British fitness trainer and health ambassador, Joe Wicks, who built a following of more than 100m on YouTube during the pandemic, is capitalising on his recent tour of Australia with the local launch of ‘Activate,’ an animated series of fitness workouts for kids.

Known to his followers as ‘The Body Coach’ and for his ‘PE with Joe’ initiative, Wicks’ ‘Activate’ is designed to encourage children and families to engage in physical activity and is available for free on The Body Coach YouTube channel, with new episodes released weekly.

The series, comprising five-minute episodes, is a collaboration between Wicks, BAFTA-winning Studio AKAand Universal Music. Wicks appears alongside characters known as The Activators.

Wicks recently hit Australian shores with events at Melbourne’s Federation Square and Sydney’s Taronga Zoo, which sold out within days and raised tens of thousands of dollars for charities.

Wicks said, “After the incredible response to our national PE with Joe tour to Australia in 2023, where thousands of Aussie families joined us for mass workouts, I knew we needed to create something that had the capacity to reach every child not just in the UK, but in places like Australia too.”

Wicks explained, “Activate is the natural next step in everything I’ve worked towards over the past decade. From my early YouTube workouts, to ‘PE with Joe’ during the pandemic, my goal has always been to get children moving and feeling good both physically and mentally.”

He added, “This project brings together everything I am most passionate about, and everything I’ve learned on my journey going back to my own childhood where I discovered movement as a way to cope with the challenges of living with parents with drug addiction and mental health issues.”

‘Activate’ aims to tackle the issue of childhood inactivity, with only 30% of Australian children aged 2-17 meeting physical activity guidelines. ‘Activate’ is designed to be inclusive, allowing children of all abilities to participate.

Australian teachers are encouraged to use ‘Activate’ in classrooms for energising brain breaks or as part of physical education programs.