About LikeGem - The Owner - Gemma Sullivan

After some feedback from my friends, family and customers regarding my business website, I have decided to create this blog so you can all get to know me a bit better and get a bit of an in sight to why I run and own this business.

I'm actually unsure where to start this as I can easily go off onto a tangent so I'll try my best not to bore you all ;)

I originally went to college in 2008 on an 'Art and Design National Diploma' course. However, this is where I had realised that I loved art as a hobby and not as a job (Due to the masses amount of coursework at the time - Oh how naive I was back then!). I then came out of my 2 year course after 1 year, having received half of the qualifications required of the 2 year course. (I was rather 'chuffed' with this at the time!)

Then my beauty journey started in 2009/10 where my father had asked me and my mother to work for him and to come out of the jobs we were currently in as he required help. So, me and my mother left our jobs we were in at the time to assist. This was/is 'Sunbeds@' (which is still currently in Newport, Wales). Me and my mother had then completed 'crash courses' through 'Salon West' and 'Taylored for you Training Academy' this very same year in; waxing, spray tans, nails, lashes etc. We gradually built up the qualifications as the months went on.

My fitness journey started in 2013 where I was SO fed up of complaining about my weight and how I looked and then doing completely NOTHING about it! (I was a size 14 and had set foot in a gym about twice in my entire life. I had done gymnastics and athletics as a young teen but this deteriorated after the age of 15).

I took it upon myself to pay for a personal trainer mid-late 2013.

I paid a set amount, I received my plan via email. My 'plan' consisted of a nutrition plan (a generic one, I can tell you now that this food plan was not tailored to me or my needs, as later on a friend of mine also went on board with this very same PT and had the exact same food plan, I was gobsmacked and felt ripped off, I wont lie!) and that was it. No explanation on how to cook, how to weigh foods, why I was doing what I was doing etc, I don't actually recall receiving a training plan either? (Although I had paid for personal training sessions but I did expect a training plan too).

The next week; I had my first personal training session, which was good! The exercise names and machines sounded like absolute 'gobbledegook' to me at the time as I had barely ever set foot in a gym most of my life, but, I was noticing that I was going away from my personal training sessions with lack of information, meaning, I wasn't repetitively being told the names of each exercise that I was carrying out for them to stick in my head and what muscles I was working with which exercises. This actually became a problem for me when I eventually had the courage to go into a gym and train by myself or with a friend.

Realising this and after looking into other personal trainers; I took it upon myself to go onto a nutrition adviser and client psychology and motivation course via 'Active Learning' (I had noticed that personal training courses only briefly touch on nutrition, I wanted to know as much as I could so I could actually help people!). On completing this, I found my love of knowledge for the human body and being able to control my body through nutrition. I then went on a personal training course through 'PT Academy' and completed my level 2 and 3 REPS. I then left working for my parents in 2014 when I gained my new qualifications to become a self employed personal trainer, I have been a personal trainer ever since.

Between then and now, I have also competed in a bodybuilding competition in 2014. (I will be doing a separate blog post on all of this!) I competed in the UKBFF Leicester in the 'Bikini' Category, to where I place 2nd and received an invite to the British Championships. (I did not go through with the British Championships, but as stated above, I will be creating a blog post on this).

All of my past experiences and qualifications I have always since had a passion for, which is why I have opened a company such as 'LikeGem'.

Due to opening up LikeGem in April 2019, I had come away from personal training (in person) and have carried on with my online coaching services. (Of which will be added to this website as 'other services' by July 2019.

So, there you have it! There's a little bit about my background, and an insight in to why I am running LikeGem.

I have SO many ideas for products and I am excited to share them with you all in the near future!

Gemma in 2014 - Pre Competition