VITRUVIAN EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY
News & Information
Vitruvian Exercise Physiology London:
meet Matt Butterworth AES AEP
Want to learn about the career pathways of ESSA members who are succeeding in their chosen field?
Our ‘meet a member’ series introduces you to remarkable members who have made significant contributions to exercise and sports science and are kicking personal and professional goals.
In this profile, get to know member Matt Butterworth AES AEP and his team at Vitruvian Exercise Physiology, London.
Why did you move to the UK?
Matt Butterworth, Director and Clinical Exercise Physiologist:
I came over originally to travel. Beyond that, there wasn’t much of a plan.
Isaac Donohoe, Clinical Exercise Physiologist:
To travel around Europe/UK, meet new people and experience living in a new city.
Georgia Devine, Clinical Exercise Physiologist:
I’ve always wanted to live overseas, and the UK visa process was relatively simple and easy for me as an Australian citizen. It’s also the perfect base to explore Europe.
Jeremy English, Clinical Exercise Physiologist:
To break the rut that I was in at home with the added attraction of living in a new city and being on Europe’s doorstep.
How did you get started practicing exercise physiology (EP) in the UK?
Matt: When I first came to London, EP was virtually unheard of. I’ve therefore spent and continue to spend a good amount of time making contacts, setting up meetings with GPs, surgeons, consultants, and introducing the business to explain what we do and how we can benefit their patients.
Isaac: I reached out to Matt, through a mutual contact and caught up for coffee when I arrived in London. From there I worked under Matt for my entire time in London.
Georgia: I found Vitruvian after quite an extensive search into EP over here in the UK. Being relatively unknown still, I was very grateful to have found a lead. I met with Matt a few days after landing in the UK and it seemed like a good fit. I have been working at Vitruvian for the 8 months I’ve been here and am loving it.
Jeremy: Prior to moving to London, I searched “Exercise Physiology London” into google and Vitruvian Exercise Physiology came up! I reached out to Matt and organised a coffee meet-up after I had settled. We had a couple other meet-ups to just talk shop in a relaxed setting and from there we both decided to start working together.
Describe your average day as an EP in London.
Matt: I see clients Mon – Fri with appointments being a mix of online, gym, and home visits. I check in regularly with the other Vitruvian team members. I seek out other medical and allied health professionals who I believe we fit well with for referrals. Although it sounds funny to me to say it, there is a managerial component to my working day, but I do try to give as much autonomy to the team as I can.
Isaac: I would see roughly 3-5 clients per day, consisting of home visits, gym sessions or telehealth from home. I would typically commute between home visits by either walking or riding, as most clients were in a similar area. I would work with a diverse range of clientele, with a nice combination of consistent new referrals and ongoing clients.
Georgia: I’m living a little way out of London (for now), so I usually get on a train about 7:30am to commute 3 days per week. I’ll try to pack my days in London with face-to-face appointments, both in the studio and at clients' homes, with some remote work sprinkled in. On a good day, I have about 5-6 appointments. To get between clients, I walk if time permits, which is a great way to see the area. On quieter days, to make the most of the travel, I will often stay after clients or make use of long gaps between clients to go sightseeing around London. I make use of the travel time home to complete any admin, note-taking or programming for the day, or get stuck into a good book.
Jeremy: I see client’s Mon-Fri, ranging between 1-5 sessions per day in the gym, online or in client's homes. I initially commuted via the tube as London is so big, however, I’ve recently started cycling to sessions and I much rather getting around that way now. We receive referrals from various medical professionals (GP, orthopaedic surgeons, oncology, neurology, rheumatology), which makes each case different and exciting.
What has been the biggest challenge for you relocating and finding work in the UK?
Matt: It was a challenge leaving Australia where EP is everywhere and then arriving in the UK where the awareness is far less. From a medical community and public awareness perspective, EP in the UK is where it was in Australia about 10-15 years ago.
