PT Launch Lab — The UK Personal Trainer Podcast

How Personal Training Made Me a Better Racing Driver (Zak Meakin)

• Callum Brown and Ryan Robinson • Episode 11

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In this video, Ryan sits down with Zak Meakin to talk about his journey from the high-speed world of racing to the focused discipline of personal training.

Zak shares stories from his early years in motorsport, what inspired him to pursue a PT qualification, and how his competitive background fuels his next chapter. Now qualified and setting goals for the year ahead, Zak opens up about mindset, ambition, and carving a new path in the fitness industry.

 

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Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDkRUIeXU4E

🎯 Thinking about becoming a personal trainer?

Take the free PT career quiz: https://ptlaunchlab.co.uk/quiz

 

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Book a call: https://ptlaunchlab.co.uk/book-call

 

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SPEAKER_03

Welcome everybody to PT Lawrence Lab. This is episode 13. I was talking about again. I was just about to go and rang, but it was fine. We've done that for millions out of it. So they don't know by now, they don't care. Hello, everybody, and welcome to PT Lawrence Lab. This is episode 13. Today we're going to be covering the pros and what we think are benefits to being a personal trainer. Also, later on in the episode, we're going to have Zach Meekin on, who is GT4 British champion. So I hope you all enjoy it.

SPEAKER_01

Hello, mate.

SPEAKER_03

How are we doing, mate?

SPEAKER_01

So, yeah, so what's happened over the weekend?

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. Well, I think this is one of the first times we've actually spoken.

unknown

Hello?

SPEAKER_03

Since the fight, we've just sort of been crossing paths at the minute and both been taking it in turns with podcasts and getting new guests on, which I've I've enjoyed actually taking that back seat. I'm sure you've done the same with and what actually watching his own podcast, which is a bit weird saying, but Yeah, you tune into a podcast that you're part of.

SPEAKER_01

You're like, oh that's a good pod. There's nice catch up about it. But uh how are you feeling at the minute?

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, good. Obviously, um for anyone who don't know, I won I won my first fight. I'm fighting again in a couple of days, probably be as this gets released, so everyone will know if I've won again or not, and then I'll have a couple more fights. Uh hopefully win the tournament, then that'll be make me Yorkshire champion. So fingers and toes crossed, um I can do enough to to do that. But yeah, it's it's very it's very much overwhelming in in terms of life absorption. So it's like family life, time in the gym, everything sort of takes a bit of an impact or like a back step. But the thing that's on my mind is it's a short period of time now. Like I really think the more I just focus over the next two weeks, the the better. Sounds very, very far-fetched, but it could change my future uh with interest towards the gym, interest in my own career, uh, and hopefully get some more eyes on the gym, on the podcast, etc. So, what about you anyway? The half marathon?

SPEAKER_01

I know I surprised myself today. I've I've still got like a couple of niggly bicks because the problem was I finished the race, and if anyone's ever seen the Great North run, it ends in South Shields. And the problem is if you parked in Newcastle, you've got to find your way back to Newcastle, which is a nightmare in itself. Like, because they have shuttle buses that take you back to Newcastle, and we're gonna get on one of them, nice and easy, you don't have to pay, fantastic. The last shuttle bus to come into the junction. Yeah, there was a very, very, very expensive Lavan Rover across the junction, and it wireed it, took the Laven Rover out, dragged it about 100 metres, kept driving, and they had to shut the entire road off. So then, like, oh, let's get a trade. 25 minute walk. I've just run 13 miles, right? And me running 13 miles is a lot more damage.

SPEAKER_03

Can can you uh can you remember when when I'd run my half man? Obviously, you came with me because we had the meeting in uh in Durham and it wasn't far from it.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03

We had a hotel, and I think I was I don't know why, but I chose to sit up floor for ages while we were pre-drinking for his night out.

SPEAKER_02

Well, see, I when I went with you, I don't drink can't calf. Well, the first thing you did were have a smoke of beer. I was thinking back to this, right? On Sunday, I'm like, there's nothing I want less.

