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From reluctantly embracing Jersey embrace as a teen moving from Bolton to conquering the flying trapeze, firefighting, and Ninja Warrior challenges, Hayley Wray has soared through unconventional paths on the route to setting up her own business...
She may be flying high now but when a teenage Hayley Wray was “uprooted” from her Bolton home when her mother was offered the position of Head of Maths at Grainville School, she admits to having felt very low.
"I left the UK kicking and screaming," the aerialist and personal trainer recalled with a wry smile.
And her introduction to Jersey was not improved when, after a year at Les Quennevais School, her mother suggested that she transfer to Hautlieu.
Pictured: Despite studying psychology, Hayley became a personal trainer, firefighter, and aerial performer.
"I had already been uprooted from the UK at a time when it was really difficult to leave all my friends and, having just settled into a new school, mum decided that I should change again," she said.
"Although I resisted the move at the time, as soon as I got to Hautlieu, I realised that, actually, mum did know best."
It was while studying for her A-levels that the founder of Aerialantics decided to read criminological and forensic psychology at Manchester University, a course which she admits "is far removed" from the career path she has followed.
"When I was doing my A-levels, psychology felt really cool and grown up and it was on the back of that feeling that I committed to a three-year course in the subject," she explained.
"Although my career then took me from personal training and the circus to firefighting and aerial performing, I have used certain skills – such as setting up questionnaires to obtain qualitative data – that I learnt from my degree."
But while studying psychology made her feel "grown up", when she graduated from university, Hayley realised that she was not fully ready to enter the adult world.
"I didn't want to grow up again," she laughed, "and, having always been heavily into fitness, I decided to study for a diploma to become a personal trainer."
And it was her background in gymnastics, trampolining, snow sports, hockey and netball which, in a roundabout way, introduced her to the world of aerial performance.
"After obtaining my personal-trainer diploma, I went to America and got a job at French Woods Festival of Performing Arts, one of the most prestigious performing and visual arts camps in the country," Hayley said.
"The pop group Maroon 5 was formed there and many of the children who attend the camps go on to have successful careers on Broadway or with Disney.
"It's a very intense but hugely enjoyable experience. A lot of the youngsters come for three-week sessions and, at the end of the camp, they put on full-scale productions of musicals such as Beauty and the Beast or The Little Shop of Horrors."
Pictured: Hayley started her business, Aerialantics, in Jersey, offering performances and teaching.
While some of the children major in dance or music, some choose circus, and some of those budding performers will have learnt some of their skills from Hayley.
"After my first stint there, I went to a recruitment fair where representatives from across the camp were sourcing staff for the next session," she explained.
"I remember there was a huge demand for lifeguards but I was a personal trainer with a background in gymnastics, dance and trampolining. At stand after stand, the people I spoke to turned me down, saying they were looking for lifeguards, not personal trainers.
"I was just about to leave when I spotted a screen showing a flying trapeze. I went to that stand, put my certificates on the table and asked the representative whether she had any positions available.
"She said: 'Sit down, watch the video and tell me what you think.' I had never done any aerial work but my skills were transferrable and I was excited, albeit daunted, by the chance to try something new."
Despite "screaming" the first time she went onto the trapeze, it was a discipline which quickly captured Hayley's heart.
"It was absolutely wild," she said. "We taught the children so much. They all thought we were goddesses but, even at the time, I was laughing to myself, thinking I only learnt the things I'm teaching you last week."
Following two years split between America and Jersey, Hayley spent a year in the children's entertainment department on Disney Cruise Line before beginning to think about a longer-term career.
"While I was trying to decide what to do with myself, I almost joined the Army," she said. "I passed the officer selection test at Westbury but between passing the test and joining up, I got a job as a retained firefighter in Jersey and decided that, perhaps, that was a better option than going away and being shot at."
Having decided to settle in the Island, Hayley was enjoying life as a firefighter and personal trainer when she competed in two series of ITV show Ninja Warrior UK.
Pictured: Hayley competed in two series of ITV show Ninja Warrior UK.
"I took part in series three and four of the show, where I met an array of super-human athletes, all of whom inspired me to become more," she reflected. "It was great fun but so hard. My grip strength from my aerial helped me – and I got to the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively – but performing in front of a large audience for a national TV channel was terrifying."
Despite those nerves, performing is in Hayley's blood and, while happy in her professional life, she didn't feel completely fulfilled.
"I was missing the performing side and, in particular, aerial, so I contacted my friends from my time in the circus and picked their brains about everything from insurance to equipment to see how I could set up my own business in Jersey," she said.