The positive spin is that the challenge has also been the opportunity. There is a big empty space that we have stepped into. When I get the opportunity to sit down with a GP or a consultant and explain our role and our scope of practice, they mention that quite often they have patients who require help but physiotherapy isn’t quite the right referral, and they don’t want to refer to a personal trainer, but they don’t know where else to look. I then jump around in front of them waving my arms saying, ‘send them to us’. We currently receive referrals from GP clinics, orthopaedic surgeons, neurology, oncology, and rheumatology. What is also nice is that a fair number of those referring to us also see us and use our service for their own benefit.
Isaac: Most EP roles available in the UK are in hospital cardiac settings. Considering this wasn’t my preferred field of work, I felt there was limited opportunity to find work in my areas of interest. This is where Vitruvian presented the unique opportunity to work in an EP role across a range of pathology areas.
Georgia: I found the initial challenge was in finding appropriate work and knowing where to look when I was preparing for the move while in Australia. A few Brits in Australia that I knew had warned me that the EP world is still in its infancy, and as the team has mentioned, the only roles coming up were hospital-based, which I wanted to avoid. Since arriving and settling in, I still find it challenging explaining our role to people over here in the UK, in all settings, as it is not widely known or recognised.
Jeremy: My biggest challenge relocating has been adjusting to the London lifestyle. It’s very different to Sydney especially when I could previously nip over to the beach on my lunch breaks. As for finding work I wanted to further my career as an EP without venturing down the personal training route. There’s a big demand for PTs but only being one year into my career, I didn’t want to compromise on everything I’d learnt at university. The National Health Service (NHS) has a lot of demand for specialised physiologists, whether it’s cardiac or respiratory, but my interests are more around musculoskeletal, particularly osteoarthritis and osteoporosis.
What has been a highlight for you during your time in the UK?
Matt: All of the travelling. The countless bands I’ve seen. Ashes tests at Lord’s and the Oval. Wallabies vs England at Twickenham. Meeting people from all over the place. I’m proud of what the business has managed to achieve and the number of people we’ve been able to help.
Isaac: The ability to complete many short trips to Europe over long weekends and during weeks off. Switzerland, Norway and Madeira are big standouts.
Georgia: I’ve been able to find a great work-life balance, which has also enabled me to make the most of London’s prime location to explore all areas of the UK and Europe. The fact you can find yourself abroad within 30-60 minutes on a plane still blows my mind. Having an employer that understands and wants us to make the most of the opportunity we have been given has made both the travel and the work so much easier and more rewarding.
Jeremy: Being able to travel to a different country every other weekend. Spending a week driving around Malta as well as surfing in North Yorkshire have been some big highlights.
How does EP differ in the UK to Australia?
Matt: EP isn’t embedded within allied health here in the same way as it is in Australia. The opportunity to walk into an exercise physiology clinic, or even a multidisciplinary clinic, is far less. ESSA has done so much to push our profession in Australia. The Academy of Healthcare Sciences (AHCS) in the UK, working alongside the British Association of Sports & Exercise Sciences (BASES), is now following in those footsteps and have set up registration processes that look to ensure a standardised education and competency level for EPs. There are more and more universities offering Clinical Exercise Physiology undergrad and master's programs, and EP roles are starting to appear in private practice as well as in public institutions like the NHS. I am confident things will continue to progress, and more and more opportunities will present themselves.
Another significant difference is that unlike in Australia, patients/clients cannot claim EP services through their health insurance (with the exception of 2-3 international health insurers). This pretty much means all clients are private paying and this can somewhat impact the uptake of referrals received from the GPs and other medical professionals.
Isaac: There currently isn’t as much awareness and recognition around the work of EP’s in the UK, compared to Aus. Whilst this presents its challenges, it also opens a unique opportunity for EP’s in the UK – as there is growing demand but limited practicing EP’s currently.
