“My clients depend on me to bring them motivation and happiness.”
An influencer in the UK has justified her recent trip to Dubai, saying it was “essential” for her “mental health” and to keep her followers happy.
Sheridan Mordew, a fitness influencer from Sunderland, told Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby on This Morning that she flew to the United Arab Emirates in early January in order to “motivate” her followers.
Mordew, who is still in Dubai, said that she travelled to the UAE earlier this month for work purposes.
“I came to Dubai purely for business,” she said. “I am a personal trainer, the gyms are closed and everything was in Tiers so I took my online business over to Dubai.”
Mordew later added that the primary reason for her journey was for her “mental health.” “The main reason was for my own self, mental health kind of thing,” she said. “During the second lockdown I was struggling to motivate myself.
“My clients depend on me to bring them motivation and happiness. My mental health was suffering, I thought I am not going to be able to start anything new sitting in the house.
“I had an idea but I thought, ‘I cannot be bothered’, and I thought the only way I am going to get out of this is to find the opportunity to get on a plane for essential travel.”
Schofield questioned why Mordew, who regularly posts fitness content from her home in Sunderland, felt the need to travel abroad.
“A lot of this fitness stuff could be in your garage in Bolton,” he said. “You don’t have to be in Dubai, but the glamour stuff you post elsewhere is you sitting in a bikini on a sun lounger enjoying the sunshine.
“We are all stuck in the house. Looking at things like this… it’s everyone’s nature to be the outrage brigade, you are enjoying something they can’t and that annoys them.”
“Other influencers work from home and haven’t stretched the rules as you have.”
Willoughby added that despite Mordew’s claims, she does not feel motived by her posts. “This doesn’t motivate me, it makes me feel utterly jealous,” she said.
This comes as many influencers have been receiving criticism for travelling during the pandemic. While most have cited work purposes for the reasons behind their travel, others have attempted to hide the fact that they are abroad by clumsily editing photographs and deleting time stamped screenshots.
Both the UK and Irish governments are currently advising against all travel unless for necessary reasons.
