"We can nurture our physical strength and mental wellbeing in sync with nature’s seasons.” Holistic Coach Louis in his Bristol studio.

One day scrolling through the endless cycle of online content featuring people doing familiar things, something entirely new pops up. 

In the middle of woodland, a man appears to be doing strength training using hefty logs as dumb bells, leaping up against nearby trunks, doing pull ups on low branches, and generally using the surroundings like an arboraceous gym. 

The whole set up looks joyful and carefree. What has inspired such a different way to interact with your body and the outdoors, and could this be something other people would join in too?

After reaching out to him directly, we soon find ourselves off to meet holistic coach Louis in his studio in Bristol. Barefoot, in a plain tracksuit, with a big grin, he lets us into a compact wooden space with a high ceiling, a studio that was built by ‘Earth Wise Construction’, a local sustainable building company.  

You can immediately tell that there is a distinct ethos behind the interior design. It feels unlike any gym we have encountered before, cosy and welcoming, like a cave. We sit in the centre of the room to talk. The steam from the green tea that Louis makes us wafts into the air. 

“Working in the mainstream clean cut gym environment and listening to my clients, I was walking around one day and realised that I could do things differently, that something was missing.”

Louis describes a personal journey that led him to start his own coaching business with his friend Jack, the creative mastermind behind the enterprise. 

The pair decided to centre the coaching space around biopholic design, which they define as a love for life and the living world and the affinity of human beings to other life forms. Both had found connecting with nature transformational for their wellbeing.

“We wanted to evoke a feeling of calm and positive energy. By visiting eco and outdoor gyms, we noticed they all have that special quality, it’s how the space makes you feel that matters.”

So, they chose a colour palette that inspired them, earthy colours of green, blue, yellow, and brown, familiar tones from the outdoors, and filled the space with wooden furnishings.

They created a sense of flow by having no straight lines or edges in the room, only diagonals that encourage your mind to wander. A local artist designed the vibrant floral patterns on one of the walls, also intended to spark your imagination. 

On the window sills are healthy looking plants that Louis explains are vital to oxidise the room and replenish it when people come and go. He shows a tenderness towards these living things, which witness the transformation that happens to clients in the room, making them a part of it.

Louis believes that a phase of introspection in his life where he reconnected with his childhood ultimately led him to where he is now. He was born in Bristol and raised in Glastonbury. With fields, and woodland all around where he grew up, Louis was immersed in nature from a young age.

He was always an active child, exploring the Mendip hills with his parents, going on long walks as a teenager, and playing football. Reflecting on it, he realised in his adult life he lacked this innate joy and contentment that being outside gave him.

Louis’s father and his grandparents are from the Caribbean with a tradition of being connected with nature. It’s clear that his cultural background has shaped him into the coach he is now.

“With my upbringing of being mixed race, I find it very easy to connect with people from different backgrounds and I want to inspire more mixed race and black people into the outdoors. It used to upset me, and I would internalise the lack of diversity. But, now through mentoring different people, I’m doing something about it.” 

Louis’s passion for supporting people began when he completed a personal training course aged sixteen to coach football, followed by a coaching degree at the University of Cardiff. 

“I fell in love with the ability to change someone’s mindset, whether that’s a teenager wanting to stop smoking weed, a group of special needs children, or a middle-aged mum who wants to shift some unhealthy habits. It’s a service that I'm giving to the world.”

The coaching space is about reconnecting clients to themselves and to each other. He has a thoughtful and compassionate way of reflecting on people’s personal struggles, and the happiness it brings him when he sees someone thriving.  

One client he worked with had a sedimentary lifestyle and wanted to change that when he witnessed the birth of his grandchildren. So, Louis helped him reframe the next phase of his life and within nine months of coaching, he ran a half marathon and has continued to take up physical activities, growing in confidence and strength.  

At the heart of Louis’s coaching practice is an idea about how we can better ourselves all year round. He gestures at the wintery barren landscape outside the windows.

"The days are getting shorter so that means that nature is going into hibernation, and we’re an intrinsic part of that process. We're not separate to it. We can nurture our physical strength and mental wellbeing by being in sync with nature’s seasons.”

“Instead of rigidly following a gym cycle of bulk and shred, we ask, what’s happening in nature? In winter, we want to become strong because it's harsh outside, while in summer we want to feel loose in the heat with bigger movements. Spring is a reawakening of the mind and body, while autumn is a moment of reflection on change as the leaves fall off the trees.”

The yoga routines follow a similar pattern of flowing yoga in the hot months and using breathing to let go and be still for a while in the cold months.

Through this mindful practice, Louis teaches us something about our existence and how to embrace change. Navigating life becomes easier with acceptance that you will never feel the same each day because our energy levels are defined by our natural evolving surroundings.   

He takes this practice even further encouraging clients to eat seasonally if possible and to think about how nutrition is tied to the time of year. By acclimatising physically and mentally, we can have a better alignment with the natural world, making us feel good too.    

For Louis being a holistic coach means connecting mental, physical, spiritual and emotional health together with nature weaving through it all. It’s about adapting to someone’s state of mind. If they come to the coaching space simply needing a chat on a yoga mat, that’s what he will do, ever mindful that mental health is crucial for any transformation and healing.

“Anyone can be disciplined enough to change their body following a set programme. It can take you just six weeks to make physiological changes, but if you haven't changed your mentality and beliefs systems, you're going to revert to the original behaviour. You need a fundamental shift of mindset”.

The reconnection to nature often sparks this initial shift, where people feel more deeply rooted in their body and mind when they are in the studio. The heady mix of endorphins with a therapeutic dynamic must make clients feel infinitely better.  

Louis explains that many gyms are designed without enough mental and emotional stimulation. He believes that in nature, there are many different patterns, so these trigger new chemical and biological responses for creative thoughts. 

“When I’m feeling depressed or anxious, I head outdoors, and I’ve had some of my best ideas whilst walking. If nature does that just by being in the woods, our space should do that too, so we just reflect nature inside.” 

The studio does feel like a space that can adapt to every possible need in a holistic way, whether to unwind, work out, meditate, or have a chat about something that’s on your mind.

Before we leave, Louis shows us the various activities that take place, dangling from the cross bar and lifting the wooden dumb bells that have been dried so that they are lighter. He shows us sketches he is working on for a new space, already dreaming even bigger.

We step outside looking at the layered wooden structure, that we now know holds so much of the wisdom and warmth he brings to his practice. The business is named Life Unlimited Performance, with a symbol of an acorn, a seed of an idea that has burst and grown into something truly enriching.

Louis’s meandering dulcet tones leave an impression, as if we have had our own coaching session without realising it. 

He waves goodbye and we walk away as the light begins to fade into darkness at this time of year. There is the promise of spring around the corner with brighter energetic days, but for now it feels good to simply breath in and out, slowly absorbing the crisp winter air. 

Life Unlimited Performance is now based at Saint Paul’s Church, Southville in Bristol. You can find Louis on Instagram @lupbristol and on the LUP website: www.lupbristol.com