James Graham- Personal Trainer & Calisthenics Coach, Wandsworth SW18
I grew up playing the oboe and piano because I was good at it. Taught secondary school music because that’s what you do with a music degree and then joined the army as a musician after this.
At 32 I left the army and came to London. For the first time nobody was telling me what came next. Training became the one place I was building something entirely for myself. Not for a grade, not for a commanding officer, not for anyone else. Just to find out what I was capable of when I properly committed to something.
I’d started training at 20, inspired by watching my brother’s results in the gym. I discovered calisthenics at 27 after reading 'Street Workout' by Al Kavadlo and realising I’d been training my ego, not my body. The freedom of bodyweight training fit my life in the army perfectly and it changed how I thought about movement entirely.
I started coaching friends for free whilst still serving. Did a week’s internship at Commando Temple, one of London’s leading calisthenics gyms. Ran my first classes in local gyms at 29 and left the army after Covid in 2022, with the dream of becoming a respected coach.
I built my client base from scratch in a city where nobody knew me, and switched to purely personal training two years ago.
I’ve now been ranked in the top 3 in the UK in my weight class in Weighted Calisthenics. I’m plant-based, and I coach from a fully equipped gym in Wimbledon Park and through home visits across Wandsworth, Earlsfield & Putney.
Who I work with:
I work with men & women aged 30 to 50 based in Wandsworth, Wimbledon, Earlsfield and across SW London. Most of them sit at a desk for 8 hours a day, feel like their body has got away from them, and have tried gym memberships that didn’t stick.
They don’t come to me for a six pack. They come because something quiet in them says it’s time to do something for themselves. For the first time.
That’s the client I’m built for and it's that transformation, not just the physical one, the identity one, that I coach for.
Qualifications & Experience:
Level 3 Personal Trainer
Animal Flow Level 1
Certified Pain-free Performance Specialist (PPSC)
Calisthenics Specialist
Army Physical Training background
Internship- Commando Temple, London
UK Top 3 Streetlifter U80kg x3
18 years training experience
Active coach since 2015
Ready to find out what you’re capable of?
Send me a message. No pitch, no pressure. Just a conversation about where you are and where you want to get to.
