#36. Gareth Williams. Belonging before performance.

Andrew chats with Gareth Williams, a primary school PE teacher on the Kent coast who’s built Play Folke, a weekly “playground games for adults” session designed for people who do not feel at home in gyms, bootcamps, or traditional sport.Gareth’s story starts in the familiar place of someone who lived inside sport. He trained full-time for a year at Crystal Palace, played semi-professional football for a decade, then tried hard not to become “the tracksuit coach” before eventually leaning into what he was good at. A headteacher nudged him towards teacher training, and after qualifying as a primary teacher, Gareth began to notice something that changed his approach. The kids who loved PE would always be fine. The ones who felt awkward, judged, or left behind were the ones who needed PE to work.During COVID, Gareth found a different style of PE through teachers and resources that emphasised inclusion, simplicity, and play. He describes a shift away from sport-heavy, match-based lessons towards activities that “let it breathe”, giving children freedom to explore, adapt, and find success without being singled out. That same insight became the seed for Play Folke: if these games create confidence and joy for kids, why would they not work for adults who have carried a negative relationship with movement since school?Play Folke began with three people, two of whom Gareth already knew. One new person turning up, and enjoying it, was the difference between stopping and continuing. Since then, Gareth has learned the slow reality of building community, the mismatch between online interest and in-person attendance, and the value of keeping sessions loose, social, and low-pressure. This episode is a look at what many movement spaces miss: belonging, permission, and play as a genuine route back to physical capability.Links for more about Play Folke:SubstackInstagramFacebookGareth on LinkedIn