Becoming an MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service work.
His workouts raised £580,000 (€640,000) for the NHS.
The 35-year-old is among those named in the Queen’s Birthday Honours and has been made an MBE for helping children keep active and mentally fit with his online PE lessons, which began during lockdown, and for his charity efforts.
He wrote on Instagram: “You dress up like a plonker and bounce around your living room like a kangaroo and your given an MBE 🤣 Can’t quite believe it really 🙈Thank you to everyone who took park in #pewithjoe and made this such a special moment in my life. It’s my proudest achievement and I feel honoured to have been given an MBE. Thank you 😀.
“Also big shout out to my brother @nikkiwicks & wonderful wife Rosie for being there with me everyday through the lockdown workouts ❤️ Couldn’t have done it without your support.”
Wicks this year claimed a Guinness World Record after one of his online fitness classes was watched by nearly a million people.
He also described his MBE as “incredible”, telling the PA news agency: “I’m so proud that I’ve done something which helps so many people.”
The father-of-two added: “My childhood and how I grew up, if you met me as a little boy you’d have thought, he’s not going to go anywhere, he’s not going to do anything great.
“But I’ve turned it around and I really am proud I’ve become this person who’s helping people.”
Wicks has previously told how he got into exercise and fitness because of his father’s addiction to heroin, a man who was “in and out of my life”.
Congratulations to @thebodycoach! 🙌
955,185 viewers tuned in to watch #PEwithJoe on 24th March, setting a new record for 'Most viewers for a fitness workout live stream on YouTube'!
Here's @craigglenday presenting Joe with his second Guinness World Records certificate! 💪 pic.twitter.com/kl0ejeOc4W— Guinness World Records (@GWR) April 14, 2020
He said: “I’m so determined to keep the conversation going around mental health and exercise and bringing your children into that environment where you exercise together.”
His children, Indie and Marley, and wife Rosie, also appeared in his hugely popular workouts.
Wicks, who is also known for his espousal of healthy eating and his recipes, said that when PE With Joe finished “I had a really low point.
“I really felt quite flat.
“I had so much purpose and had this structured thing in my life that I was doing every day. I really loved it and loved being there for people.
“So when that finished I felt like, ‘What am I doing?’ I felt a bit confused, a bit lost.
“I want to get back on YouTube and keep doing the workouts, do some more live workouts as well.”
He said of his workouts: “I would have been there if there was one person or a million people.
“I loved it, when it finished I really did miss it. If you want me back, let me know.
“And if we go into another (national) lockdown I promise you I’ll be there every morning at 9am.”
Actress and presenter Lisa Faulkner was among the people congratulating Wicks on his achievement, commenting on his Instagram post: “Huge congratulations and so well deserved. Best thing to happen in lockdown.”
