Mr Motivator: I feel blessed to have been made an MBE
The fitness instructor said when he was initially told the news he thought it was a scam.
Mr Motivator says he feels “blessed” to have been an MBE in the Queen’s birthday honours list.
The fitness instructor, 67, whose real name is Derrick Evans, has been awarded the honour for services to health and fitness after creating online home exercises during the lockdown.
He also hosted a week-long workout with actress Linda Lusardi to raise money for Age UK’s Emergency Coronavirus Appeal.
He told the PA news agency the lockdown “opened up a brand new platform for me”.
Mr Motivator, who was previously a staple of breakfast television – leading workouts on GMTV, returned to television screens amid the pandemic on BBC One programme HealthCheck UK Live.
The recent spike in popularity of indoor workouts means he has “never been so busy”, he added.
Mr Motivator said the appeal of his approach to workouts is “not just about busting a gut, it is not about you ripping a muscle, it is all about you enjoying your exercise”.
Discussing his honour, he said: “It is a real blessing and it is wonderful to be acknowledged in this way.
“If only my parents were really here with me now, they would be so chuffed, but I think in spirit they are actually hovering up there and they are saying, ‘Boy, you done good’.”
He added it is “humbling” to be given the honour for “doing what I love”.
Mr Motivator said he was “about to delete” the message he had been sent about the MBE, adding: “I thought, ‘This has got to be a scam’.”
He added that he is optimistic that despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, it will turn out to have been a positive thing.
“There’s an upside to everything and I don’t have to look far to see what the upside is and I believe that we will come out the other side a lot better for it,” he said.
“We have learnt so many positive lessons and I think that what we should do is just take a deep breath and count our blessings every day.”