SPEAKER_03

Drink a beer, right? Yeah, you already feel tired, right? Mate, so um, yeah, that's a good catch-up. In terms of the guests, um, I'm enjoying watching them, I'm enjoying having the guests on. We'll have another guest uh later on in this episode, which again I'm I'm looking forward to uh to doing. We've got a couple more in the pipeline, we've got another Hyrux, uh an endurance athlete, uh we've got a power lifter-bodybuilder. Um each one of them been into PT. One of them's been a PT, been an online coach, and then the other one's just starting his own coaching journey now as well. So great guests to be on. So uh anyone who's interested, keep watching. And again, anyone who is watching who would be interested in jumping on as well. If you want to tell your story if you feel like you want to get it out there or you want to get yourself out there personally and your business, then um drop us a message. We'd be more than more than welcome to have everybody on.

SPEAKER_01

No, yeah, 100%. And we want to hear everybody's stories because I think what we want to try and build is a really big like a data bang of stuff that happened in the PT industry, especially like even negatives as well, because it's you know, when you're trying to sell something, you always sell the benefits, which don't get me wrong, there's a lot of benefits, but it's also good to hear some of the stuff to understand where we're coming from, what we go through. So, yeah, if there's anyone out there who has an experience that you think could be beneficial for other people to hear, then yeah, let us know.

SPEAKER_03

Awesome. So I think we'll we'll we'll start with the with the pros to being a personal trainer. So for me, mate, I'll take take the lead on it. For me, in nine to five jobs. So the only one time I ever did this was between gym jobs. So from from school I went straight to working uh in the gym and pony for acts, just like a not even a floor PT, I was just a fitness instructor at this point, going through my course, working weekends, no really massive qualifications, helping people I went to training people at the time, I didn't even know what a PT was, right? And I always just wanted to have guaranteed money and a wage at the end of the week, which we all do. As I moved forward, I ended up having a time when I had a little I had a month where I worked in a factory waiting for another gym job to come up. Um and for me, I mean this is not for everybody, but hopefully the people that the list is that where I speak into now, this will hit home more. Nine to five is um is not where I want to be. So what I've always wanted to do is be able to control my hours. Although I can be a workaholic at times, I believe working your own hours in control, and even though I can work, I'm not limited to earning a certain amount. So the security net might not always be there. But the main thing is if I want an hour off, if I want a weekend off, anything is under my discussion to me personally, and I think that's one of one of the best benefits is being able to have your own flexible hours and work when you want to work, work as much as you want to work and earn as much as you want to earn as well.

SPEAKER_01

100%. And let's be realistic, you're gonna work a total of maybe 90,000 hours in your life. And my question is this would you rather do something that doesn't bring you any joy or doesn't bring you any satisfaction or switch over to something that you're probably passionate about, that's why you're seeing this, that you're watching this podcast or watching this ad is simply because you enjoy and love fitness. Now there's a career in it for you. And my question is, what do you think you need to do to change that? We've had so many people that we've worked with before that wanted to make a change but didn't know how, and this is essentially what PT Launch Lab's here for. We're here to help you get to that point and feel confident transitioning. So if you're thinking about a career in fitness and you don't know how to get there, just speak to one of our advisors, our sales team, speak to one of us, we're always open. And it's mainly about taking the first step, whether it's clicking a link, hitting a button, talking to us directly, and getting on that journey to doing something you want to do.

SPEAKER_03

And more so on that point, why not have someone to guide you through it? We've got a mentorship programme as well, and we're going to be handing you their step-by-step instruction. We've got the blueprint to become successful personal trainers between us. We've got over 20 years of personal training experience on floor and online coaching. So, what better advice to get than from PTA Launch Lab?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, so again, if even if you want to discuss the possible options, I think there's enough content on here as well, seeing different people from different aspects, there's plenty of different backgrounds. I mean, I spoke to someone who used to work in corporate that she switched over and it was a life-changing thing, but it was for the right reasons. We got people from different backgrounds, different areas, and even if you think that you're not right to fit the role, maybe you don't feel like you know enough, maybe you don't think you're like you look the part. Just have us talk to us because I guarantee you, all these conceptions that you built up in your brain, there's literally no limits to what you can do in a personal training role.

