the children just go insane. Seeing someone in their school who they may have seen on TV just the weekend before... they just lose their minds. 

“I want to use that current fame for the greater good, as this is an extremely personal mission. I want to show every single kid that anything is possible.” 

Zactiv, which also focuses on nutrition and helping to boost children’s confidence, was founded as the direct result of Zack’s own journey to fitness.

At the age of six, Zack was severely overweight and as a result had a huge lack of confidence, mentally struggling with how he looked. 

He also had a bad relationship with food and binge eating

Benefitting from a dose of tough parental support in his teens, combined with his own nerves of steel, Zack embarked on a mission to get fit and healthy. 

Completely changing his lifestyle, eating healthy food and getting active, his hard work paid off. 

Within years he was crowned the UK’s fittest man – among a host of other accolades in the world of fitness.  

Zack is now hoping that his story will inspire school children to do the same. 

He said: “I want to use my story and profile to inspire children and young people to take charge of their own health. 

“Fitness and what we eat can have a huge impact on our lives. As a child, I wasn’t happy in my own skin but with the support of my family and my dedication to achieving my goals, I turned this around with exercise and healthy eating. I want to be a role model for children.”

 Zack said that, armed with the knowledge of what was healthy and how to stay active, the children, like him, could achieve great things physically and mentally.

Statistics show that one in five children leaving primary school in the UK is obese. Less than one-third of children take part in the recommended levels of activity for their age, and obese children are four times more likely to develop diabetes – a disease that has increased in children by 50 per cent since 2006.  

Zack has designed his school sessions in age-appropriate groupings, incorporating age ranges from 3 to 16. 

Zactiv is supported in part by sponsorship from businesses that are keen to align their corporate social responsibility programmes with the future health of our nation.   

Teaming up with sports hydration brand Actiph, Zack recounts his own story, offers health and nutrition advice, answers questions and shares mindful breathing exercises and confidence boosting tips. 

Zack said: “The impact of eating rubbish can have such a negative impact on not only physical but also mental health. By promoting exercising regularly and eating healthily we can turn that trend around.

“I hope that my story will inspire any of those children struggling with their weight or fitness and show them just what can be achieved.”  

He added: “I want to give back. I’ve been in a fortunate position to do some amazing things as a result of turning my fitness and health around. If I can make a difference and help even one child to become fitter and healthier it will be an absolute privilege.” 

Delivering the workshops with his current partner firm, Zack said that Actiph had allocated 30,000 water bottles to be distributed to school children as part of the emphasis on the importance of hydration, and each child who took part in the workshop would receive one. 

In order to take the scheme to as many schools as possible, Zack is offering businesses the chance to join him on his mission. 

He is actively looking for health-conscious commercial partners whose principals align with his to help sponsor the programme and help get the nation’s children fitter and ready for the future.