How I pack... as James Bond’s trainer

The 60th anniversary of the 007 movies is upon us, and we’d like to know how James Bond stays in such great shape. We hand the mic over to Daniel Craig’s personal trainer, Simon Waterson, who takes us on a tour of his VIP suitcase

Need for speed

I only ever travel with hand luggage now (I'm a bit obsessed with the Away case), especially when travelling with large film crews, because you just can’t afford to slow anyone down. Plus, most of the time, the actors and high-profile people who I’m travelling with have had all their stuff already sent to their final destination or hotel ahead of time, so they really don’t want to be hanging around. I learned this the hard way at the start – finding out that I was the only person out of a very large crew with anything in the hold.

The fit kit

Easy-to-pack fitness equipment is my saving grace. I always have emergency kit in my hand luggage – maybe a skipping rope, a set of resistance bands and a set of press handles. That would be my go to. I use Perfect Pushup handles, which are especially nice. The bands would probably be from TRX. This little fitness kit is enough for a basic leg and upper-body strength workout.

Staying fresh

I pack a wash bag with a good moisturiser and a good cleanser. I’m also a bit obsessive when it comes to my teeth, so I'll bring Crest whitening strips with me – it’s part of the package of being ‘the fitness person’ you know? So much hinges on your own image and looking fresh. I always like to smell nice, so if I can get a fragrance in there, I will, and I’ll usually have something or other for my hair.

On the move

It’s a different scenario for every personality you work with, but a lot of the time an actor will want to work out as soon as we arrive. So it’s all about being prepared. I need to be able to literally get changed in the car. This means packing trainers (the Adidas Ultra Boost would be my go-to pair), a pair of shorts and a fresh T-shirt to be able to get straight to work, often without even checking in first.

Book worm

On any given flight you can usually catch me reading some kind of sportsperson biography or memoir. The Eddie Jones I read recently was very interesting. I also read Roger Federer’s one, since the guy who wrote that book was also due to help me write mine, Intelligent Fitness, so I wanted to check out his style. I’ll also watch movies – especially action movies since I tend to work most on those kinds of films!

Last-minute buys

I always end up buying something I don’t need at the airport – always. It’ll be an extra travel plug, but one that’s got a funky nightlight on it as well. And I’m all caught up in how exciting this very unexciting thing is. Or I’ll buy a cologne at Duty Free or buy a T-shirt I don’t need. It’ll all get squeezed into my Away case – I have a couple of them. They’re really, really good cases and have a charging port so you can charge on the move.