Fitness expert Joe Wicks has invested thousands in a portable gym equipment business during his guest appearance on the Dragons’ Den panel after their pitch moved him to tears.
The 39-year-old, known as The Body Coach, joined resident dragons Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman, Sara Davies and Steven Bartlett during Thursday’s episode of the reality business programme.
Joseph Keegan was the first in the den to pitch his BodyXcore agility kit, promoted as a portable “gym-in-a-bag”, which caught Wicks’ attention.
Keegan explained he had made the product after being frustrated that he could not easily bring his gym equipment with him.
“My mum handed me this product in my dream when I was down. I was really down. I was going through a tough time in my life”, he told the panel.
“I lost both parents. I lost my very good friend. I really found myself through my training, but in all honesty, I didn’t really want to be here anymore.”
He revealed he sold his house and car to pay for the product as he “believed in it so much” that he “would do anything to make it succeed”.
Wicks said he had not seen a product like it before and felt Keegan was “so brave” for selling his house to fulfil his dream.
The fitness guru became emotional after seeing Keegan tear up and gave the founder a hug as he told him: “You’re doing brilliant, mate. It’s emotional. Have a breather because I love it.”
He added: “Joseph, you are my kind of guy, and this is my kind of product. And obviously I’ve built my business with social media.
“I’ve got a huge community, millions of people every month doing my workouts and so I see myself on my YouTube channel using this, doing a workout, and saying ‘Look, this is a great option if you want to try something different’.”
Wicks offered him the full investment request of £70,000 in return for a 25% share of the business, an offer which was matched by Dragon Davies.
Jones and Suleyman proposed they would offer half of the money for 12.5% of the company and that they could do a three-way deal with Wicks, but Keegan was left with a hard decision as Davies also offered to partner with Wicks on the deal.
After he consulted with Wicks, Keegan decided upon the three investments with Wicks, Jones and Suleyman all giving him £35,000 each for a 12.5% share.
Fitness enthusiast Wicks became a household name during the pandemic after posting daily YouTube videos of PE lessons for families to take part in.
In 2020, he claimed a Guinness World Record after one of his online fitness classes was watched by nearly a million people.
His workouts also raised £580,000 for the NHS and he was made an MBE for his charity efforts and helping children keep active and mentally fit.
