Amy Marks

Working Group

Lived Experience Expert

What motivated you to join the Fitness for Life development team?

My friend was joining the group and suggested I get involved, but the reason I stayed involved is I am currently not very engaged with fitness, and have found it really hard as a young person with cerebral palsy to engage with that world. I thought it was really interesting that this project was exploring physical activity and recognising the challenges, and I wanted to bring my perspective as someone who wants to get involved with fitness, but is struggling to working out how to start as a person with CP.

What do you hope the impact of this resource will be for other young adults with cerebral palsy?

I hope this resource gives other young people CP validation that they’re not alone in whatever their relationship to fitness and cerebral palsy is. I think this project really highlights a range of lived experiences and it doesn’t just parrot one narrative.

What is your favourite physical activity to participate in at the moment, and why?

At the moment I’m just trying to explore as many physical activities as possible to find out what I like! I found that I’m not the best with ball sports, so activities where things are being thrown near my face make me a bit scared!

I’m exploring wheelchair racing and cycling and all those kind of sports. I've found that I really like going fast and pushing myself that way, and I think I also prefer solo sports for now, so that I don’t have to compare myself to other people on a team.