Having become a member of London Equity – which covers the insurance not just for the aerial work but also for her role as a firebreather and spinner – Hayley contacted some local metalworkers who made the hoops she needed to get her new business off the ground.
"Not long after that, I started dating Adam, who I married two years ago," she said. "He is a welder and has made me all sorts of hoops, trapeze equipment and fun stuff to expand my collection."
But while she enjoys performing at a number of corporate events, weddings and celebrations, it is from teaching that Hayley derives the greatest pleasure.
"I qualified as a teacher during my time with the Ports of Jersey fire service and that qualification, combined with my experiences from America, the cruise ships and working in a male-dominated environment, was incredibly valuable when launching Aerialantics," she said.
"The key lesson I've learnt as a teacher is that while you want to treat everyone equally, treating everyone the same is impossible because each person is different. Therefore, you have to find a style to which each person responds."
Pictured: Haley White Collar Aerial event to empower people, which raised over £1,000 each for Dementia Jersey and Macmillan Cancer Support Jersey.
Having taught regularly from her base at St John's Recreation Centre for many years, Hayley was suddenly inspired to take her teaching to another level after seeing a White Collar Boxing event.
"I thought that was a great idea – but I didn't want to get punched in the face," she chuckled.
"Then I saw programmes like Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing On Ice, which are great but are only for celebrities. And I thought why not combine the formats and have a White Collar Aerial event for regular members of the community."
Thus inspired, Hayley deployed the data-gathering skills learnt on her degree to draw up an application questionnaire, from which she and a panel selected ten participants.
"It was one of the most stressful, but rewarding, things I've ever done in my life," she admitted.
"I worked for 16 weeks with these ten people who had never even lifted their feet off the floor before. Taking them from absolutely zero experience to performing a four-minute solo routine in front of 500 people was incredible.
"But, while learning the splits and how to hang upside down on hoops was challenging, the hardest thing for all of them was being in front of an audience. Performance day was so stressful. There were two girls who I was convinced were going to run away before the show, so mum and I were secretly watching their every move while also co-ordinating a dress run, technical run and overseeing everyone's hair and make-up."
But, as Hayley stood in the background, "screaming and shouting" at each performer, the stress disappeared.
"I had tears in my eyes, just thinking about their incredible achievements," she said.
"It sounds really clichéd, but it was a huge accomplishment to see how far they had come and how good they were. At the after party at my house, I said to them: 'You've sucked my soul clean out of my body but I would do it again in a heartbeat.' It was so much fun. And it was also brilliant to be able to rase just over £1,000 each for Dementia Jersey and Macmillan Cancer Support Jersey."
And having said during the post-show euphoria that she would "do it all again", that is exactly what Hayley is doing now.
"The group from last year has selected ten new candidates for this year's show, which will take place at the Arts Centre on 14 April," she explained. "That new group is now midway through its training session, and we have a fantastic range of abilities who are committed not just to the performance but also to raising money for this year's charities, Mind Jersey and Healing Waves."
As well as undertaking two training sessions a week, each participant has to complete a range of exercises at home before taking part in one-to-one "polishing lessons" as show time approaches.
"The key thing for me is that it's not about being better than the next person in the group but about beating yourself," said Hayley. "I don't ask people to do anything outside their ability but I do want to raise that bar and increase their ability. The fitter they become, the more they can achieve and the more flexible they become.
"And that's the great thing about White Collar Aerial. This isn't a challenge which 'normal' people take on. The girls doing this are doing it because they have something to prove, either to themselves or to someone else, or because they want a distraction from something which is going in their lives.
Pictured: Hayley encourages others to try something new through Aerialantics and White Collar Aerial.
Because of this – and because of the workload which Hayley discovered came with staging such an event – she has recruited a life coach and mentor to support both her and the performers.
"Nadia is incredible," she said. "She is there to help each participant to focus on what they are doing and to provide any extra support they might need. This is an event which is hugely empowering and, together, we can help people to achieve whatever they want to.
"When people first come to a class, whether it's for White Collar Aerial or just one of the regular sessions – which are open to everyone – they watch me do something and think: 'I couldn't do that.' But if you think back to when you were born, you couldn't walk or talk. Everything you have learnt in life, you were unable to do at some point, so, if you want to learn aerial, come and I'll teach you how to do it.
"And that's the biggest lesson I want people to take away. You don't have to try aerial but it's good to try something new. And if you're thinking about trying something new, what's stopping you? Ask yourself that question. If there's a legitimate answer, how can you overcome it? And if there's no real answer, go out there and do it."
This article first appeared in the March edition of Connect Magazine, which you can read in full below.
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