Running a marathon and completing an Ironman triathlon are ambitious goals for anyone, let alone a teenager, but 18-year-old Daniel Brennan from Ashton-in-Makerfield is used to overcoming daunting challenges.
Four years ago he was at “rock bottom”. Struggling with his weight, his self-esteem and his mental health, he’d all but given up. Today, things couldn’t be more different.
“He’s changed in every single way,” says proud mum Annette. “He’s more confident, fitter, healthier; his whole outlook on life has totally changed.”
The catalyst for Daniel’s incredible transformation was Be Well’s family fitness team and, in particular, specialist wellbeing instructor Chris Hewitt.
Daniel was already known to Chris having been referred by his GP for weekly activity sessions and advice on nutrition and healthy habits. He’d been making good progress before Covid struck and sent him into a downward spiral.
With the nation in the grip of lockdown, Daniel would spend his days in his bedroom, in his pyjamas, isolated and eating packet after packet of crisps. His mum knew she had to intervene, and that’s when she reached out to Chris to see if he could help.
The pair reunited, albeit virtually this time, with Chris offering guidance and encouragement over video calls to help Daniel get a handle on his unhealthy habits and rediscover a lost love for running and swimming.
“He’d get me to keep a food diary so I’d be accountable for what I was eating,” explains Daniel. “Instead of going straight for that pack of crisps I’d have to write it down first, and that made me think about what I was putting into my body.”
Chris would also map out weekly exercise plans and set Daniel the challenge of running a mile a day for 30 days. Inspired by his mentor, he ran not just 30 miles but 80.
“I’d always try to do that little bit more, I guess you could say I was doing it to impress Chris. It was Chris who kept me going, because now I wasn’t just doing it for myself – someone else was relying on me too.”
Daniel was soon running weekly Saturday morning 5ks, progressing from there to events such as the Wigan 10k, Wigan Half Marathon, and the West Lancashire Summer Triathlon – and now he’s even setting his sights on a marathon, the Ironman 70.3 in Bolton, and a Hyrox fitness race.
His remarkable improvement was recognised at the Believe Sports Awards in November 2022, when he was presented with the Changing Lifestyle Recognition Award.
But in many ways that is just the start of his story; one that continues to inspire others treading the same path. Not only does Daniel regularly give talks to current family fitness participants, he’s now also an official member of the Be Well team as a swimming teacher and lifeguard at Ashton Leisure Centre.
His aspiration? To be the role model he wishes he’d had at the outset of his own journey.
“I know if I had someone to look up to who had been in the same situation, I’d have found it a lot easier to stay motivated to achieve what I wanted – because I’d have known it was possible,” he says.
“It makes me happy that I can give the kids a sense that they can achieve what they want to achieve – and, although it’s a slow process and it seems near impossible, it’s actually not.
“It’s my way of giving back to Chris and the team for what they did for me, and of helping others who are in the same position I was in to be happy with themselves.”
Your Stories
Be Well is helping people all over Wigan Borough make positive changes to their lives, empowering them to improve their health and wellbeing - whether at our Leisure Centres or out in the community, at the heart of our neighbourhoods. That’s our story, now here are some of yours...