Sport Aberdeen Fitness member Mick Peel shares his remarkable and inspirational weight loss journey and how he lives with vasculitis. 

In his younger years, Mick followed in the footsteps of his Mum and Dad who were both in the Armed Forces and decided to join at 16 years old, serving his time with the 2^nd Battalion Scots Guards.

Sadly, Mick’s vasculitis started around six years ago; he was faced with frequent trips in and out of hospital for eight months before he was diagnosed.

Vasculitis is the name given to a group of conditions that cause inflammation of the blood vessels. With the disease, it is common to have one attack in 15 years, but Mick suffered 22 attacks in the space of seven months and couldn’t swim because of inflammation to his skin.

Mick described his situation: “I put on 10 stone since everything happened. My mobility was getting worse and worse.

“I’ve always been a big guy but not as big as I got and I had a lot of joint pain. It feels like I’m walking on glass all the time.

“I had bad days; I couldn’t even get out of my bed due to being in so much pain.”

After four years of living with the condition, Mick asked if he could go swimming again as it was his favourite activity and how he built his fitness back up with Sport Aberdeen.

He said: “I started with Steady Steps to get me going – I recognised the instructor Brian Harrison as he was ex-Scots Guards and so am I. Everything is on the chair, focused on getting your strength up again.

“I also found out there were other things so I started playing table tennis at Get active @ Jesmond but that was too aerobic for me, even though everyone there was older than me.

“I went to aqua aerobics classes on a Monday and Friday then started going to Good Boost classes at Tullos Swimming Pool as a man in Bucksburn told me about them.

“I was enjoying the water so much as there’s no impact at all – I’ve always been a really good swimmer and I love it.

“Every Friday morning, I get my bloods done at the hospital, so I was no longer able to go to a circuits class at Get active @ Sheddocksley that I once tried. So, I thought, what else can I do? I want to go to the gym and feel what I can do so I went to Live Well Gym at Get active @ Sheddocksley.

“The instructor Lee Hood is great. He knows what he is speaking about and takes care – he looks at what you can do and gave me a refresher and he is now going to make me a programme.”

Counterweight Programme participation

Mick took part in Sport Aberdeen’s Counterweight Programme from September to December in 2024 – a partnership with NHS Grampian to support those at risk of type 2 diabetes or looking for support with weight management to be active and live well.

When Mick took part in the programme at Get active @ Alex Collie, his target weight loss was 9kg and he lost 12kg. He was 35 stone and is now 26 stone. For the last two months, he has been on a no sugar diet.

Speaking so highly of his experience with Sport Aberdeen, Mick said: “I hope this doesn’t ever end for me because this has been such an amazing journey so far. I don’t know what I’d do without Sport Aberdeen.

“Without the pools, I wouldn’t be here. I would still be sitting in my house getting bigger.

“Sport Aberdeen really have been amazing. All the staff as well have been amazing.

“Every gym you go to, it’s lovely now. I wish I could do more, maybe at some point I will be able to.

“I’m doing stuff with my family which I couldn’t do before thanks to Sport Aberdeen again, it’s been insane.

“It’s not just the exercise – it’s the social side as well. They’re all older than me, people have coffee afterwards. Even during Good Boost sessions, you’re working and talking – that’s the fun part about it.

“If I remember rightly, when I used to go to the gym years and years ago, you know, you’d walk into the gym and everyone was buff and it could be a bit daunting, but not now. Especially not with your classes.

“Spot on for Sport Aberdeen doing that as well. There’s a guy I see at the gym on the bike with one leg and there’s nobody looking at him.

“I don’t know what else to say, the journey has been amazing and it’s only been a year so far.

“I can’t say it anymore can I, Sport Aberdeen has been absolutely amazing and even my family see a huge difference.

“The dark days were bad; I don’t even get there anymore. Yes I have bad days and I have to live with vasculitis, it’s always gonna be there, but I know if I’ve got swimming then I’ve got to get up.

“I know getting there will be so sore but once I’m in the pool, it’s fantastic! Even if I’m not actually swimming, just moving my body in the water really helps.

“Sport Aberdeen has been a god send.”

Mick’s typical weekly routine with Sport Aberdeen now looks like:

Monday: two morning swimming sessions at Get active @ Northfield, with an afternoon gym session at Get active @ Sheddocksley depending on how he feels

Tuesday: rest day

Wednesday: two Good Boost swimming sessions at Tullos Swimming Pool, followed by a public swimming session in the big pool to attempt a couple of lengths    

Thursday: rest day

Friday: Live Well Gym at 12:00 at Get active @ Sheddocksley followed by a Good Boost session in Get active @ Northfield swimming pool

“I do eight sessions a week and it’s totally worth the money, it really is. Even if I had to pay £100 to do it, if I could do it, I would be doing it.

“I don’t work, so that was another issue for me. Then somebody told me about Get active for Less so I put my name forward and now I have that so I get a reduced rate.

“If I didn’t have Sport Aberdeen, I’d be lost. It does take up a lot of my week, even at weekends I’m waiting for Monday to come, you know what I mean? “The endorphins help; it makes you happy.”