LONDON – Fitting in exercise, a good diet, and a social life may be a struggle for some high-flying City bankers.
But for Tom Exton, the end of his day at the office only marks the beginning of his main pursuit – LDN Muscle, the fitness company with a turnover of £1.2 million ($1.5 million) he cofounded with twin brother, James, and two friends, Max and Lloyd Bridger, in 2013.
What started as a blog is now a series of downloadable training guides and nutrition plans. The brand has grown in reputation on social media, with LDN Muscle transformation photos contributing to its following. The company currently has 165,000 followers on Instagram and 138,000 on Twitter, while Exton himself has an Instagram following approaching 100,000.
With a clothing brand, a personal training academy, an app, a supplements range, and a “Lean in 15” style new book launching this week with fitness moves and recipes, Exton appears to only just be getting started. And all of this while balancing full-time job at an investment bank in the city, which he declined to name. Scroll on to see a day in the life of Tom Exton.
Meet Tom Exton, the London investment banker who also run a fast-growing fitness company.
However, neither were his first choice of profession.
"I finished my A levels, went to university and did law school," he told Business Insider. "I thought I was going to be a solicitor, but after law school I realised it was going to be a boring thing to do, so I went to a bank, which is equally boring."
It was in 2012 that he, his twin brother James, and their two friends – also brothers – Max and Lloyd Bridger, had the idea for LDN Muscle while working together at a local outdoor pool.
"We all went to the gym together, and we decided to start a blog," Exton said.
The website started "snowballing" and the four guys decided to incorporate the company. "We released our first product, the men's fat loss plan called The Cutting Guide, in February 2013," he said. "We loved what we were doing, but we weren't setting out to make millions."
Now, the company has a series of downloadable training guides and nutrition plans, a clothing brand, a personal training academy, an app, a supplements range, and a new book launching this week.
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But despite the fact that LDN Muscle is set to turnover £1.2 million in 2016, Exton has kept his day job.
Exton gets out of bed between 6 a.m. and 6.30 a.m. He spends an hour doing "life admin," answering emails and managing the LDN Muscle social media accounts.
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"It's not that early," he said.
He leaves for work at 7.30 a.m. “While I commute I’m on my phone,” he said.
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When he gets to the office at 8.30, he has breakfast, usually from a cafe, which he eats at his desk.
"I'll have eggs, bacon, sausage - it's not typically healthy or that exciting," he said. "It's not an ornate bowl of porridge that has taken three hours to prepare on Instagram. It's convenient stuff - every day is different."
"During working hours it’s almost a quiet time for LDN," he said. "The other three boys are in an office full time answering customer enquiries all day, so I’m not full hands on desk all day."
Mornings, evenings, weekends and any spare time in between are spent on LDN.
Lunch, which he squeezes in early afternoon, is usually a protein and carb-based meal, such as a shop-bought wrap, also eaten at his desk.
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"I use Benugo, Pure, or the cafe in my work - they all have the macros on their websites. Just because it's convenient doesn't mean it's necessarily bad for you."
He also tries to take time out of his day to work out whenever he can — even for just 35 minutes.
"I train five times a week, and take about 45 minutes out between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. depending on meetings," he said. "I'll squeeze in a workout in 35 minutes, and will be sending emails between sets."
"If you're managing your diet correctly, taking in the right amount of calories and training with intensity and purpose, 35 minutes is enough."
Personal training education is also core to the business, according to Exton. "We have one of the fastest growing fitness academies in the UK and it’s only been going about a year," he said.
A personal training qualification with LDN Muscle will cost £3,000, while it will cost £400 to be a nutrition coach.
He snacks on the likes of nuts, sushi and yoghurt. However, he said that LDN Muscle are not advocates of "clean eating."
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"If you're hitting your daily calories and your macros, then realistically it doesn't matter where you get them from, as long as you stay away from really processed junk," he said. "Clean eating is kind of dead, and people have caught onto that. Flexible dieting is going to be the next big thing."
He wraps up his day at the office at 6.30 p.m., and if his Instagram feed is anything to go on, he usually has a nice ride home.
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"I'm on my mobile the whole way home, then I'm up until 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. doing social media or creating content," he said.
He said that dinner is also often something convenient and "not always 'healthy,' but within my calories and macros for the day."
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"Every day is an 18-hour day,” he said.
LDN Muscle even offers a small business and social media seminar for £100 a head, which "all sell out," according to Exton.
"The timing of Instagram becoming popular was a lot of it," he said. "With myself and my brother being twins, it was a kind of a catchy thing people recognised."
"In 2012 and 2013, there weren't many people doing what we were doing. If it was today I don't think we would have seen the level of success."