COVER INTERVIEW
We talk to influencer Zoe Hague about her fitness journey – from serving in the British Army Medical Corps to becoming an ambassador for fitness race HYROX – and find out about her exciting goals for the future
I would say that as soon as I was walking, I was running. I was that girl at school who always had an activity on every day after lessons – from running and athletics to ballet – but swimming was my main sport. I was swimming at a high level, so I was swimming twice a day, every day. That was my childhood, and people say I missed out on a lot, especially between the ages of 16 to 18 because I never went out drinking with my friends at the weekend. I was just swimming all the time, but I loved it.
Both my parents were in the police force and really into fitness. They’ve done marathons their whole lives and they’re always up in the mountains, so I guess I’ve followed in their footsteps, although we do joke that my sister [Molly-Mae Hague of Love Island fame] was swapped at birth! I always knew I wanted a fitnessrelated career, so I did think about joining the police, but it was my parents who suggested that I should consider something else.
I joined the army in 2017 at the age of 22 with the intent of being on the frontline. I wanted to be front and centre, doing what the guys did, because it’s the most active role. Sadly, the infantry wasn’t open to women at the time, so I did the next best thing, which was being on the frontline as a medic. I didn’t have any kind of medical background, so studying for the Medical Corps was tough. I didn’t love it if I’m honest, but being able to exercise every day was a good fit for me.
Being in the Medical Corps strengthened my love for fitness. Once I’d been a medic for a year, I requested to train as a personal trainer as soon as I could and, after that, I was pretty much based in the gym. I’d have 100 people coming to me three times a day for their PT, but in a weird way, leading those sessions became frustrating because I wanted to be able to train alongside everyone else!
I spent so much time making programmes for other people, I fell out of love with my own training. It’s much easier to stay motivated when you’re exercising in a big group, so I definitely felt like I was missing out.
Thankfully, the army gave me many opportunities to try new activities. I had a go at so many things, such as CrossFit and horse riding and Nordic skiing. Every weekend, there would be a sporty competition to enter, which was great for me as army life could get a bit boring. You meet lots of lovely people in the army, but there’s also lots of waiting around (which they don’t tell you about), and lots of cleaning and counting rifles. It’s not like the TV show Our Girl, but I wish it
