Body
Strength, aerobic fitness, mobility, stability and body composition. Physical capacity for life, not fitness for its own sake.
Private health and performance coaching
Knowing isn't the problem.
Changing is.
The problem is rarely the part you are trying to fix. It is the system surrounding it.
Private, practical work for capable people who know something needs to change. In person at Holly Tree House or online.
Holly Tree House · Symonds YatAvailable online
FINCA Health
Become the person your potential requires.
Your health, habits or direction may no longer support what you want from the years ahead. FINCA brings your body, mind and life into better alignment, so you can meet what comes next with greater energy, clarity and capacity.
Start with a conversationComplimentary · 30 minutes
Start with one questionPrivate coaching · £90
Start the programmeFINCA Six · £500
Choose how to beginSomething needs to change
You already know what you should do.
Exercise more. Eat better. Sleep properly. Put the phone down. Have the conversation. Leave the job. Begin the work.
Knowing isn't the problem. Changing is.
Sometimes the problem is obvious. Sometimes it is harder to name. Either way, meaningful change rarely stays confined to one part of a life.
“I was physically and emotionally overwhelmed and wanted to remember who I was. My sessions with Oli have transformed my outlook, my physique and my diet, but most importantly, my relationship with myself.”
Jane B · 42
The FINCA Six
Think. Train.
Test. Adjust.
Six sessions to understand what needs to change and begin changing the system surrounding it.
Private work combining coaching, physical training, measurable progress and practical experimentation. We make recurring patterns visible, decide what matters and turn insight into action.
Work in person at Holly Tree House or online, with the physical and practical elements adapted to your circumstances.
The FINCA Health Model
Eight conditions.
One interconnected life.
The eight conditions help us understand the whole picture. We begin where change will create the greatest leverage rather than treating one symptom in isolation.
Energy
Sleep, circadian rhythm, nutrition and recovery. Routines that support clearer thinking and sustained effort.
Mind
Attention, emotion, beliefs and automatic responses. Greater awareness creates greater freedom and choice.
Direction
Values, identity, story and meaningful goals. Clarity helps decide which effort is worth sustaining.
Work
Responsibility, contribution, security, workload and decision burden. Work should use your strengths without consuming the rest of you.
Relationships
Intimacy, family, friendship, trust and belonging. Relationships influence stress, recovery and the ability to act honestly.
Environment
Home, workplace, nature, technology and daily surroundings. Better cues make useful actions easier to repeat.
Challenge
Adventure, learning, play and chosen difficulty. The right challenge develops confidence, skill and adaptability.
The FINCA Method
The 5Ds turn understanding into action.
The model shows us what is connected. The method gives the work its structure.
Direction
Define what matters and where change needs to lead.
Diagnosis
See the patterns, pressures and conditions shaping your current position.
Design
Build a practical response around your real life.
Discipline
Practise consistently, measure honestly and adjust.
Development
Turn useful change into lasting capacity.
Story of capacity
01Direction changes what becomes possible.
Hubert Haciski · Hamburg
“Working with Oliver was a turning point in my life. He didn’t give me something I didn’t have; he helped me unlock what was already there.”
Hubert came to FINCA while working as a yacht chef and uncertain about his direction. We began with his fitness, habits and the way he was organising his life. As his physical capacity and confidence grew, so did his willingness to make larger decisions. Two years later, he opened SHIO in Hamburg.
Why I created FINCA
One person looking at the whole person.
Oliver McDermid-SmithFounder of FINCA
Private coaching in Symonds Yat and online.
FINCA began with a question I first asked as a child: why do we look for one problem when a life has many connected parts?
I grew up seeing how health, environment, relationships, habits, pain and hope can shape one another. It made me resist simple answers to complex human problems.
Years later, I found myself asking how I had arrived at a life that no longer felt like mine. Nobody was coming to rescue me. I began taking responsibility—not blame, but the ability to respond—and asking different questions about health, work, relationships and direction.
For the past ten years, I have helped other people do the same: see the whole picture, build their capacity and make changes they can sustain.That is why FINCA exists.
Experience and scopeTen years supporting people with health, habits and direction.Active IQ Level 3 qualified in Fitness Instructing and Personal Training.FINCA coaching complements—not replaces—medical or mental-health care.
Holly Tree House
A private place to step outside ordinary life.
Holly Tree House sits above the River Wye in Symonds Yat, surrounded by woodland, paths and open water.
It gives in-person coaching privacy, space and a different pace. Sessions can move between conversation, physical work and the landscape. Where appropriate and requested, FINCA clients may use the cold plunge and hot tub independently.
Above the River WyePrivate one-to-one settingSpace to think, train and reset
Explore Holly Tree HouseFINCA Partnerships · For the indispensable
Build the capacity behind the organisation.
Your strategy can only go as far as your people can carry it.
A year-long health and human-performance partnership for founders and senior leaders carrying serious responsibility. We work on the decision-makers, not the decisions.
A partnership, not an intervention. The work combines private coaching, focused stays at Holly Tree House, practical support and agreed sponsor reviews.
“My weekly sessions with Oli have made a marked difference to my leadership, mental health and ability to manage stress. Both my professional and social life have become more meaningful and focused.”
C. Clarke · 35
Discuss a FINCA PartnershipThe effect of greater capacity
“This year has been a record year, and that is due in no small part to Oliver Smith.”
B. Frost · 58
Begin privately
Choose how to begin.
Start with a complimentary conversation, one focused session or the complete FINCA Six.
30 minutes to understand what needs to change and decide whether FINCA is the right support.
One private hour for a specific question, decision or point of change.
Six weekly one-hour sessions, in person or online.
What happens next
Booksy confirms your appointment by email. Before the session, you will receive the practical details for meeting at Holly Tree House or joining online. No special preparation is needed for a FINCA Conversation.
FINCA does not diagnose or treat medical or mental-health conditions. Where specialist care is needed, we will recommend appropriate professional support.
Based in Symonds Yat and available online
Become equal to what life asks of you.
Build your capacity to respond to life with greater strength, clarity and choice.
Begin with a conversation