SPEAKER_03

And there's so so many ways around it. Not everybody is on the same path, not everybody's in the same part of the journey. Some people are coming out of college, some people have been stuck in the job for a lot of years, and the the fear to move from your job, I understand, but why waste any more time? Because I promise you, once you do do it, you'll wish that you did it sooner. And I feel like once you take that first step, like we've talked about in previous podcasts, create your own safety net first before you take the leap. Do it out of work hours and do it until you are secure. Create your own safety net and make sure you can do it with as least stress as possible. Try and just enjoy the journey, then no pressure, and you're doing something that you love, something that you're passionate about. You might have trained your entire life, you've got knowledge to share, there's even more things to learn, and you can be like you've just started again and really start enjoying work for as long as you want to work.

SPEAKER_01

Exactly, and we've only got a finite amount of time on the planet. Why not spend it doing something you want to do? Um, yeah, I think one of the bet best things about choosing what you want to do, and it doesn't just have to be personal training, it could be anything you want in the world. It's about having that opportunity to do it, it's about having that want and need to actually be fulfilled because so, like I said, we've said this before. Some people feel fulfilled by just going to work coming home, and that's it, because they make a wage, that's fine. If you're not like that, you'll know if you're not like that. You need something more, you need a bit of passion, you need a career. If this is something along your lines, it's worth trying 100%.

SPEAKER_03

Do you know what? Do you know what I've noticed as a common theme? So I play this game with uh with Maddy actually. So people who tend to compete, they've got competitive attitude, so they might do a high rocks, they might do a bodybuilding show, tend to be the ones that fall into coaching because they enjoy the routine, they enjoy the regiment, uh, they enjoy the challenge, they they then want to pass on their knowledge, they've also got a testimonial of themselves to say this is how it's done, they fall in love with it, they realize how much hard work, the commitments involved, they can appreciate the hard work, and they also feel like they can offer something. So we always guess when we see someone doing a bodybuilding show or start a competing high rocks which the next person's gonna be uh to be a PT. So if you are that person and you are thinking about it and you're not sure which way to go, give us a message and we'll give you the first steps.

SPEAKER_01

Absolutely. So, yeah, I think we'll wait for the c uh the guests to come in. So say a little bit about who's coming in because I'm excited for this one.

SPEAKER_03

So me and Zach Meakin have got quite close now. I've trained Zach for about five years. So Zach is a motorsports racer, so he's actually won the GT4 British Championship and is now moving into GT3, competes at World Championships, is an absolute phenomenal athlete um and an uprising star. And how old is he? I believe he's 18 now. He's uh team team McLaren, uh, so he's part he's part of their team as all the best all the best drivers in the world and now we're in that GT3. And I'll not mess it up and uh get anything wrong. I'll let Zach talk more into it, but yeah, what a great guest to have on him. I'm look forward to speaking to him outside of the gym and getting his story out to everybody else.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, absolutely. And just remember when we were all 18, we won't be able to drive McLaren. I think I think when I was 18, I was pissing in wardrobes. So he's doing pretty well.

SPEAKER_03

All right, thank you. Welcome. So I'm not gonna butcher it, but I'll introduce uh Zach Meekin. I'll not go through your titles, mate, or anything. We'll we'll talk through that during the podcast. But if you could tell us your latest current sort of standings.

SPEAKER_00

So back in 2024, uh I was the British champion uh in GT4 as I won the overall championship in the British GT. Uh, this was in a McLaren Artora, and we've now moving up now to the GT3s almost at the end of the season now, but I've been racing almost the whole year now in a McLaren 720 GT3 Evo. Yeah, I definitely couldn't have done that.

SPEAKER_03

That made me sound even worse on the previous bit. So uh just we're probably just gonna go straight from the star, Zach. So either what med you get into racing or just what it stems from, really. Have you always been interested in racing? Were it's sort of like a decision of all kids sort of go from playing football or doing some sort of sport, and then you wanted to just try and go kind of you you tell me.

