EPP aims to get staff in peak condition

A NAPIER University sports science graduate is making it his business to whip top executives into shape using the kind of training regime usually associated with elite athletes.

Fitness fanatic Colin Simpson has built a team of nutritionists, fitness trainers and business coaches to prove a link between physical fitness and business performance.

After honing his methods coaching high-flyers from the likes of Scottish Widows and Santander, he is now launching his business, Elite Professional Performance (EPP), from Napier’s incubator space, the Moffat Centre.

Simpson said: “We know the courses we offer have had a measurable impact on the way employees cope with stress, how they tackle new challenges and their overall professional performance.”

He has also secured a joint venture with St Andrew’s First Aid, to run courses aimed at tackling stress in the workplace.

Keen triathlete Simpson, 42, packed in a 20-year career as a painter and decorator to pursue his passion.

He said: “I lost my sister to a short illness and, just as my family was beginning to cope with life again, my dad became very ill with dementia and sadly also passed away. It secured in my head that life was too short and I had to live life to the full and not waste a day.”

The idea for EPP came to him after chatting to an accountant who told him that top executives were retiring in their early 50s but not living long enough to see their 60s.

“I thought, using my 
nutrition and fitness knowledge I can not only improve the quality of life of stressed-out senior managers, but also improve their performance in the office,” he said. “A fitter, healthier employee is always a happier one.”

He is launching EPP tomorrow with a pitch to business leaders and academics at Napier. As well as the elite scheme aimed at high-fliers, EPP is offering lower-level training programmes, which can be brought in to larger groups in the workplace.