'˜It was hard work going from being a complete waster to a Royal Marine...'

Seven years later he is back in Bexhill and bringing the message of fitness and commitment he learned in that time, including difficult months spent fighting in Afghanistan.

Chris is now home to spend more time with his five-year-old daughter Alicia but also to teach people in town, whatever their age or level of fitness, how to be stronger and leaner, and make changes that will stay with them for life.

He has started his own version of commando fitness training and says clients are already thrilled with what they can achieve.

Chris, now 26, grew up in Bexhill and it’s obvious he has come a long way from the unruly kid who was expelled from three separate schools - Claverham, Bexhill High School, and The Grove.

“I was pretty bad,” he said.

“I always took it too far and I did get in quite a lot of fights.”

He had started working on his fitness as a youngster by lifting weights in his bedroom but let that go when he “went off the rails”.

He then became a 16-year-old living in a bedsit with no job or prospects and realised he needed to change his life.

When the events of 9/11 happened, Chris knew he wanted to help other people, and so he started training in earnest and getting fit.

At first he wanted to join the fire service, but was turned down, and then he noticed a poster for the Royal Marines and decided to go for it.

“It was hard work going from being a complete waster to a Royal Marine Commando but I trained hard and did it.”

He signed up and was one of 53 who started the gruelling eight-month training course - only eight of them finished.

Chris said: “It was so hard.

“You got tested every week, how you were physically training but on your soldiering as well. You have got to be good at everything.

“People there were giving up, so they failed. Some people couldn’t learn at that rate, or deal with being physically exhausted while having to learn. You would have to be able to walk 20 miles with a heavy pack and still be able to do what was needed at the end of that, when you got there.

“There’s no point getting there, falling in a heap on the ground, and not knowing what’s going on.”

After training he was based in Taunton with 40 Commando.

He spent seven months fighting in Afghanistan from 2006/7 and said: “It wasn’t very nice, but it was something I needed to do, that I wanted to do. That’s what I joined for.

Chris, of Sackville Road, added: “My little girl was quite young then - she was only a baby. I missed her, but she didn’t know too much about me. So it was not nice, but it was bearable. But if I went now she would miss me as well, which would be much worse. We are really close. I just couldn’t go away again once she was old enough to understand.

“I loved my time in the Marines immensely but I loved my daughter more and that’s why I had to leave. I miss fighting for my country, and for my friends and family, but I missed my daughter more, and as me and her mother were no longer together I didnt want to be a bit part in her life, I wanted to be huge for her.

“I think being in the corps has made me much more laid back, I have a greater perspective on what is important in life, I think. It was a big part of my life and I love the corps, and I miss the lads but I’m equally excited about this new chapter, as I was when I began the last.”

Since his return to Bexhill, Chris has been putting his energy into training other people to be fit.

He started Commando Fitness in March and has been leading circuit training sessions as well as one-on-one training with clients which involves a full-on approach encompassing exercise, diet, even supermarket shopping to make sure the right food is being purchased and clients know what to look out for.

It is not for the fainthearted because it requires effort and commitment but Chris is sure this is the way to achieve positive and lasting results, and claims client satisfaction is leading to ever more people signing up to start his programme.

“The people I have got have been 100 per cent committed and they are getting 100 per cent good results - and that is what I want for the long term.

“Even in 10 years’ time I want to see every single client still getting 100 per cent results. Just last night I had a guy ring who had been training in the gym for 10 or 11 years and never really seen any change - that’s crazy. He will have spent £10,000 during that time in memberships.”

His rule is a simple one: “Everyone needs more muscle and less fat. Most people don’t know that.

“This just works - people lose weight and can change their shape.”

•For details of Chris’s circuit training sessions, his fitness programme, and one-on-one coaching, call 07875 652897.