I am Omar Boothman — a performance and wellbeing coach based in Palmers Green, North London, currently working as an Active Lifestyle Trainer within Sports and Leisure Services at Imperial College London, Prince's Gardens, SW7.
My background is intentionally broad — and that breadth is the advantage I bring to every client and every organisation I work with. Most coaches come from fitness alone. I come from fitness, higher education, specialist teaching, project administration and institutional operations. That means I understand how universities and professional organisations actually work: how they procure services, how departments are structured, how budgets are managed and what safeguarding and compliance requirements look like in practice. I can navigate that world because I have lived and worked in it — and I can deliver results within it that an outside contractor simply cannot.
My specialist coaching disciplines span strength and conditioning, calisthenics, boxing, jujitsu, yoga, mobility and dance. This combination allows me to design varied, progressive programmes for a wide range of clients — from sedentary desk workers to experienced athletes, from young people building confidence for the first time to older adults focused on maintaining strength and independence. I hold a Level 3 Personal Training and Instruction qualification and have delivered coaching at Nuffield Health Princess Park Manor, Imperial College London and independently across North London.
Before moving into coaching and higher education sport, I spent four years as a Teaching Assistant at Woodside High School, White Hart Lane, London N22, specialising in supporting young people with specific learning difficulties. The depth of that experience went well beyond what many senior practitioners encounter: I worked one-to-one with young people in local authority care, co-authoring individual year-long learning and development plans from Year 8 onward. We set an overarching aim for each young person, defined clear milestones, tracked long-term progress and — crucially — celebrated every small achievement along the way. All of this was held within a consistently positive framework, even through the most difficult periods, and was bound together with physical education as a tool for engagement, confidence-building and emotional regulation. This level of long-term, structured, pastoral planning goes beyond what most senior practitioners are ever exposed to.
This work profoundly shaped how I coach today. The patience, the structure, the long-term thinking and the belief in every individual's capacity for progress — all of it is present in every session I deliver, regardless of the client.
I also bring significant experience working with older adults and individuals of retirement age, providing practical, realistic exercise guidance focused on staying healthy, strong and active over the long term. I understand that fitness looks different at different stages of life, and I design accordingly — always accessible, always respectful of ability, and always grounded in what will genuinely improve someone's day-to-day quality of life.
I hold a BA Honours in Drama and Theatre Production from Middlesex University, Trent Park, and carry extensive professional experience in administration and project coordination — including corporate induction delivery, IBM Maximo project management systems, and facilities operations for Sodexo and the Diageo estate in London NW10. I was also the designated Green Travel Coordinator in that role, leading on corporate recycling and sustainability policy across the site.
