Why ‘What You Need’?

I am Matt Lewis, British Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association Instructor. I have been passionate about fitness, health and nutrition for over 25 years and because of this I have created ‘What You Need’. 

My experiences as a weight trainer, climber, surfer, cyclist, runner & champion boxer have been fantastic but it’s the journey that I stay healthy for, my life. I attribute my sense of general wellbeing, enthusiasm and determination to do what I want to an excellent diet and exercise.

I hate life with a label, it creates boundaries. You are just a life that exists in the universe. Having labels, such as I am ‘Matt’, a ‘printer’, a ‘dancer’, puts limitations on you. When a seagull flies he doesn’t question who he is or what he is. The fox, the seagull, the centipede are all just moving forward in what they do best: using their senses, not analysing whether they’ve lost a leg, are worse off than others or better than others. I think of the foxes who live at the side of my house Even if they’ve lost a leg and are pissing with blood they will still keep walking and surviving without self-consciousness and carry on in the timeless progression of their life until their last outgoing breath. They are just living. All humans are ‘just living’ in the same way as everything else in the universe. The mind creates all of the problems. The mind should be used as a tool, along with the intelligence to create beautiful things around us, not box us into a form. No matter how we’ve turned out we are all here doing the same thing - evolving and living in the moment. It’s our mind that tethers us and stops us developing. So, welcome to the mind of confusion.  

My Story:

Early Days

I was very young, about four years old and we were moving house. I managed to carry a wardrobe by myself all the way down the stairs. The workmen couldn’t believe how strong I was and made no bones about telling me so. What he said really stuck in my head and became the first building block of my positive self image. I felt truly acknowledged, strong and confident; I felt like superman!

I was lucky enough to be raised in the country surrounded by cherry, blackcurrant, pear and apple fields: I used to live at Hawkwell just 3 miles up from my nan. I remember helping the farmer collect apples on his tractor. I loved cycling and fishing and racing the 15 miles to the lake to bag the best fishing spot before sunrise. This showed me that extra motivation and determination create the best outcome. Fishing and playing with my cousin was the best. 

I had freedom and places to use my imagination. How fulfilled it used to make me feel to be a young lad playing in the cherry orchards. I also spent days helping to clear the orchards of starlings, having the chance to shoot at starlings, scare them off with the noise of my motorbike and put down gas cherry bangers to fire off like cannonballs; my mum looking at me in absolute horror when I got home. It was the most beautiful place to live - full of wild life, badgers, fruits, the abundant blossom of all the cherry orchards and amazing colours. 

My dad had a shed with lots of tools and I used be allowed to go in there and use them. He showed me how to make bows and arrows and I used to go out hunting like Robin Hood. One day I went out with my bow and arrow to see if I could get some pheasants: they used to like the blackcurrants.  Bracken and fern ran for miles and miles and because there were so many rabbits they made runs through it. In the bliss I used to wander through the woods and crawl with my bow and arrow through the rabbit furrows in the undergrowth. Because I was being so quiet and silent and just living in the moment I used to stumble across many wonderful things. One day I’d just gone through about 100yds of furrow when I came to a grassy clearing and there were the badgers, outside their den. I laid down in amazement just watching them tumble and roll and play under the most striking oak tree in the centre of the woods. I was just some little hobbit hiding in silence and they didn’t have a clue I was there. It’s got to be the most unattached time of my life. I feel so relaxed going through that story, it releases so many emotions. Such a beautiful time. I remember just before I went in that furrow I shot a pheasant but my arrow bounced off it and so I carried on looking for rabbits. I was in timeless bliss. Where beauty was at its best. It brings tears to my eyes to reminisce on such a time and to sit in this reality now at 39 and feel again the moments of such clarity when you’re just a child. To have beauty and nature all around me. 

To know that is how life really is and that as you grow older you question it – why haven’t I got this? why haven’t I got that? Just remembering being in that field, all the skylarks in the sky, being in that moment and not having enough knowledge to know what’s right or wrong. Simply living and having the most fantastic time. 

Then, as I hit puberty we moved to the town where ‘fashion’, adidas torsion trainers, ego and dealing with bullies became part of my story. Being in the town didn’t stop me cycling to see my cousin about 15 miles away and keeping hold of my country roots. On the long ride home I would often dream of my parents’ steak and chips, their adult treat on a Friday night. I settled into school and things were good – girls, friends – what more could I ask for? 

At 14 on a family day out to Camber Sands I was sitting around in the sun when for the first time I really looked at and saw a man with an excellent physique; defined abs, built up pecs. I remembered a photo of my teenage self and felt the contrast between my lightly rounded belly and that man. BANG! I had an image of how I wanted to look. I got my own set of weights, sorted out my garage and started reading health magazines. I soon realised I had to eat more protein so I asked my mum to cook me extra chicken fillets and more vegetables and over the next two years I grew in strength and size. Training hard and running. 

