Meet the Liverpool-based personal trainer who went from broke to business mogul in 10 months

21-day challenge creator Harriet Jeffries went from having nothing to running an online fitness challenge that is transforming bodies – and it only costs £21.

Harriet (better known by her alias ‘Gymbird’), an experienced PT, and somewhat local hero on the Liverpool gym scene, came up with the idea for the challenge after suffering financial losses due to the pandemic.

After the gyms closed during the first lockdown, Harriet was left with little sustainable income, a young baby to support, and a house to maintain. Relying on freebies from her friends and family, she decided to create a three-week online fitness challenge to pay the bills. Fast forward 10 months, and the challenge has over 3000 members.

The 21-day challenge is a one-stop-shop for all your fitness needs. For the bargain price of £21, challenge members get access to 31 workouts a week, with everything from weight training to yoga, there is something for everyone. But it doesn’t stop there, members also have access to live cook-along sessions, a community support group, weekly check-ins, and a ton of recipe ideas to help keep you on track.

Born on Instagram, the challenge now has a dedicated website where members can access workouts, support, and resources in one place. Harriet has even opened up her own ‘Gymbird Shop’ selling kettlebells, dumbbells, resistance bands, food scales and even some stylish Gymbird merchandise.

Harriet, who was a self-employed personal trainer before launching the 21-day challenge, never expected the challenge to take off. She explained;

‘’I made the challenge on a whim, I had no way of making money because the gyms were closed. I had bills to pay and a baby to support. I put the challenge on my Instagram and hoped for the best, never in my wildest dreams did I expect it to grow as big as it has.’’

She continued:

‘’The challenge has changed and evolved over the last 10 months. It has gone from a fitness challenge to a lifestyle. I want to help improve people’s attitudes towards fitness and exercise. We have even introduced wellbeing sessions to give members that extra bit of support.’’

The challenge, initially created to help people get into shape has developed into a fitness and lifestyle programme, improving people’s perceptions and attitudes towards diet and exercise.

Following on from the success of the 21-day challenge, Harriet now has a dedicated team who work alongside her, assisting with teaching classes, running social media, and offering round the clock support to members.

Harriet also credits her success to her loyal members, who are not afraid to show their support for the business mogul.

On Instagram, one user wrote:

‘’Best thing to come out of COVID! How is this £21? Can’t wait for Monday!’’

While others said the challenge was the best thing they have ever done.

‘’Challenge is the best thing I’ve ever done! Totally addicted xx’’

‘’The challenge is seriously awesome, best thing I have ever done!’’

There is plenty more where that came from, the @thegymbird Instagram page is flooded with comments of praise and support for the challenge.

Sign-ups are open for April, head over to the Gymbird website here to secure your place. It will be the best £21 you will ever spend.