SPEAKER_00

Well, obviously, my dad was big into rugby, so he naturally pushed me through that line. Yeah, uh, was at Cass Academy to begin with, uh, started playing with them and then still to this day not sure what it was. Might have been the obsession with Lightning McQueen or something like that. So um one day I came back after rugby training and asked my dad. I went, I wanna I wanna race cars. So uh after that he took me to where the A1 football factory is now.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, so uh yeah, I'll just cut you off on that, but Zach. So Zach just told me so where I used to have previously have a gym, if anyone's not local to area, so the A1 football factory in Pontyfract used to be a go-katting place, didn't it? Yeah, and that's and that's the only place I've ever go-cat have go-catted once in my life, and it was there. And then X amount of years later, that's my net said the gym there, which I obviously never fought in a million years. But I've I've just found out five minutes before this podcast, like that's the first place you raced, which is crazy. But so it wasn't so it wasn't like go-katting with your friends, alright, right? So your decision to just go and you did it on your own.

SPEAKER_00

No, it just yeah, it came back to my dad and went, I wanna I wanna race, I wanna race. Um, so then obviously he didn't know anything, he was flapping about um trying to find something to do with it, and then uh I can't I'm not I'm struggling to remember the details of it because it's quite a white video, but uh I think he found a friend who knew a friend who knew Luca Ayrton and his dad that run the place before, and I went there and just started, had a go. Thought how it was. My dad thought it'd be an area, but he sent me a few laps out, it'd be fine game back on rugby pitch. But um no, then I think the obsession started kicking off from there, like the enjoyment for the speed.

SPEAKER_03

Did the obsession start because you were really good at it though at the beginning, or were you or were you sort of average, or were you just did you take a shine to it straight away and then sort of like started dragging your mates along and started winning everyone, or did you join did was the club like a team?

SPEAKER_00

I don't know how it works. There was like a kid's time, I think it was on Wednesday either Mondays or Wednesdays. Um, you'd have like an hour for us just to have a go, you'd pay a certain amount and have a little bit. Um, but I was pretty decent to be fair, because I won't blow my own trumpet. I wasn't the best, mate. I was don't be humble on here. I was I was missing a few apexes, I wasn't perfect from the get-go. Um, but then one of the lads there saw that I had a little bit of talent into it, and then told my dad, he went, This let's get him onto the bigger tracks, uh, step up from here. So I would have had my phone, I'd show you the first ever go-kart that I had. It was a little Honda Cadet. Um, and yeah, everything started from there, going round, got used to the speed on the inside track, and then we ended up going over to the um proper tracks, as I can say, started at a track called PFI, Paul Fletcher International. Um, that's that's a good track, and that's where I did most of my races from.

SPEAKER_03

And how long how long did you spend in in go-kart? Then how old were you even started again? I started when I was seven. No, I that was the youngest you could get into into the uh and uh so how old was that from when you moved from go-kart in into an actual car?

SPEAKER_00

Well, uh, it took me seven years, so I did seven years in go-kart all the way up to when I went into genetas, yep, which is like that is the bottom step of becoming into this cut. Oh, the genet I don't use, yeah, yeah. Uh to be fair, mega series for everything. You drive probably one of the most difficult parts, but then after that you basically got the hinge for driving everything after that. Of course, they are so loose because they're on road tires, not race tires. So the difference is with race tires and stuff like slicks, you've got no grooves over it, so it's just a con big con so you get more grip where the road tires have like noble knobbly parts onto it. Yeah. And when they get hot, they start rolling over each other.

SPEAKER_03

Right.

SPEAKER_00

And when they roll over each other, it generates like loads of movement in the car.

SPEAKER_03

Which one, which one did because I've been training you since you're like 14, so if anyone didn't know that as well, yeah, still training Zach. Um I feel like sometimes when I'm talking on these podcasts that everybody knows everything about me, but I'm hoping that people are watching it who don't know me. But we talked about this before as well. I think it's just so mad that obviously you've been driving for years and obviously you didn't have a test, you didn't have a license. Yeah, so you're you can drive better than your instructor when you when you start learning, which I just think it's just so funny, like the setup, and obviously it's different, but I'm sure but it's juniors that I I get to watch them, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, you came in to watch a few of them, and then also the British GT one at Donington. Um, but yeah, started in them and it was pretty fun. Did two years of it and then move up into the bigger leagues.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, so uh yeah, so that's where not so what you're at now, so was that the best year? I know we had one of the years, was that the when were when you had the trouble with the Porsche? Was that the year before you won the championship?

SPEAKER_00

No, that was the year before I had like quite a lot of technical difficulties with it, which was strange because we did the uh Porsche winter series before.

SPEAKER_03

And you you won that as well, didn't you?

