Worksop dad turns personal trainer after cardiac arrest left him dead for four minutes

Jonathan White, a 48-year-old from Worksop, has ditched his 20-year career in sales and kickstarted a new venture as a personal trainer with his company Wired for Fitness.

The new business is running from a converted room above his garage at his home on Retford Road, Blyth, where he lives with his wife Kate, and their teenage son and daughter.

Despite his active lifestyle and being an avid cyclist, the father-of-two’s life was turned upside down after he suffered cardiac arrest on June 2 last year while playing a charity rugby match with his friends in Warrington.

All he remembers was coming off the field after the first game to join Kate and his son when he began to feel light-headed. The next moment he was “gasping for breath” as he was shocked back to life.

Thankfully an ex-military medic had rushed to Jonathan’s side to perform CPR, and a cardiologist nurse administered a defibrillator which had only recently been installed at the site.

He was later told he had actually been dead for four minutes.

He was quickly taken to Warrington Hospital by paramedics before being transferred to a specialist cardiology unit in Liverpool where he remained for eight days. Tests revealed he had scarring on his heart which had weakened the muscle leading to an oversized heart and an irregular rhythm.

The former Ironman triathlete is now similar to Marvel’s Iron Man superhero after being fitted with an ICD, a battery-powered device placed in the chest which delivers a shock to the heart if it senses dangerous rhythms.

New medication which left him exhausted made the recovery a “frustrating” journey, however just seven months later he now says he feels back to normal.

“I was absolutely wiped out, the tiredness was a really big factor,” he said. “The whole thing just totally knocked me for six.

“Going from training seven times a week, whether it's swimming, weights, running, or biking, to doing nothing for almost two months and then having to build myself back up. It was frustrating.

“But now you wouldn’t know. I'm still the same person - I’m just part machine.”

His new lease for life led him to leave his former career in sales and take on an intensive course to obtain his level three diploma in personal training at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.

A grant from the Bassetlaw Enterprise Grant scheme has also helped Jonathan along to set up his own gym with new equipment.

He is now dedicated to helping other people achieve their fitness goals - whether it be losing weight, gaining muscle, increasing cardio capacity or even flexibility.

During a free one-hour consultation, Jonathan will take measurements and carry out a few cardio and strength tests before creating a personalised programme for clients to progress with.

Jonathan said: “Everybody's different, some people may want to train if they're doing a particular sport, or somebody may want to just generally be more healthy and more conscientious of what they're doing.

“It's a great starting place to come to me with absolute confidence that there's no judgement.”

To find out more or book a free consultation, visit: https://www.wiredforfitness.com/