Mr Motivator reveals he was tied up by armed gang in terrifying robbery ordeal
25 May 2022, 13:29 | Updated: 25 May 2022, 13:48
Mr Motivator has revealed he was tied up by a gang armed with guns and knives along with his family during a "traumatic" home robbery.
The health and wellbeing coach, whose real name is Derrick Evans, said the incident happened during an evening in 2007 when he was living in Jamaica and friends were visiting for a weekend.
Speaking on the Celebrity Catch Up podcast, the 69-year-old discussed the lessons he learned from the robbery.
He said he had noticed a side door open one evening while they were having dinner, before the armed gang ran inside: "Before I knew it about eight people ran in," he said.
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"One of them had a gun, the rest had knives and machetes. The first thing they did was tie us up and put us on the floor.
"The most upsetting thing for any father is you don't like feeling helpless and hopeless. I remember my daughter saying, 'Dad, why are these men doing this?'."
After refusing to allow one of the group to take his wife, Sandra, upstairs to open their safe, Evans was taken upstairs instead where the thieves stole money and jewellery.
He added: "They got away and I got myself free and loosened everybody up - (it was) traumatic."
Evans said he had later identified one of the group as a builder who had worked on his house the previous year.
He said: "Let people earn your trust before you let them in. Sometimes we're too trusting and the very people we trust can be the people that let us down."
He added the "saving grace" was that his wife was able to hide her engagement ring.
"I thought we'd lost it, but that wife of mine is so clever - she put it in her mouth without anybody knowing so they didn't get it," he said.
The TV fitness instructor found fame in the early 90s and is well known for his neon lycra and upbeat style.
He was made an MBE in October 2020 as part of the Queen's postponed birthday honours list, for services to health and fitness after creating online home exercises during the coronavirus lockdown.
Listen to Celebrity Catch Up: Life After That Thing I Did for the full interview.
