The very first guest on the Love Your Career podcast is someone who needs little introduction to anyone who knows Love Recruitment, our Director and co-founder, Abhishek Lakhina. Over a conversation that covered his career journey, his biggest influences and his most honest reflections, Abhi delivered some genuinely powerful advice for anyone navigating a career in the fitness and leisure industry.

Where It All Started

Abhi's career is a reminder that paths are rarely straight. Beginning as a sports journalist in India, his first UK role was in membership sales at Virgin Active, a job he admitted he secured in part by telling the interviewer he lived nearby, when he'd actually travelled down from Leeds for it. It's a story that raises a smile, but it also illustrates something important: sometimes you have to back yourself, even when the odds aren't in your favour.

From membership sales, Abhi progressed into sales management, crossed paths with Lawrence, and eventually the two co-founded Love Recruitment together,  starting, as Abhi puts it, from "Lawrence's mother-in-law's spare bedroom." Our startup is now one of the most respected names in fitness and leisure recruitment in the UK.

The Advice That Matters Most

Asked for his single best career tip, Abhi's answer was clear: know where you want to go.

"Have clear goals in terms of where you want to actually end up. Your habits, your direction, your learnings, everything constantly has to evolve on the basis of that."

It sounds simple, but it's a principle that underpins everything. Without a destination, it's impossible to know which skills to build, which roles to pursue, or which feedback to act on. Abhi's own career has been shaped by a focus on people and sales and every step, from Virgin Active to Love Recruitment, has moved in that direction.

His second piece of advice is equally important: surround yourself with people who give you honest feedback, and never stop listening to them.

Feedback: The Uncomfortable Gift

This was one of the most candid parts of the conversation. Abhi was refreshingly honest about the fact that taking feedback didn't come naturally to him. Early in his career, criticism felt personal. The emotional reaction was real and it could take a week or two to settle before he could reflect rationally on what had been said.

What's changed over time isn't the discomfort. It's the processing time. What once took weeks now takes hours.

"Most of the success I've had, most of the changes I've had, has been based on someone giving me uncomfortable feedback."

For anyone in the fitness and leisure industry, whether you're a gym manager, a personal trainer, an ops director or just starting out, this is worth sitting with. The people who push you, who tell you what you need to hear rather than what you want to hear, are the ones worth keeping close.

The People Who Shaped Him

Abhi named three key influences: Gareth Lewis, who took a chance on him at Virgin Active with no experience; Neil Randall, the GM who first gave him truly honest feedback as a sales manager; and Lawrence, whose belief in him, and direct guidance on how to get there, helped shape who he is today.

What's striking about all three is the common thread: they backed him, challenged him, and told him the truth. That combination, belief plus honesty, is what real mentorship looks like.

And his ultimate role model? His father. A scientist who has worked with NASA, but more importantly, a man who has lived his entire life with such integrity that, as Abhi puts it, "you could publish it in a newspaper tomorrow and there'd be nothing to hide." That standard of character making every decision with dignity, is something Abhi clearly carries with him.

On Failure: Embrace It, and Do It Quickly

If there's one theme that ran through the entire conversation, it's the power of failure. Abhi was unambiguous: failure isn't something to fear, it's something to seek out.

"Fail as quick as possible and learn from it. You should actually look forward to failing because a lot of what we do, we're doing for the first time."

He even keeps a monthly list of his top five failures. Not as a form of self-punishment, but as a discipline. A reminder that growth comes from honest reflection, not from pretending things always go to plan.

For businesses in the fitness sector, this is just as relevant as it is for individuals. The best processes, the best teams, the best ways of working, they've almost always been built on what didn't work first.

Interview Tips: For Candidates and Clients

Abhi's advice for candidates was simple but important: want it. Genuinely wanting a role changes your behaviour. You do the research, you prepare properly, you show up fully. Even if you've had twenty interviews, treat this one like your first.

For clients, his message was equally direct: be present. Too many hiring decisions are made by people who are mentally elsewhere, carrying the weight of previous bad hires, or going through the motions of a process they've done a hundred times. That next hire matters. Go in with a clear mind and judge the interview for what it is.

He also made the point that in today's market, the recruitment process itself is a competitive advantage. Candidates have choices. If your process is slow, unclear or impersonal, the best people will simply go elsewhere.

The One Thing to Take Away

Lawrence asked Abhi to name the single most important takeaway from the conversation. His answer came back to failure.

"In a society, the word failing is considered super negative. But in business, in a career, it is absolutely vital. Embrace it. Don't be afraid of it."

That's the message from episode one. Failure isn't the opposite of success. In most cases, it's the path to it.

The Love Your Career podcast is brought to you by Love Recruitment — helping fitness and leisure professionals find roles they love, and helping businesses find the people who will make the difference.

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/love-your-career/id1651400104?i=1000583817099