Georgia: The awareness for EP both in professional and medical settings and among the general public is very limited compared with Australia. We are making slow progress with BASES and AHCS, the ESSA equivalents in the UK, as Matt mentioned (and has done a great deal to move forward), and hope to start the process of becoming embedded in the allied health system, private health sector and the NHS, but there’s a way to go. Thankfully, we have good relationships with several GP clinics and an array of specialists, as well as word of mouth providing steady referral streams.
Jeremy: At this point in time exercise physiology isn’t as well established in the UK as it is in Australia. I see all my patients privately, which is a very small percentage of the healthcare pie, especially in the UK. There does however seem to be a gradual shift more so now for greater recognition from AHCS as well from BASES to certify EPs whilst bringing more awareness to GPs and specialists.
What advice do you have for other members considering a move to the UK?
Matt: Do it! There are so many excellent experiences at the other end. Regarding work, make contact with potential employers prior to moving. Look into Clinical Exercise Physiology registration through the AHCS. Get your professional liability insurance sorted (we use Towergate insurance). Be prepared to not walk straight into a full-time EP role, such as the one you are likely leaving in Australia. Embrace that things are different here, that’s kind of the point!
Isaac: Reach out to Matt from Vitruvian, best decision I made when heading over. I also recommend having some savings behind you, to take off any financial pressure when looking for work initially.
Georgia: Bite the bullet! Despite being an intimidating move, and a somewhat difficult one professionally, there is support over here if you know where to look. Vitruvian is an excellent place to start, and if the fit isn’t right, we and Matt can help provide advice on other pathways. I would start the process of registration with AHCS as soon as possible and become a member of BASES to stay up to date with the happenings in the EP world over here. Then the last and most important thing to do is jump on the plane and prepare for an amazing experience.
Jeremy: Make sure you’ve got a bit of dough saved up before coming over! The exchange rate doesn’t do us any favours. I’d also scope out where you’d want to potentially live. London is a big city and picking the right area could be the difference from 60min to 30min commute. Finally, reach out to as many employers or even employees from certain companies you’re interested in. When I reached out to Matt he was really generous with his time and has been super supportive of my transition into life in London.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Matt: Although this article is focusing on ESSA accredited Aussie EPs, we do have an English EP within Vitruvian. Maisie Boast has been an important part of the team for 2.5 years and has put up with being surrounded by Australian accents! Georgia and Jeremy are still relatively new to the UK so have had to navigate that challenge while showing patience as we build their lists within Vitruvian. Anyone who ups sticks and moves hemispheres shows a willingness to be flexible and adapt. This is something that will serve you well upon arriving.
Thank you to Isaac who is now back in Australia. He really quickly understood the playing field here and how things were different and always cracked on with extra bits to help me and the business without needing to be asked. If I may I’d also like to say thanks to another Aussie EP who worked with me here during Covid - Annabelle Johnstone-Dougall. Annabelle’s proactivity and positivity were a big part of us navigating all the unknowns and challenges at that time.
Isaac: Working at Vitruvian allowed me a great balance of developing professionally, whilst having the freedom to set my own schedule for plenty of travel. Matt was a great mentor for both clinical and business skills.
Georgia: I have to second what Isaac has said. The work-life balance was something that was very important for me upon moving to the UK, and I’m grateful to have found Vitruvian, which provides the perfect space for this. Matt has been excellent, both for professional mentorship, as well as always having excellent recommendations for travel. So far, the move to the UK has been something I’m very proud to have been able to navigate and is shaping up to be exactly what I wanted.
Jeremy: My current work-life balance is really manageable, and I really enjoy being able to take control of that. London is much bigger than Sydney, which I believe leads to greater opportunities. So, if you’re thinking about moving over, my advice would be to take the plunge!
Click here to read the ESSA article:
https://www.essa.org.au/Web/Web/Resources/Articles/2025/meet-a-member-vitruvian.aspx
The Vitruvian Team.