James Sutliff

He/Him
A Disability Specialist Coach

Award category:

Sports, Health and Wellbeing

My name is James Sutliff. I am 40 years old and I work as a Disability Specialist Fitness Coach & Personal Trainer.

At the age of 23 I unexpectedly developed a rare neurological disorder, Dystonia, which causes me to have a very slurred speech and limits the use of my hands.

Over the past 17 years my life has completely changed, from being a fully qualified plumber and heating engineer working for myself for then having to stop the work I loved because the Dystonia in my hands restricted me but I believe that Dystonia was the best thing that could have happened to me. Not only did it lead me to a rewarding and completely life changing career, it shifted my whole perspective on life and gave me purpose and passion.

I work at The Matt Hampson Foundation, where I coach people with a range of disabilities from brain trauma, spinal injuries, Motor Neurone Disease and Cerebral Palsy to name a few. I have clients who are newly injured, often with low self-esteem and depression, my ability to relate to them is quite unique.

I also have my own coaching business JS Fitness where I work specifically with people who have disabilities and mental illness.

Through my work and active self-promotion, I have been lucky to be featured in Men’s Fitness and Men’s Health magazines. Also working with online platforms like Uni Lad, LadBible, joe.co.uk, Daily Mail Online and be interviewed on the BBC and ITV’s This Morning. I have won national awards and have spoken at large companies such as HSBC.

It hasn’t always been smooth sailing but the journey and experience of navigating and building a whole new life, whilst living with an invisible disability has been deeply profound. I have achieved far beyond my expectations, and I want to share my story and what I have learnt along the way to as many people as I can.

I always quote Matt Hampson – ‘Get busy living”

Q&A

James Sutliff
Don’t let your disability hold you back from reaching your goals and ambitions, you are more than capable.
I feel very proud of what i’ve accomplished through my work as a disability coach. I have always aimed to raise as much awareness as possible, in the hope of inspiring those with disabilities. I receive so many amazing messages everyday from people telling me how my work and candid approach has inspired them to take the next steps in their life and take action toward their goals. It’s truly the best feeling knowing that I have had such a positive impact and I feel very grateful to do the work I do.
To continue doing what i’m doing, raising as much awareness as possible and shining a light on how great the disabled community is. I have met some of the best people I know through having a disability and I want to continue encouraging connections, because community really is everything when you have a disability.
Running, Muai Thai, adapted cross-fit and taking time to rest and recover with family and friends.
My work, my wife, friends and family.
Dogs – we have a 15 year old German Shepherd called Harvey, he’s a legend.
Make gyms more accessible for disabled athletes, with more adapted equipment.
More education and integration across the board, starting with education from the early years, by making schools more disability friendly and ensuring disabled children are offered the same opportunities as abled body children. Public services have improved ten fold but there is still a lot of work to be done. It’s definitely moving in the right direction though.

Areas of expertise

Accessibility, Charity, social enterprise, Disability Advocacy, Health and wellbeing, Social Media influencing, Sport

Disability Power 100 profile information is self-submitted by the profile subject. Shaw Trust understands and respects that disability and impairment descriptors and language use varies from person to person. Shaw Trust assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or discrepancies in the content of this, or any other, profile page.

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