Getting the Nation’s Elderly Active – A Q and A With Bailey Greetham-Clark
Bailey, 22, is already making a huge impact in the health and social care sector. As the founder of BeGreatFitness, he’s dedicated to providing accessible exercise classes and promoting active lifestyles for older adults. But what sets him apart is his innovative use of social media, where he shares his journey, and the stories of elderly care home residents across the country, with over 90,000 TikTok followers.
We sat down with Bailey to learn more about his journey, his advice for young people considering a career in care, and how social media is shaping both his business and the lives of those he works with.
How did you get started?
I started Be Great Fitness at 17. At the time I was studying construction, and in my spare time I had a passion for boxing – I really enjoyed exercise and sport, it took me out of a dark place as a young person, and I started to realise it could do the same for others who were in need of a pick-me-up.
During the pandemic, I quit my construction course, and I went to work with a group of adults with additional needs on Zoom every week, absolutely free of charge.
I fell in love with this group of adults, I thought they were the most incredible group I’ve ever met, they were so kind, and caring, and appreciative. Through working with them realised that exercise wasn’t as accessible as it should be.
And I thought, somebody should do something about that, and why not me?
I invested in a car so I could get out and about to deliver sessions, and ended up falling into this rabbit hole of building accessible groups for different adults, whether it’s women’s only classes or adults with additional needs, dementia classes, and classes for young people.
How has social media helped to make BeGreatFitness a success?
The business was growing, I had done some really cool stuff, I’d taken some kids abroad to America which was amazing, and I started to find my passion was in the elderly and learning difficulty/autism space.
I then started documenting my work on social media, and marketing our project in a different way and it started getting traction, suddenly everyone wanted to work with us and we now have clients like Bupa and Tanglewood which is crazy!
At Abbots Care we understand the challenges loneliness poses to our elderly, does social media help integrate elderly people into the community?
The content itself is creative and simple, and by asking fun and easy-to-answer questions, it stimulates the resident’s minds and gets them all on the same topic and playing field.
I think there is a massive disconnect between our older generation and the rest of the world. By bringing the stories of our elderly to a format that is so popular with younger people we are reopening that window into elderly people’s lives.
We’re educating elderly people in completely new worlds. Transparency is key so we show the residents the videos and views they are getting, and we’re educating elderly people in completely new worlds. I work with one resident called Joan, she’s 105-years-old, she has a serious fanbase she’s like a celebrity, I don’t think that’s something she ever would have dreamed of particularly at 105!
What moments have found most rewarding about working with elderly residents?
I was working with a gentleman to do a ball throwing exercise, and I was struggling to get him involved, then a Care Worker told me that he used to like playing darts when he was younger, so instead of a ball we gave him a dart, and he threw it straight away, doing the exact action we were trying to get him to do. It was exciting to see and almost frustratingly simple, just by getting to know him and changing aspects to things he cared about, we got him doing the movement we wanted.
On another occasion one of my team members was working in a home, there was an elderly lady there who spent her time alone in her room, she never took part in any activities, but at this time she had physiotherapy she needed to do. So we convinced her to come to one of our sessions, and she loved it so much that she became a regular, and also started attending all the other activities the care home ran. That was a wholesome moment for us.
The challenging moments are often the most rewarding as well because you worked hard to get the right solution.
What is the difference between basic and good care?
Keeping our residents showered, clean, healthy, and tidy, is the lowest acceptable bar, it’s important but it’s basic care.
Now when we talk about good care, that’s when we want to look at mental stimulation, physical stimulation, a good quality of life. Looking to make care personalised based on the person’s interests and hobbies, especially when we talk about those with dementia, it’s so important to stimulate their mind and memory. Me and my team always try and dive in, and get to know people so they can get the best out of our sessions.
So, of course, personal care is important, but delivering good care is about going above and beyond by giving that personal touch.
What’s next for you and your journey?
I’ve been working at this for 4 years now, I’m loving building our community and shouting about it.
We’re also really excited to have our White Paper come out and show just how impactful our work is within care homes, not just physically but mentally too.
I’ll be taking it to Westminster in March!
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