SPEAKER_00

Won four out of four races, qualified first and won the rest. Um, but then all of a sudden it just got to British GT, and then the reliability of the Porsche just went downhill.

SPEAKER_03

I think we we DNF'd pretty much every race until Portugal in the I can I can remember going through it and having conversations with your daddy in every morning in the gym, and obviously that's it were quite a low point for you, on it, because we were training hard, you were doing everything you should have done. Um everything from sitting up to the gym every day to uh doing your simulator at home to doing your runs and your care and you were doing everything humanly possible to be at the peak of performance and the car was letting you down, so yeah, I was doing everything I possibly could, and to be fair, that took quite a big hit on my like want to race it.

SPEAKER_00

Did it constantly just showing up and like you do your practice, do the qualifying, and also that's it. Cars broke down your home on Monday, on Sunday.

SPEAKER_03

No, I I get what you're saying, mate.

SPEAKER_00

What do at any point when when you have a season like that, does that ever make you not want to do it, or is it just something that yeah, it got to like I think it was the third or fourth round in after we broke down, and I just said to my dad, I went, This isn't fun anymore. Yeah, yeah. Like showing up, we'd the we'd do really well in qualifying, like we'd be like, right, we're up there. I think I qualified P3 or something, and then all of a sudden you get to the next day and go to start up and something's wrong with it, and like that at that point it's just like what you're trying to but that is motor sport though, yeah. It can go from being the biggest highs to the lowest of the lows, and to be fair, that was shown with the year. Yeah, we had a really low year in the Porsche, and then all of a sudden, the year after my redemption year, I went and won it, yeah, which is like it went from the lowest of low to the highest of the high.

SPEAKER_03

And I think um I think that's like in most sports of the time when you do want to quit and what you step over that bit, that's usually where you get the best result in it. But it's just weird how it works in that way, like it's a weird curse on the universe where you sometimes the strings of bad luck lead to so obviously you were then with McLaren and it opened up a different window to a different team, which might not have happened. So it's crazy how it all works, but um obviously I've I've seen you through them rough patches, and we've we've never stopped training during them periods, but then seeing you to win it like from the outside looking in, let alone being part of the team, and even more so being in the car to go from um being so frustrated when the car's letting you down, you know it's nothing to do with your driving, but then to come back must feel even better, you know. Like I spoke about another podcast. The comeback stories are just in the end, I always feel like you your life's sort of like a book, isn't it? You know, like imagine if someone read your like autobiography after yeah, that's what would make it what it is, you know. The the the setbacks, but then coming back to win, and I feel like it does met the story better the time, it's horrible, innit? But um I feel like now coming through it, I just thought I enjoy the celebrations as much as anybody once you once you won.

SPEAKER_00

Definitely like finishing that season in where we were was massive, massive highlight. Like it it proved what I could have done last year. Yep. Um if the car was good. Like the Porsche was good, it was quick, but for some reason we're just unreliable. And then as soon as we got to McLaren and like having the the win at the back-to-back win at Silverstone three hour and Donington three hour, it like everything from that, it's like, oh, this is better, this is better. It's I can't describe the feeling, yeah, but it like how proud it was to just be back up where you know you should have been the first year.

SPEAKER_03

And because so did you did you win much with a go karting as well, or were it how was it set? Because um I'll let you tell me about the the go-kart, but what I've what I think's quite confusing, which I did with the Genetto, is you get punished for doing well. Is that right? So you get not o only in

SPEAKER_00

GD car side now?

SPEAKER_03

Oh, is it the GT, sorry, yeah?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, so back in the Janettas and the go-karts and stuff, you didn't. Yeah. It's only in this to make the championships closer instead of like an F1 or someone doing every race back to back.

SPEAKER_03

So yeah, well, let's um digress back to the uh go-kart and then how did you get on with your go-kart and did you win?

SPEAKER_00

Uh I won won a few bits. I think the f yeah, the first year I did I won Novice of the Year Award, um, which was nice. Uh won a few bits in Bob's, got fourth in the uh British Championship once. I wouldn't say I did it the best. I should have taken it a lot more like looking back at it now, I should have done it a lot more serious than what I did. Um but it's not true. You wouldn't want to know at the time though, would you that it were gonna be his career? So you back then, like little 12-year-old me running about going running a goat cart, it was now yeah. But you didn't I took it serious, yeah. But I wish I myself took it a step further now, I've matured a bit more, like I have done with the GT side. Uh I'm there now to try and take the leap even further forward. Yep. So that's what I'm trying to do.

