There are fit rappers and there is Slim. To say the name is deceiving would be an understatement. The man is an absolute beast. Having picked up the fitness bug while serving time in prison, the south Londoner found a ‘key element to keeping [him] disciplined in life’.
‘It was something positive in a negative place,’ he says, looking back. ‘Fitness was good to just build the vibe, to keep everyone positive. I feel like no matter what, at the end of a workout, everyone feels good. No matter where you are, you go for a 10k run in the snow; after it, you feel good… And I think a lot of people rely on other people for that motivation. So I’d be the guy who would go around banging on doors, saying, “Come on, let’s go, let’s go!”’
There was also a deeper reason for Slim to start taking his health seriously. ‘My dad passed from cancer,’ he tells Men’s Health. ‘So one of my main motivations is that he ain’t been here to see his grandkids grow up. So I always thought that I’d do the best I can to be sure that, when I’m older, I’ve done everything possible to protect my health and just be there a bit better.’
After his stint in prison, Slim stumbled across Shredfast – the Liverpool-born fitness craze that involves high-intensity kettlebell training. ‘A couple of months ago, I made it a priority to lock in and just go to one of the sessions,’ he says. ‘When I first started it, after the first few sessions, I was in bits. It’s been a few months now [and] my body’s kind of adjusted to doing it near enough every other day. I’ve gone up to a pair of 32kg kettlebells. It’s brutal. Minimum a thousand calories [every session].’
And this is just the start. Alongside four Shredfast sessions a week, Slim’s weekly schedule is tiring just to look at. ‘I’m doing boxing twice a week,’ he begins. ‘Then I’ll do about a 5k three or four times a week, and I’ll do hypertrophy strength training three times a week. So I stay busy. I just do what makes me feel good and that’s the main thing for me.’
Beyond the hard training, Slim has been experimenting with his nutrition to find a routine that suits his goals and lifestyle. After his daily sessions, he will eat his one and only meal of the day at around 6pm or 7pm. Here, he’ll aim to hit around 3,500 calories, with at least 300g of protein. ‘Then I’ll probably end up in a food coma,’ he laughs.
Alongside his return to music, Slim has been releasing video content that captures his fitness journey and lifestyle. You’ll find him detailing his training sessions and what he eats in a day, along with cooking sessions with fellow fitness influencers. ‘A lot of the feedback has just been how motivating it is for everyone,’ he says. However, viewer discretion is definitely advised: Slim’s type of training is not for the faint-hearted.
This year, he’s hoping to release at least one project in order to build on his momentum from 2025. The secret to his work ethic and creativity is simply this: his fitness.
‘It just keeps me disciplined,’ he says. ‘Because I find the best time for me to write, funnily enough, is after my workouts so that my brain’s kind of in that flow space. It clears the thoughts and I’m straight in the car [after a workout] and, automatically, my mind just switches on to [music]. So that’s kind of my day: it goes around in a circle and it’s good, man. I’m happy. It keeps me in a good state of mind.’
Quick-Fire QuestionsWhat’s your morning routine?
I wake up 5am, pray, black coffee, then straight to the gym.
One thing that’s always in your gym bag?
A spare pair of socks.
What three songs are on your playlist right now?
I’m actually a no-music kind of guy. I like to challenge myself. I feel if I can train with no music, I must be some sort of machine.
One habit that’s made the biggest difference to your life?
Getting enough sleep. Since I’ve been getting enough sleep, the levels have been rising.
When did you start training?
When I was 18.
Go-to post-workout meal?
Nothing. [I eat] one meal a day, after all my sessions. So it’ll be a black coffee for me after a workout.
Dream workout partner?
Someone like myself, who doesn’t talk too much and just gets it done. I would like to train with Ronaldo. He seems locked-in.
Favourite exercise?
Least favourite exercise?
At the moment, my least favourite is the Bulgarian split squat – but I know the gains matter.
One piece of advice for your 16-year-old self?
Honestly, I wouldn’t change anything. Because I feel like that’s kind of what made my mindset what it is today – the experiences I went through. Just continue to learn from the mistakes that you’re going to make.
Three rappers you’d want to train with?
I was just reading the 50 Cent book. So maybe the younger version of 50 Cent. Rimzee, we’re due to have a gym session. And Gunna, I’ve been seeing him train and I need to see if it’s the truth.
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Christopher Riley is the editor of Men’s Health UK.
With almost 18 years in the health and fitness space as a personal trainer, nutritionist, breath coach and writer, Andrew has spent nearly half of his life exploring how to help people improve their bodies and minds.
As our fitness editor he prides himself on keeping Men’s Health at the forefront of reliable, relatable and credible fitness information, whether that’s through writing and testing thousands of workouts each year, taking deep dives into the science behind muscle building and fat loss or exploring the psychology of performance and recovery.
Whilst constantly updating his knowledge base with seminars and courses, Andrew is a lover of the practical as much as the theory and regularly puts his training to the test tackling everything from Crossfit and strongman competitions, to ultra marathons, to multiple 24 hour workout stints and (extremely unofficial) world record attempts.
You can find Andrew on Instagram at @theandrew.tracey, or simply hold up a sign for ‘free pizza’ and wait for him to appear.
