Blackpool schoolboy becomes exercise 'influencer' for ASICS

Last week ASICS introduced the world’s youngest exercise influencer team, the ASICS ‘Little Reminders’, whose mission is to remind adults to exercise for how it makes them feel, and not for how it makes them look.

In a new campaign video, Henry Bell, eight, from Blackpool, tells producers that he loves exercising because it “gives him energy” and says adults take exercise too seriously and only care about physical appearance.

Thanks to the campaign, Henry is now featured on a billboard in Leigh, to highlight the all-important message of never forgetting how exercise makes you feel.

As children, exercise is instinctive. Young children run, jump, and climb because it feels good.

But in adulthood, the motivation to exercise is all too often focused on aesthetic gain, reinforced by a very serious and pressurised exercise world.

Henry and his billboard in Poulton-le-Fylde (Image: ASICS)

In new research commissioned by ASICS, 63 per cent of adults admit the main reason they exercise is for physical gain, while 77 per cent of children say the main reason they exercise is for fun. 

And it seems society’s obsession with exercising for the ‘perfect body’ is damaging our relationship with movement.

Seventy seven per cent of adults say they don’t look forward to exercising and see it as a chore, whereas 92 per cent of children aged 6 to 11 say they enjoy exercise.

Reflecting on their younger mindset, the study found that 82 per cent of adults said they didn’t have negative feelings towards exercise when they were younger, 43 per cent even said they loved it.

More than half said they didn’t realise that they were exercising at that age and it was just what they did for fun, and 31 per cent want to feel like that again.

Seventy seven per cent of children think adults take exercise too seriously.

To remind adults to move for the positive mental benefits of exercise, ASICS has formed the Little Reminders, a group of seven and eight-year-olds from across the UK who exercise purely because it makes them feel good.

The ASICS Little Reminders group, which include Henry, along with Tillie, Hiba, Joash, and Imuujin, have developed the first-ever exercise guide made by children for adults to remind older generations to move for enjoyment and not just performance.

The ambassadors will also be taking over the channels of some of the biggest exercise influencers with their workout to help inspire more people to move for the mental uplift.

Gary Raucher, from ASICS, said: “Children aged five to seven are at their peak activity levels, and their primary motivation to exercise is to feel good.

“Sadly, as we get older, the focus of exercise is all too often on physical gain and performance.

“So instead of exercise being a way to release pressure and help people feel better, the exercise world often adds to the pressure. We want to change that.

“At ASICS we believe in the positive impact of movement on the body and on the mind. It’s why we’re called ASICS, an acronym for the Latin ‘Anima Sana in Corpore Sano’ or ‘Sound Mind in a Sound Body.

“We hope that our new Little Reminder recruits can help remind us all of the real power of exercise and encourage us to move for our minds, not just out bodies.”

Psychologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos said:  "As we grow older, societal influences such as social media and cultural norms emphasise the aesthetic outcomes of exercise, shaping our perception and relationship with not only exercise, but with our bodies and body image.

“Though it is well documented that exercise can support our mental health, there still remains the misconception that for it to be effective, activity needs to be difficult, intense and sometimes painful.

“When in reality, you don’t need to do a full body workout to reap the rewards.

"The idea of returning to the mindset of our younger selves is a great way to conceptualise exercise, unlocking the full mental benefits of movement.

“Children approach physical activity with a sense of uninhibited joy and curiosity, moving for the pleasure of it rather than for external validation.

“Their focus is on what they can gain and not what they need to lose, and as a consequence physical activity becomes a joy, not a chore.

“Embracing this mindset as adults could be the key to restructuring our relationship with exercise in a positive way and allow us to reignite our childhood love of moving for how it makes us feel.”

To read and follow the Little Reminder’s workout guide visit ASICS.com/LittleReminders.