At sixteen I wanted to become a physical training instructor. I joined the Queens Regiment thinking this would take me where I wanted and after a couple of months I gained a place in the battalion boxing team. I was given a higher protein and better diet than the others in my battalion as a result of my success. I became runner up boxing battalion champion and a sports personality! This again confirmed to me the importance of diet on performance. I was very successful in the army and they pulled out all the stops to try to keep me but I realised it was not the place for me. I left and became a gym instructor at a hotel and carried on doing my own personal training. 

When I was 25 I started hang gliding, an EP Pilots course, but as my twins were born shortly after I didn’t have the time to carry on at that stage. I worked for Help the Aged delivering over 400 bags a day to peoples’ doors during which time I enjoyed the cardiovascular challenge of working as fast as possible to get home early. After 3 years I changed jobs within Help the Aged to secure elderly peoples homes. I felt great satisfaction in being able to make people feel safe in their own homes and I know they appreciated the social aspect of these visits. Throughout this I maintained my fitness: I used a boxing bag, bench and weights in my back garden and I had great satisfaction from using many natural training methods: Running around the local area; using sloping hills for sit ups; chin ups on the branches of trees, lifting my children and doing press-ups with them on my back! 

I later joined the master locksmith assoc and went through a number of exams to qualify as a full member of the Master Locksmiths Assoc. I still exercised and maintained good nutrition which gave me plenty of energy and a positive attitude to life. I developed my own business including an excellent contract with the police and council. The ‘Sanctuary Project’ securing single women’s and vulnerable peoples houses was the most rewarding as well as financially best contract. A caring attitude was a vital component of this work and I found it rewarding to see people smiling again and feeling confident in their own homes. 

By trial and error I made a good business but came to realise that the industrial world was not for me. Traffic jams and congestion took far too much of my time. After a four and a half hour journey that should only take 20 mins and realising that I had another 40 years at work I went ‘BANG’ again. It was time to change, to take to the skies. There is less congestion in the air. I moved on to my next challenge: To become a hang gliding instructor. 

Flying

When I was 33 I flew to Australia and started flying again. I lived in a campervan, using the gym for showers and training. Because I was living in a very egotistical, beautiful, pretty peoples place I became even more aware of diet and keeping in good shape. I realised you can eat as much as you like of certain good quality foods and that you will never put on fat, only build muscle and health (e.g. vegetables and high quality protein). I experimented with raw food, looked at acid & alkali levels and later was able to have incredibly high levels of quality protein through a local natural source. I had never experienced such vitality for life.

I flew daily on the sand dunes of Byron Bay. It was a stunning site facing the ocean, lighthouse and beautiful headlands. My first high jump was a straight top to bottom. What a rush! Elating, demanding, amazing. 

I took a trip to Mt Tambourine an 1800ft mountain in one of the most beautiful mountain ranges in Australia, an hour and a half in from the coast. I remember gliding over a forest full of 250ft Eucalyptus trees and wondering if I was going to make it down to the bottom landing field. I landed with a huge surge of exhilaration - I had made it. The experience was a massive confidence boost. I had overcome anxieties and achieved an ambition.

I carried on launching off Mt Tambourine for a week. Then in the second week I decided to move on to a more experienced launch named Beach Mont, famous for the world record distance flight from a hill launch by Johnny Durand. I became very aware I was taking on new boundaries with a landing that looked unglideable, power lines to my left and trees everywhere. Looking out at the abundant scariness of the whole flight my adrenaline was rushing, I was shaking. The instructor asked me if I was ok and even though I was shaking and scared I said I was. I pulled myself together and went for the first jump. I launched with ease, despite my terror and so started to relax and absorb the breath-taking scene that I was a part of. It felt unbelievable that a human could achieve this experience of flying. 

After a few more flights at Beach Mont building self esteem and confidence I decided to head to Twahs where I met Dave Cook, another instructor. He was tow winching off the back of a four and half litre jeep which was another challenge, but what fun. He hooked me on to the line and told his friend in the jeep to flat foot the accelerator and told me to run. Before I knew it I had taken to the air. Once we had reached 500ft I released my tow line and flew onto the beach ridge of Twahs with the most beautiful scenery I had ever seen. I flew till dusk in the bright orange sunshine over the crashing ocean where I watched the sharks beneath me. I flew 14 miles along the ridge and then all the way back again.

After spending the week with Dave Cook experiencing fantastic flying I moved on up north to Rainbow Beach where I took on the sandy wind blow facing the ocean. I took off and stacked it, ended up right in a tree. 

After more flight experience I returned to Byron Bay where I worked with Pete Artken at ProFlight Tandem Hang Gliding school.

The Boogey Monster & the Eagles

I met up with Colin Rushden, a very serious cross country pilot.

