From the Met to the cover of Men's Fitness: Michael Baah
Michael Baah has been named Men's Fitness Personal Trainer of the Year, and he's the cover star of the September issue, out nationwide now. He's also one of our virtual tenants, which is a reminder that a Colbea address suits far more businesses than the ones you'd expect.
Boxing, the Met, and a change of direction
Michael took up boxing as a kid to stop getting bullied at school. It stuck. He went on to represent the Metropolitan Police as an officer, fighting at Chelsea Barracks, in Dublin and in New York. When he left the police he knew he wanted something different, though it took a few false starts to find it. Coaching came almost by accident, after he helped a friend get in shape for a television show, and the high-profile clients followed from there.
Losing everything overnight
For a long time his entire business lived inside a handful of gyms. Then he lost access to one of them, and because so many clients needed that specific venue, he had to refund close to fifteen thousand pounds in bookings almost overnight. It felt, in his words, like starting from zero.
What he did next is the part worth paying attention to. Rather than finding another gym to depend on, he built an app and now coaches clients worldwide, with no single venue able to pull the rug again. His advice to any business owner who's been through something similar is not to rebuild the same fragile thing twice.
A client's diagnosis changed the whole approach
Not long after, a long-standing client was diagnosed with breast cancer. Michael retrained specifically to support her through treatment, and it ended up reshaping how he coaches everyone. Oncology rehab teaches you that progress comes from small, safe, compounding steps that are never forced, and he now brings the same patience to elite athletes and screen work. One philosophy, he says, not two client lists.
Just Train CIC
That retraining led directly to Just Train CIC, the community interest company he co-founded to provide free specialist exercise support for people living with and beyond cancer. It has supported more than a thousand people so far, running sessions in private clinics in Chelmsford and alongside the NHS in Epping. There's a bigger goal too: each year they want to nominate a child going through treatment and send them and their family somewhere like Disney World.
How to find Michael
If you know of a space in Colchester that might suit Just Train CIC, drop us a line at Colbea and we'll pass it straight to Michael. Bright, welcoming, and nothing like a hospital gym is the brief.
For anything else, you'll find Michael at michaelbaah.com, or on Instagram at @michaelbaah_. His coaching is invite only, so an introduction is the way in rather than a sign-up page.
Thinking about a space of your own?
We've got three buildings across Colchester: Colbea City, Colbea North, and the Digital Forum on Queen Street. Between them there are private offices, dedicated desks, hot desks by the day, and virtual tenancies for people who want the address and the meeting rooms without the desk.
Whichever you pick, you're not signing your life away. Our contracts are short and rolling, so you can take a room, grow into a bigger one, or drop back to a desk, without a commercial lease hanging over you for five years. You also get a building full of other local businesses, which tends to be worth more than people expect until they've tried it.
Have a look at what's available, or just come and see the place. We'll show you round with no pressure attached.
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