Deluxe Version
FITNESS SPOTLIGHT
SIDNEY WILSON FITNESS & DETERMINATION FITNESS & DETERMINATION
C
elebrity fitness trainer Sidney Wilson knows a little something about determination. Raised by an abusive father, Wilson spent much of his childhood in Auburndale, Florida, figuring things out on his own. “Nothing was handed to me,” said Wilson, who has 12 siblings. “When I was 13 years old, my grandfather passed away, and the doctor said he didn’t eat healthy. As a young kid, that stuck with me.” Today, Wilson tells his clients that diet is the key to living a healthy lifestyle. “You can go to the gym and bust your ass, but your body won’t change to its full effect until the diet changes,” he said. Wilson is well known for getting his clients the quickest results in the shortest amount of time. “Diet is 80 percent, and water intake is key.” Wilson follows his own advice. He started out as a fitness model for Wilhelmina Models in New York City, where he moved to with his sister when he was in his mid-20s. A week after arriving, he said his sister left, and he had to find another place to live. He slept on trains in between a job at a local gym. “I was going from Brooklyn to the Bronx on the daily,” he said. He put in time learning the ropes at the gym until one day a manager from Equinox fitness hired him. He trained there for three years and garnered a high-profile following. “Someone from Murder Inc. Records came in and asked for the best trainer, and they told him it was me,” said Wilson, who put himself through school and studied social media management.
108 | Deluxe Version Magazine
“I started working with him, and it had a snowball effect. I went on to train people from Bad Boy Records.” Wilson, who will be 44 in June, hasn’t slowed down since. He brought his program to Las Vegas ten years ago and works with clients at Movement Fitness. His training focuses on the Vicious program, which boasts the motto ‘nothing less than 100 reps.’ It caters to every level of fitness.
“You don’t have to do 100 reps at one time, but do what you can do,” he said. “Rest and then do some more.” The program mixes in various forms of cardio, yoga, Pilates, Plyometrics and stretching. With more than 150,000 followers watching his life through Instagram, it’s easy to see his time is spread thin. He said he works out seven days a week, trains more than 45 people and travels on the weekends for modeling photo shoots. When he’s not working, he’s spending time with his wife, Chelsea Wilson. “She understands my livelihood and struggles and what drives and motivates me,” he said. “I’ve done it before without anyone, but now I have someone to talk to.”
— By Stacy D’Alessandro