SPEAKER_03

And I'll just uh so then I'll come back to the other point now, mate. So just for anybody who's not aware, so because I'm obviously still new to I still learn things every single day, talking to you, talking to your dad every morning. Um time time so there's so many variables for like there's depending on the weight of the car, or there used to be time reduction or additions if you come in a certain place. So, do you want to talk to people through that?

SPEAKER_00

In British DT, um you'd start off the start off the season, you'd have something called BOP, which is Bantov Performance. Uh this basically even out all the cars, so there wasn't one that was faster than everything.

SPEAKER_03

Everything is all in a small in a is that including the um the driver's weight included too.

SPEAKER_00

Uh yeah, so there'll be like a minimum car weight uh with it, and you'll have to reach that weight, and then roughly it'd be 85 kilos both drivers, and then you'd add that and you'd that would be added on to get reached this total car weight. But if you were over it, uh you could take a little bit of weight out of the ballast side in the car to make sure you were always at that weight. Yep. Um, but then if you like won a race or something, you would get a 20-second penalty for the next race. Yeah. So it would make it even more difficult for you. Um, so like first place would get 20-second penalties, second place we'll get 15, third place we'll get 10. Yeah, so it's not it would go down, um, but it's all about the always the consistent finishes, yeah. It's not about winning every race all the time.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, because I uh again we've had this conversation so many times because I just I never understood it. But I can remember when you actually got the the uh the 20 second penalty, but then you still won the next race, which I just thought, how would you do that?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, that was to be fair, mega job between me and the team, everything we won Silverstone uh three hours, I think it was by a minute and 40 seconds, almost a lap. Um, our engineer um did mega mega calls in the race, we were all good. Uh, and then going to Donington, we were like, Oh, right, boys, we're gonna like finish fourth or somewhere because of this 20-second penalty, and then it it gets to it the really tricky conditions at the start. Going to warm up, we're all on slick tires, then all of a sudden this massive cloud burst of rain comes out of nowhere, changes the race into a wet race, and it's like the the variable that we had before is gone completely out the window, and it's out just to see what the best we could do. I think I overtook quite like most of the grid then.

SPEAKER_03

You're you're you're probably better driving in the rain. Is it because I've talked about it with your dad to that? So, well, you just think because you're fearless in the rain. Uh and also though, you I don't know whether it's a risk-taking thing or confidence in your own ability, but when it comes to the rent, people seem to be a lot more hesitant or mech. Like, I don't know, it's it's it's hard to say, but every time it seems to come to rain, I'm sort of like obviously it's more dangerous, but every time it says it's raining, I'm like, Well would it? Probably gonna win it.

SPEAKER_00

Well, it it's it was a bit strange because I never was like this before. Yeah, I was decent in the rain in the Porsche, like we polled when when it was good, we polled the Silverstone race by 2.2 seconds or something, which is a big gap. Um, but in the McLaren, for some reason, when I was doing the winter series, all of a sudden one day it just clicked. And um, and then after ever since that I've been like one of the fastest kids all the time in the rain. Yeah, I and I I don't understand why. Yeah. Um, it's just ever since that one day I've always been there, I've always been pushing it.

SPEAKER_03

I think like anything though, you create momentum and confidence, like it's the same as they when when if I was boxing, you had a couple of winds on board, and same as soon as it starts raining, you you've also got it's sort of like uh an extra confidence shield around you like you think I know I can race in the rain, and then going into it, no problems, touch ward, keeping it always consistent through your rainy drive, then it sort of makes you feel confident moving on to the next one, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_00

Well, when we were racing at Spa uh in the McLaren trophy, I got invited to do one of the rounds of the GT4 because the driver had to pull out, and I'm like, I haven't been in a GT4 car for a year now. It's like I've been in a GT3 and a trophy car which have a lot more power, so let's see how it is. And I ended up finishing second. Yeah, so it's like I haven't I haven't lost anything with my riding a bike, right? Yeah, just going around, cruising around, and then all of a sudden on the radio comes over, it goes, Well done, Zach, you P2. I'm like, Oh, I haven't lost it yet.

