Visually impaired Mid Sussex fitness coach stars in new film about his CrossFit journey

Fitness Is For Everyone: An Adaptive Story follows Burgess Hill resident Chris Fair, 35, who was diagnosed with retinal dystrophy in 2011.

This condition caused his vision to deteriorate to the point where he is now registered as severely blind.

But some 11 years after his diagnosis, Chris has built a successful career at Potential Personal Training in Lindfield and won the male adaptive sensory category at the 2022 Wodcelona CrossFit competition in Barcelona.

“My central vision has been deteriorating over the course of years, however I still have my peripheral vision,” said Chris.

He told the Middy that central vision is needed for reading, distinguishing details and clearly seeing colour and light.

“‘A bit dark’ for me means ‘almost pitch black’,” he said. “I can’t read a conventional size script or anything like that. I use a computer still but I have to zoom in quite a lot.”

But Chris said he can still see where things are and move around confidently. “I can see that people are in the correct position doing what they're doing exercise-wise,” he said.

Chris called his diagnosis ‘a real life changer’ because he used to work in hospitality, managing private ski chalets in France, which required a lot of attention to detail.

He said: “The owners of the ski chalet I worked for were fantastic, but it just got to a point where I knew I wouldn't be able to continue.”

So he decided to completely change careers. He got in touch with Potential Personal Training owner Maxine Hayes, who he knew from working at Alexander House in East Grinstead years before, and she said that if he got qualified as a coach she would give him a job.

“I liked the idea previously of getting into a bit of health and fitness,” said Chris, but he admits he only started training when he became a coach.

He said: “I’ve always thrown myself into whatever I work in, and working in that environment really encourages you to practise what you preach. I just got that taste for it.”

After a few years one of Chris's colleagues, Connor Chatfield, entered him into a CrossFit competition and he came in second. From that Chris heard about Wodcelona – a three-day CrossFit contest with two events a day – and entered.

He said it was ‘an amazing feeling’ to win his category and a bit surreal.

“It was the first time I'd been involved in something with other people with other adaptive needs,” he said, adding that there were athletes with visual impairments or with only one leg or one arm.

He described the energy from everyone as ‘incredible’, saying: “They’re not letting what you would call a ‘disability’ stop them from doing something that they really love doing.”

Chris said it feels great to have achieved all of this since his diagnosis and thanked his family, friends, Potential Personal Training and Fitness Marketing Agency for all their support.

Fitness Is For Everyone: An Adaptive Story was created by Wesley Sethi (production lead for FMA). The premiere is in Haywards Heath later this month.