Local Face: Cat Booker
Catherine Booker was born in Yorkshire in 1971 and came to live in Wendover as an adult starting off in Tring Road and then on to three further addresses all in Wendover. Quite the moving house type, Catherine does not keep still for long and is perhaps appropriately matched to her career in health and fitness.
From 1995 Catherine travelled through the ranks in brand and marketing management for some well-known brands including Gucci, Alfred Dunhill and Packard Bell, whilst keeping her hand in the fitness industry where one of her main passions was to train at the gym and go to aerobics classes. On qualifying in gym and class instruction, she remained in marketing and worked in local halls and for Holmes Place Gyms now known as Virgin Active. After continuing to complete qualifications in specialist fitness teaching areas, she finally switched careers in 2001 completing a diploma in sports massage therapy, optimum nutrition and personal training whilst teaching at weekends.
Having taken this giant step out of luxury goods into the hot and sweaty world of fitness, Catherine travelled to France with her partner to fulfil a long-time ambition to work in a ski resort, a perfect place to practice the sports massage on weary and willing skiers’ legs and shoulders.
In Spring 2002, the personal training began in Wendover with Cat setting up a program of ideas for potential clients and she created a website with advertisements and leaflets that were delivered locally by Wendover News. The personal training and fitness instruction work went from strength to strength. The company that Catherine was trained by used her story in the UK’s very own Health & Fitness Magazine. Locally, Wendover News has always been very supportive of her business, where she began the health and fitness column – ‘Balance’ and her business has flourished with clients that come from recommendations and some local advertising in the village itself.
It made sense to run a local community class which in the fitness industry is always tough, without the backing of a smart health club. However, Catherine has been running Pilates classes in Wendover for four years, and has never looked back. The loyalty of the attendees is amazing and friendships have blossomed too. The Wendover Pilates group have enjoyed Christmases eating mince pies and drinking hot chocolates at Rumseys and last year had a Barbeque with one of the other local Pilates groups.
Catherine now lives in Tring, and is about to start another class there but Wendover remains in her heart as the place she built her foundations in providing health and fitness classes and personal training to the village. Catherine is delighted to have a large percentage of loyal attendees in the Wendover Pilates class, and some new faces too. The Wendover class has travelled from St Anne’s Hall, to Le Bistro for a short-while, (upstairs in the function room we add). Lately though, the class takes place in Wendover Memorial Hall which has been the perfect venue for Catherine’s class, who meet every Wednesday, snow permitting, at 9 a.m
If you want to speak to Catherine about personal training, class advice or Pilates, please contact her on 07595 358565 or e-mail