SPEAKER_03

I always struggle to um keep track. I watch every every every race, like I always watch on on on the live on YouTube, and anyone that is interested in watching Zach after this uh will post a link for is it what's it the uh British GT? Is that just the YouTube that you can go on? Because I just I just mine's already saved all the time.

SPEAKER_00

The British GT was what I did last year, so yeah, that would be if you want to watch last year's videos. Uh but I'm doing GT open now and McLaren trophy. So yeah, they're both on YouTube.

SPEAKER_03

My algorithm is like planned for it, so now as soon as I click on yours uses the race straight when I'm when I type anything to do with GT, your race is like there. Yeah. Um obviously because I've I'm subscribed to all these different racing ones now, which I never thought I'd do in a million years. But um what what's your uh what's your goals moving forward then, Zach? Obviously, we want it you want to be competing, but this factory driver, just to elaborate on on where you want to go, what's most interesting? Are you sort of open-minded to the way it might go? Have you got a plan?

SPEAKER_00

What's um well it's kind of you you can't really have a plan. Uh I'll do my best. If I make it, I make it. If I don't, I am gonna be disappointed. But I I I will make it. That yeah, that is what I will, I will make it. Um but yeah, it's my dream would be to be a fa a factory driver for someone. Uh, but my biggest dream would just be to do the like a hypercar 24-hour race around the mall, which is like the pinnacle of where everything is in GT in GT world. So that if I could do that and complete it and win it, yeah, that would be one of my biggest dreams ever completed.

SPEAKER_03

Oh, that's cool. So explain to everybody what a factory driver is as well for anyone that's from Claire.

SPEAKER_00

Uh if anyone don't know what that is, it's like you would get paid by the manufacturer to drive their car. So for example, I race for McLaren now. Uh I've got a mate who's a factory driver for it, and then McLaren choose where to put him and what to put him in. Yep. Uh, and then he would get paid for that. That's what I want to try and get to. So it's it's difficult because you've got like I know in the racing world, not there's not a lot of people, but there's thousands of people trying to reach for that one job that you that you want as well.

SPEAKER_03

Well, I think as well, though, the so even if even if they didn't come true, which I believe you can go all the way and do what whichever you choose, but there's quite a lot of options, isn't there? Again, I'm always learning myself, but um you can also be like an instructor, and also on that note, the amount of technicality things that in the races yourself, when you sit and show me um game plans, and like you said earlier, we engineers won't make any tactical moves, and it's just absolutely like mind-blowing the like you you study every single corner, don't you?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, winter break, winter turn, winter do this, winter this yeah it's a little bit of like feel and like remembrance, like you'll have a little sheet that I have at home, little notepad, and it's like oh this on your basically a baseline where you want to be every time. It's like, oh, this is your breaking point here. Uh you turn in at this point, um, throttle at this point. It's all like little bits, and they all end up clicking into your head at one point, so it's kind of just automatic response. Um, but sometimes uh I also drive the car a little bit through feel, so instead of looking just for these certain points, you feel how the car is behaving, you feel what it's gonna do.

SPEAKER_03

So it's almost like a guide till you get on there because I know you do a lot, so it's a lot of the game planning. Obviously, you go and do your tests as well, but is some of it sometimes sim simulator stuff?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, so the the sim work basically gets the track fresh in your head, so you you know where you're going round. Yeah, um, so you you do that just to let prep your mind like right, this is where you're going, this is how the track layout is, and then when you get there on the day, you've already basically got your references and everything for when you're there. So it's both two two things which merge together which help.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, I think that's cool, mate. And also you passed your you passed your test, and then you were like going straight into instruction, but you couldn't you're that young, you you couldn't even be an instructor straight away, could you? Is that right?

SPEAKER_00

Uh no, because I had to have uh over a year of driving on the road, and then also that's what's I could never get my head round. But yeah, I've I've passed past my instructor's licence now. I'm just trying to find a bit of work.

