Sam Wood has released a new video responding to accusations he faked a ‘before’ photos in a recent ‘before’ and ‘after post highlighting his recent eight loss.
Wood, 41, shared the post on Instagram on Sunday night to promote his ’28 by Sam Wood’ program however some accused him of having “pushed out” his stomach in the ‘before’ photo in an attempt to exaggerate his weight gain.
The celebrity trainer has taken issue with this, saying he was striving to be open and honest.
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He began the video by saying he wanted to address the post he shared “last night”, explaining that he had shared his own ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos on his personal Instagram page to show the results of his own program which he completed at the end of last year.
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“Now I know before and afters, they polarise people at the best of times,” Wood said. “It was just me being proud of where I’d come from and also, most importantly, own where I was at before I started to take control of my fitness and health again because I was not physically or mentally in a very good place.”
He said he wasn’t suffering from any diagnosed mental health issues but was “definitely feeling lethargic and like I was in Groundhog Day a little bit and just run down and felt a bit defeated with all the COVID stuff going on as I’m sure many, many people can relate to”.
Wood said the ‘before photo’ wasn’t planned but viewing it later he felt ashamed of having let himself go, in particular as a health professional, admitting that he thought he’d reached rock bottom earlier in the year only to fall off the health wagon again “after two or three good weeks” and start “drinking too much”, saying he’d reached a “new rock bottom”.
“I was in Groundhog Day a little bit and just run down and felt a bit defeated.”
He spent the next two months sticking to his program and was able to get back to where he was before and it was while trying a shirt on in a change room that he took the ‘after’ photo because he was “bloody proud of how far I’d come” saying he felt “more confident” and “better every single day in energy and mood and from a psychological perspective and a fitness perspective and a health perspective in general”.
Wood then addressed the negativity the ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos attracted.
“I just find it interesting — and don’t get me wrong, 95 percent of people were incredibly supportive and beautiful and thank you to you all,” he continued, before turning to a phone he was holding to read out some of the negative comments posted about the photo.
“But someone has to say we can’t be serious with this before and after posture/angle/lighting…I hope that ‘quick fix’ challenge expectations don’t lead people down the wrong path,” said one.
Another commented, “Yeah if I pushed my guts I would look like that 2.”
“I think it’s a big marketing scam,” wrote another.
“Of course the lighting in the second photo, I was really happy with how it made me look but I wasn’t trying to trick anyone, I wasn’t trying to be misleading, I wasn’t trying to be fake,” Wood continued.
He said “both photos were me and the only change was that I worked my absolute ass off and I’ve never trained that heard and I’ve never been that disciplined with my food, eaten that well”.
Wood said his wife Snezana and their daughters supported his efforts “every step of the way” and were “super proud of me”.
“And as a 41, nearly 42-year-old, I was damn happy where I ended up,” Wood said. “I just think there’s a lot of people out there, it’s easier for them to try and take others down than try and fix themselves.”
Wood urged his followers to “change their attitude a bit” and accept that “some things are just what they are”.
He is hoping the post helps anyone else feeling “pretty sh-tty” so they know it is possible to take control of their health and he would “love to help them do the same thing”.
“The last couple of years have been so hard and if you’re not in the best shape of you’re life, if you’re in the worst place shape of your life, join the club,” he said.
“I just couldn’t believe how quickly people are to jump down your throat and then they support each other and they end up in their own little echo chamber of d–kheads, patting each other on the back, saying, ‘Yeah, yeah, we took this guy down we’ve never met before in our life and totally missed the point of the post.”
Wood ended the video by saying he’s made a promise to this year be “more real and more raw” having played it safe previously for fear of being criticised.
He then invited haters to unfollow him, wishing them the very best “as they leave” and those arriving are “welcome with open arms”.
“You might have a smaller community but one that is far more real, far more authentic and a much nicer place for everyone to live in.”
In a statement to 9Honey, Wood said he believes everyone has the power to change their lives using his program, calling some of his clients “beautiful people but none of them magic or special.”
“Just real people that made a decision and worked hard, showed will power and most importantly didn’t give up,” he said. “Getting in great shape is hard. Of it was easy we would all be in great shape. F–k I was 10kg overweight myself only 4 months ago. But we all have the power and capability to change. My job is to give people a plan that works and support and motivate them until they see this for themselves as when they do. Incredible things happen.”
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