How Worsley Leisure Centre became part of Pete Worsley’s journey from addiction and poor health to recovery, routine and a new purpose.
Two years ago, Pete Day walked through the doors of Worsley Leisure Centre looking for a place to exercise.
Today, Pete still comes through those doors, every Monday to Friday. He has lost around three stone, discovered a love of fitness classes, built new friendships and found a community that has become an important part of his recovery.
But for Pete, the biggest changes cannot be measured by a set of scales.
The biggest change isn’t what I see when I look in the mirror. It’s who I am becoming.
Pete’s relationship with sport began when he was young. He was involved in freestyle wrestling at the YMCA and was a keen footballer and rugby player in his youth. At 17, he discovered darts and quickly began competing at a very high level.
The pressure that came with it, however, built quickly.
Pete eventually moved to Tenerife, where he became involved in the nightclub scene.
“It can be a very toxic environment,” he says.
Over time, his lifestyle spiralled. Alcohol, drugs and gambling became part of his life, with addiction dominating for almost 20 years.
From the outside, his life may not have looked like that of somebody who was struggling.
He is a dad of 10, a grandad of three and has run his own business for more than 16 years. But, as Pete puts it;
Addiction doesn’t care what your life looks like from the outside.
In August 2022, Pete received a call from a Lancashire representative about once again getting involved with darts.
At the time, he was still struggling badly with addiction and his lifestyle desperately needed to improve.
In the November of that year, he went to see his GP.
“I didn’t know how to get out of that self-destructive lifestyle.”
His blood pressure was taken and the results were serious. Pete was diagnosed with stage-three hypertension and sent to hospital, where he underwent an ECG.
At just 40 years old, the experience was a major wake-up call.
Doctors told him that if he didn’t make significant changes, he might not make it through another year.
I realised the seriousness of the position I was in. And I was only 40 years old.
Pete, before he embarked on his fitness journey
He had tried gyms before. In fact, he had joined plenty of them.
“I’d go for a week or two here, a month or so there. I’d get disheartened and give up.”
This time, something was different.
Pete was put in touch with Active Lifestyles, where he began learning about exercise, weight management and how to approach his health in a sustainable way. For someone who describes himself as an ‘all or nothing’ person, learning that progress doesn’t always happen in a straight line was a huge boost.
He also credits a lot of his success to Worsley Leisure Centre itself.
It isn’t just a gym. It’s a community.
Pete admits that he felt anxious when he first started coming to the centre. But the difference here, he says, was the people.
“I’ve got to know so many people. It’s a very welcoming, community space.”
Over the past two years, Pete has built friendships with other members, including Stu, Dietmar, Tony, John and Leon. The conversations in the sauna and steam room have become an important part of his routine.
We talk about life. We talk rubbish. We have a laugh. Sometimes we talk about things that actually matter. Recovery can be lonely. You can be surrounded by people and still feel completely alone. Some of the people I’ve met here helped with that. They’ve become genuine friends.
Pete also speaks warmly about the reception team, who he says know members by name and take the time to notice people.
“They get to know you and know what you like.”
Pete now
A few months ago, Pete witnessed members of the Worsley team respond to an emergency in the pool and save someone’s life.
“Seeing that is powerful.”
He says the incident reminded him that the people working at the centre aren’t simply there to run the facility.
“They are looking after the lives of human beings.”
Exercise has gradually become a healthy outlet for Pete, replacing some of the destructive habits that once dominated his life.
The gym and the fitness routine gives me an outlet. A healthy outlet for the negativity and the stress. It’s almost become like a new drug for me.
He’s also pushed himself to try things he might once have avoided. One of the best examples of that is Float Fit.
When Pete first considered trying the class, he admits he was nervous. It was completely different from anything he’d done before, and the thought of walking into a class where he didn’t know what he was doing brought some of his anxiety to the surface.
“There was a bit of me thinking, ‘Am I going to look silly?’” he says.
But the atmosphere at Worsley helped. Pete says the encouragement he receives from staff, alongside the welcoming environment created by members, has given him the confidence to put those worries to one side and simply give things a go.
“Putting myself out there like that is something I wouldn’t have dreamed of doing before.”
And he loved it.
What started as something outside his comfort zone has now become part of his routine, with Pete regularly attending Float Fit classes. The achievement isn’t just that he discovered a new form of exercise. It’s that he was willing to walk into something unfamiliar, accept that he might not be perfect at it and enjoy himself anyway.
I’ve now lost about 3 stone, completely naturally. No shortcuts. No added extras. Just turning up, putting the work in, making better choices and doing it again the next day.
But Pete says the weight loss isn’t what he’s most proud of.
“I’m proud that I kept turning up. Monday to Friday. Two years. One day at a time.”
Pete’s journey hasn’t stopped with his own recovery.
When he first began speaking publicly about his own mental health struggles, following his release from prison in 2019, he was inundated with messages from other men who could relate to at least part of what he had experienced. That eventually led to the creation of a men’s mental health and wellbeing peer support group in February 2024.
The first session had around eight men. Now, more than 30 people regularly attend.
Some of the people Pete has met through attending Worsley Leisure Centre have also become involved, either attending the group or speaking and helping create connections within the community.
Pete is now also writing a book about his experiences.
For years, I was part of the problem. Now I want to be part of the solution.
His ambition is to continue talking openly about addiction, recovery and men’s mental health; in the hope he can help others understand that their past does not have to define their future.
Pete is keen to make one thing clear; joining a leisure centre didn’t magically change his life.
He did the work.
But Worsley gave him somewhere to do it.
It gave me routine. It gave me purpose. It gave me people. It gave me conversations. It gave me friendships.
His advice to anyone starting their own health and fitness journey is simple:
“Give it time. Give it a go. Don’t expect miracles. Don’t expect instant results.”
And on the days when he doesn’t feel like coming? He comes anyway, because he knows he’ll see people. He’ll have a chat. He’ll feel supported.
It’s a support network and a release. It’s so nice to know there are people here who care about you and who will support you on your journey.”
Pete knows he can’t change his past.
“I can’t erase 20 years of addiction and crime. I can’t change the things I’ve done or the consequences I’ve had to face.”
But he can decide what happens next.
“I’m choosing recovery. I’m choosing my family. I’m choosing my health. I’m choosing to turn up.”
He has spent years of his life losing things.
“Now I’m rebuilding.”
Worsley Leisure Centre has become an important part of that story.
His message to anyone who might be struggling is perhaps the most important part of this story:
You are not your worst mistake. Your past does not have to define your future.
Recovery takes real strength. But Pete has learned that you don’t necessarily have to find all that strength on your own. Sometimes, you just need to find someone and somewhere worth showing up for.
For Pete, that place is Worsley and the community he has built there.
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