SPEAKER_03

Yep. So there's a couple of wet ways you can go, mate. There's not even obviously you want to get all your goals, you want to do the dream races, yeah. Uh you want to be a factory driver again. No reason why you can't do all of them things, you're in perfect place moving forward for it. You're already a champion, uh, you're doing brilliant this season, and I think there's only more to come from that. Um, there's the instructing side of it as well. Yeah, um, and on top of that, you're going through your PT course tonight. Yeah, that's true. That's actually going through his uh PT Launch Lab uh certificate now, so he's level three personal training. Uh midway through it now, chipping away, it'll be done within the next couple of weeks, get his certificate done. What makes you interested in the PT? Is it just another string to the bow? Is it something that you've always been passionate about? Is it again just another lead? You like to have that as a nice tool?

SPEAKER_00

It's kind of just like another part of your like tick box. Yeah. Right, you've got your resume and it's like, oh, he's he's now qualified for this and that. So it's like when somebody looks at it as like a well big broad sheet, they go, Oh, he can do this, he's past this, is uh oh, he's a qualified PT, so that means that I can have him train me as well so we can train together um to become better race drivers. This is if I'm getting paid by a factory uh an AM, uh, which is basically an amateur is someone who pays for the car and would pay for a factory driver to be with them. Yep. So like we could train them together, I could be making him better. Um, and then I could be making him better in fitness-wise and on the track as well. Yeah. So then therefore, our performance will increase in the races.

SPEAKER_03

I wonder, I wonder how many people are actually appeased and an instructor like that. Um well that cat that's got to be more rare, though, and it surely that's quite uh quite a niche, that isn't it?

SPEAKER_00

There's a few race drivers which train with the people who pay for them, and it's kind of it's kind of more like a social thing, it's just like a like they're all pushing each other as far as well.

SPEAKER_03

You're a team, aren't you? If you're sat in a car with someone you want to be able to trust them, don't you?

SPEAKER_00

So it's definitely quite a big team feel in the race uh in the racing industry. It's it's good.

SPEAKER_03

I think um I think you've just got so many different I mean to say you're so young though as well, you're already setting yourself up, so it's not like I mean you don't need the fallbacks, but you've got so many different options, and because uh I that's what I love about you just so open-minded uh with opportunity as well. And I I say it all the time is that every opportunity is could lead to something that you're unaware of, yeah. You know what I mean? So the the the opportunities you don't you'll never know. So just to keep adding these things and being so young and already doing this and already doing that and already having them under your belt, I just think everything you do from now, just in addition, like you've already done so much. Um I know I know there's a couple of other things that to be I don't know if it's a bit factory driver or m better for the instructor bars. I can't remember which one I get them mixed up where you need to tick off a few certain races.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, that's for the factory drives and stuff like that. Like you need to do 24 hour races, which I will be doing next year, and uh just stuff like that. So it's like you've you've done all the forms of racing that there is, so they'll look at it and go, Oh, he's not inexperienced, he's actually done this, this, and that. It's like an extra.

SPEAKER_03

It's just like it's just a driver's CV, and it's almost like if I were going to a job uh when I were younger as a PT and I said, I've got my level two, I've got my level three, that's what and then obviously for you, they're like, Well, what has he done? What experience has he got, right? He's won this, he's he's done this 24-hour race, and uh trying to do uh short races, endurance races, or whatever that is that you've ticked every single box, and I think again, he's just so young, like so much time to tick all these things off. I feel like you're so ahead of the circuit anyway. Um, and the new generation of drivers, like it, you you compete with people who have bought for 10 years.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, well, we're competing now against all the factory drivers and stuff like that. And well, touch wood, we're not we're not doing too shabby, we're six in the championship, I believe. Yeah, um, so we're we're doing quite well.

SPEAKER_03

Awesome, mate. Well, so what we'll do, mate, we'll wrap up. I've really enjoyed talking to you, mate. If you want to tell everyone um your Instagrams, yeah, if social medias, whatever.

SPEAKER_00

If you want to go follow me, it's uh Zach Meekin Racing on Instagram, and I believe it's the same on Facebook. Um I can't remember to be fair.

SPEAKER_03

I think it is, mate, you know, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, um, yeah, feel free to follow me on there and then same on YouTube as well. Um, and hopefully you can follow me through my journey. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03

Remember, like and subscribe. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00

See you in a bit.