The personal trainer who trains disabled and elderly clients for free at his community gym

A personal trainer at a gym in Greater Manchester has been supporting members of the community who are living with a disability by offering them free inclusive gym sessions.

If you head to Blackley in North Manchester, you’ll find J7 Health Centre, a community fitness gym run by Javeno McLean.

We went down to speak to Javeno and his clients about what makes this place so special and different from going to your ordinary gym or workout studio.

We stepped out of the taxi armed with recording equipment and so many questions, as we were dropped off on the main road close to the location of J7.

None of us had ever been there before, and as we were looking around, clearly a little lost, a woman asked: “Are you looking for somewhere?” I replied: “Yes, we’re looking for a gym.”

“It’s right there,” she said pointing to the end of a row set back off the main road. I thanked her and she gave a warm smile.

Clearly, she knew exactly the place we were looking for – it seems to be a bit famous around the area.

As we walked into the painted bright orange space, the music was blasting and friendly faces of other trainers greeted us. Inside, ‘80s power ballads were playing on the radio and ‘She’s a Maniac’ from Flashdance was pretty much setting the scene of what it’s like at J7.

Javeno’s personal trainer colleagues welcomed us and then went to find him. Three of his clients, Aimee, Josh and Fran were also there, so we could have a chat with them and find out about what goes on.

As the camera started rolling and I asked him my first question, but as he went to answer someone working out behind a big divider screen could be heard breathing heavily as they were on a weights machine.

Javeno immediately picked up on it. It made for a comedy gold moment and after we had all finished laughing, we started the interview again.

Javeno told me he’d been working with people in the community for a number of years, but before that he was a powerlifter and won several awards from competitions. He then decided to help people out in the community and give something back.

Now he offers free classes to people who are living with a disability, so they can come and train at his community gym and enjoy the benefits of socialising as well as the confidence exercising brings them.

Javeno told Proper Manchester: “I’ve been training people for 23 years. It’s been a long journey but one thing that I’m very proud of is, anybody disabled or elderly, I’ve never took a penny off anybody.

“I’ve always believed that if you really want to help somebody from the purest part of your soul, you’ve got to do it because you want to. And it’s just allowed me to build amazing, strong relationships with people.”

You’ve probably already come across Javeno and his J7 community gym while scrolling online. 

The fitness guru has hundreds of thousands of followers and documents some of the sessions he does with clients who may be recovering from a stroke, cancer treatment or living with a disability, as they take on tasks, boost their confidence and most importantly, have some fun.

Some of his videos have gone viral across the world, spreading the positive movement J7 is helping to create. And, speaking to some of Javeno’s clients, it’s no wonder they chose to come back here time and time again.

On how she first came across ‘Jay’, Aimee said: “One of my friends messaged me and said, ‘you need to get in with this guy Jay, he’s sick!’. So then he got him on the phone and he said ‘I don’t wanna talk to you on the phone, I wanna meet you, get here now, like right now’. 

“And I was like, ‘I’m currently in bed, I can’t move, what do you want me to do?’ He’s like ‘get here right now’ and I’m like, ‘I’m kind of stuck, but ok, we’ll go with that’.”

Fran also came across him on TikTok. She said: “I’ve been coming for nearly a year and it’s just been the best thing that’s ever happened. I saw Javeno on TikTok and was like ‘oh, who’s this fella?’”

On what makes J7 gym stand out from the rest, Josh said: “I enjoy just the general vibe and atmosphere. People think of the word gym and they think oh, it’s gonna be a job, it’s gonna be a chore, but here it’s not. 

“I get to come here and I get to have a laugh with friends, and dance and make funny jokes and stuff like that. It’s just fun, it’s just fun.”

On what his community gym is all about, what drives him and how he aims to help people, Javeno tells us: “A lot of people don’t enjoy life, a lot of people go through life just existing – it shouldn’t be like that.”

He continues: “Whether it’s able bodied or disabled people, we ain’t here to exist, we’re here to experience life and take in every little bit of joy that life can give us. Sometimes they sit in that chair and they say ‘yep, this is me forever,’ – not with my guys. 

“The main plan is to make sure that, that wheelchair, that disability or whatever you’ve got, is just a section of your life but doesn’t define your entire life. To me, seeing these guys living their lives and just being happy and normal – that to me is the greatest thing.”

On how Javeno has helped make a difference to her life and what makes her come back to J7, Aimee said: “For me, it’s all about disability awareness and showing people that no matter your ability or disability, you can get out of that chair if you really want to. “

She adds: “You just have to have the determination and I didn’t have that before I came here.

“And that’s one of the things that Jay has taught me and I will be forever grateful for that. It’s about reaching everybody’s potential and just loving yourself.”

Josh agrees as he says: “I like it better here because it’s more personal. There’s a lot of other personal trainers that are only there just to get the job done whereas with Jay, it’s more about how can I help you overcome your struggles.”

But it’s not just a place centred around physical health, it’s a place where mental wellbeing is also at the forefront, as Fran puts it: “We do weights, we do grip work, we also have a chat as well about mental health.

“That is just as important as your physical health and Javeno will ask me, ‘are you ok? How are you doing?’ and I will tell him straight.”

“The priority for me has always been are you ok? Are you good? Is there anything I can do and if you need me I’m here,” Javeno adds.

Javeno continues to offer hope to people across the globe with his inspiring videos as he challenges the status quo and discovers the many talents and wonderful personalities of those who train at J7.

J7 Health Centre is a community gym located at Unit 6, 73 Old Market St, Manchester M9 8DX.

If you’re struggling to find it, just ask one of the local residents, they’ll be sure to point you in the right direction!