What started as an innocent comment soon escalated into so much more and to be fair...I think a small part of me encouraged it.
Matt,our very own in-house opera singer said to me one Monday morning
"Matt...I'm going to do six workouts this week"!
In the interest of fair play,bit of fun and maybe spotting a devilish marketing opportunity what other response could I give?
"Matt...you complete the six sessions and I'll let you take a workout and put me and the guys through the paces"!
Upon hearing this,Hilary "Nutter" Williams,a lady never one to shy away from a challenge announced that she wanted some of that.
Without really thinking about it,I then made the school boy error of saying that if she completed the six workouts with Matt,that I would not only let them take the session,but I'd let them dress me in something ridiculous and pink!
So off I went,my brain in overdrive thinking of the workouts I could conjure up,to not only break their bodies but their spirit as well.All in the interest of saving my dignity of course.
Tuesday arrived,the weighted vest ready to put on and so the second workout began.
Then the third,fourth,fifth and finally the sixth.Nothing was going to stop these guys,word had got around about how these guys were "machines".
The Chislehurst Bootcamp had rallied around,encouraging and motivating the guys to finish.Id like to think it was for the kudos of completing the challenge but I suspect it was more the case of seeing me being penalised,humiliated,payback for the exercise programmes I've inflicted in the past.
I can't blame them!
Word soon spread.Suggestions were made,hints of my "prize" to come posted all over the different platforms on social media.
Melissa "The Canadian" Bailey doctored photos and created Facebook posts.I found my head photoshopped onto Maddona,s body sporting luminous wristbands and pop socks.
The name "Mattdonna" was soon being spread around the local coffee shop.
Aylesford, Bexley and Greenwich,our other Bootcamp locations got wind of what was going on and wanted to know if I was going to be wearing a mankini?
So as I made my way across the field,I thought back to the previous week and chuckled to myself at what was soon to transpire.
The numbers kept growing and what was that?Surely Becks hasn't driven all the way from Aylesford Bootcamp on a Monday morning to see my humiliation?
I'm presented with a bag and told to get ready.It was as I suspected.A pink tutu,headband,bracelets and popsocks,complimented with a butterfly painted on my face.
I'm given a toy wand and told I shall be penalised if it leaves my sight.
The shenanigans begin,first with a run around Chislehurst.Not the back streets.
Oh no...the high street none the less!
For the next hour I'm beasted,pushed,cajoled...local residents looking on bewildered as I skip by in my green combat trousers sporting an assemble of luminous pink!
Hilary and Matt take charge,bizarrely I'm the only one doing 50 repetitions of each exercise as the class slowly descends into a comedy show.
At my expense of course!
As we come to the end I take a moment to look around the group.I see nothing but happy smiling faces and it's great to see.
Yes...Bootcamp can be a hard exercise regime but if you bring the fun element,the workouts soon fly by.
Yes...this burly ex-Royal Marine in combats was dressed in a pink tutu and face painted with a butterfly for an hour but you know what...
I wouldn't of changed a thing to see the fun the guys were having and the smiles on their faces!
Mattdonna Out