My story

What broke me
didn't get to
define me.

From professional football and addiction to sobriety, fatherhood and a life built around helping others move forward.

Why I coach

I used to believe strength meant never struggling. Now I know it means being honest about where you are—and choosing to take the next step.

Training did more than change my body. It gave me somewhere to put my energy, a way to quiet my mind and eventually a purpose bigger than myself.

The dream

Football was my identity, my structure and my future.

I grew up chasing one dream—becoming a professional footballer. From childhood through to the Under-21s, I was part of Newcastle United. It gave my life direction and shaped the standards I still carry today.

In April 2013, I was called in and told I would be released. I knew it was coming, but hearing it out loud broke something inside me. It was not a lack of work ethic—I had always worked relentlessly—but deep down, my self-belief never matched my effort.

Soon after, I signed for St Johnstone in Scotland. I trained hard, travelled with the first team and kept pushing. Midway through my second season, I realised my love for the game had faded. Football had become survival rather than passion.

Alex Kitchen playing football while looking for another professional club

Losing direction

On the outside I looked like an athlete. Privately, I was losing control.

After being released, I kept looking for another club and trying to recover the career I thought I had lost. On the outside I still looked like an athlete, but my life was beginning to spiral. I struggled mentally and turned to alcohol and drugs to quiet my thoughts.

Looking back, I realise that what I truly loved was not only football. It was the discipline, the challenge and the way training helped me manage my mind. Hard work made me feel calm. Movement gave me clarity. That realisation would eventually shape my future.

Alex Kitchen coaching a client in the gym

A new purpose

My first client paid me £5. I knew I had found something real.

By 2016, as my football career came to an end, I started training people—charging my first client £5 and sneaking into local gyms to coach sessions. I quickly realised that helping others transform through fitness was my real passion.

Personally, things were still chaotic. My substance use worsened, relationships suffered and I eventually left the UK for Australia, running from the life I had built and the person I had become.

Australia gave me space to think. I worked as a bin man, tree planter and fruit picker—jobs that let my mind wander and dream. One morning in 2017, sitting by a lake hungover but hopeful, I sketched my vision for a gym and a future built around helping people become stronger, physically and mentally.

Alex Kitchen speaking about men's mental health and building resilience

The turning point

Success on the outside could not fix what was happening inside.

When I returned to the UK, I rebuilt from scratch. I grew a client base, coached across multiple gyms and opened No Limits in 2021. From the outside, things looked successful. Inside, my addiction was escalating, affecting my family, my business and my mental health. I was living a double life—athlete by day, self-destructive by night.

In July 2022, everything changed. With the support of my family and the Professional Footballers’ Association, I entered rehab at Sporting Chance Mental Health Clinic. It was the hardest decision I have ever made—and the most important. That was the beginning of a completely new chapter.

Alex Kitchen with his children after finishing second in a 100-mile race

The life I built

Sobriety gave me the chance to push my limits in healthier ways.

Since becoming sober, I have completed ultramarathons, Ironman events and endurance races that challenge both body and mind. More importantly, I have built a life rooted in purpose, honesty and growth.

I am now a father of three, a business owner and a coach with over 20 years of training experience and more than a decade of working with clients. I have coached professional athletes, but my focus today is primarily on busy parents and business owners—people carrying real-life pressures who want to become stronger, fitter, leaner and mentally sharper.

Alex Kitchen at the worst point of addiction and later after completing an Ironman

Two versions of me

From my lowest point
to an Ironman finish.

The change was not one dramatic moment. It came from accepting help, becoming honest and repeatedly choosing the next right action. Recovery gave me the chance to become someone I once could not imagine.

The mission now

“Fitness isn't just about how you look. It's about feeling better inside your own head.”

My mission is simple: help people build resilience through movement and develop a mindset that carries into every part of their life.