The site is called Boogeroom: the scariest cliff launch that I could ever imagine. I recall my first flight there, taking myself through challenging zones which were surreal. Looking at a wooden ramp off a sun facing cliff at 1800ft. Rising up in huge banging thermals and watching the ground get further and further away. A world beyond belief where wedge tail eagles fly. Seeing my friends side by side as we smile, bouncing from cloud to cloud, dolphining together, an experience never to be forgotten. The best rush that life could ever give and a day that you would never die. 

I remember my second or third flight off Boogey and watching my friends Wardy and Colin go over the back to a mountain ridge 5 miles away. My umbilical cord still needed to be detached away from the hill. Picking up in adrenaline and getting ready to go and maximising on the biggest feelings you could ever experience I detached and went for it. Flying to a peak where Wardy was getting low I arrived and searched for lift off this 2000ft ridgeback spine. My heart was desperate to find some lift as the PowerStation’s and the forest were getting closer and closer and I heard through the radio from Wardy ’just keep going, just keep searching’ and as the words came through I saw a beautiful wedge tailed eagle rising and circling by the side of me. I became all inspired that I had found my next thermal and flying with the eagle by my side was a beautiful humble feeling of the best existence of life. Rising up with the thermal with the eagle looking in my eyes we rose to 4500ft above and I took on my next challenge: to reach the Mullanbimby golf course 25 miles away. I left the comfort of the eagle and I took my courage and glided, maintaining and finding the sea breeze lift all the way, still shaking and rushing on adrenaline, feeling like I was going to go bang! Halfway through the glide Mullanbimby golf course came into my sights and the shear rush of exhilaration at the completion my first cross country experience made me feel overcome. How rewarding life can be if you challenge yourself and go into the unknown and detach from what you know. 

After only two weeks of learning to fly and taking on launches I wasn’t supposed to be able to do I realised I am a real head banger. It’s amazing how humans can take on un-human acts if you’re willing to give it a go. 

Sharks

Because I have always liked fishing and understanding how fish work I know they like to come into the coast at night times. Going out into the moonlight with the rolling ocean and the waves crashing around me gives me a sense of escapism. Being in nature makes me feel whole. Knowing it was shark territory I had to wade out in the darkness up to chest high to get my bait in the right spot. Feeling the unknown around me and worrying and thinking about other sharks biting my legs off I had to just block out those thoughts. It was a beautiful unfamiliar feeling. I like using my small hobby rod, but not letting it stop me from going for the big fish, working with what I’ve got without a boundary. I knew that to catch the sharks I only had 120yds of line with 17lb breaking strain. The night that I caught the sharks it was a full moon and a very clear evening. After casting out for about 10 minutes with a big inky squid on the end of the hook my bait was taken. The reel of my line was screaming out and my little 6ft hobby rod was bending over almost near breaking point. I was trying to keep the strain on the shark to tire it and having to wade further out into the shark infested water to prevent my line running out. The rush that I was getting inside me, desperate not to lose the biggest fish that I had ever caught. After nearly an hour the shark started to tire and I managed to start reeling it in. It would have a little rest and then it would go for another run. After an hour I had the shark coming to me, my heart was in my mouth and I was praying for it not to get away. I pulled it to shore with huge elation. I was a very proud man that I had caught a fish bigger than all the laws of averages say that my rod should have allowed. The whole nostalgic moonlit evening, the silence and solitude led to such a beautiful climax. 

The fish was sitting on the shore looking like a monster. The beach where I was fishing led from a hostel to the main beach where everyone used to go out for the evening and people passing by could not believe that I had caught it on my little hobby rod. They were all in disbelief and I was amazed myself. 

I took the shark home, filleted it up and chucked it in the freezer. It lasted it for two months - high protein! It was funny because I brought it in, put it on the kitchen side and the black haired hard-core tattooist tenant of mine turned round and screamed in horror at the shark looking her in the eyes. I laughed for the sense of pride that I’d caught this amazing whopper. I went out the next night and did it all again and it was all round the full moon. That’s it really.

So...

I am a hang gliding instructor. I get the thrill of flying and am paid for it. I have always maintained excellent fitness. The connections between health, vitality and good food are obvious to me. It’s logical that if you eat well you stay well. My personal ambitions have been and still are being achieved. This is definitely down to understanding diet and fitness.

Throughout my life I have taken on caring roles, as a fitness trainer, in the army as platoon junior sergeant, during my time with Help the Aged and now as a flight instructor. The welfare of other people is important to me. Nutrition has always been a major focus in my life and I realise that other people are not benefitting from the knowledge available. I believe this is largely due to not understanding how much focus, determination, stamina and peace of mind they could have in their life given a good diet and exercise.

‘What you Need’ offers an informative and helpful website and access to excellent nutrition with a focus on high levels of quality protein, complex (slow release) carbohydrates, serious antioxidant levels and great tastes. 

After so many years it’s time to share my energy.

Live your life to the full. Come flying with me. 

Try ‘What You Need’. It has power.