The Square Boxing Club - For A Fitter London!
London, England, United Kingdom
Aim: We need your help to provide boxing training to less advantaged people in the local community and support the development of our studio.
What’s the aim?
We're very excited to finally open our own boxing gym in Fulham and need your help to raise just over £26k. This will enable us to provide training for less advantaged adults and children in the local community and recoup some of our start up costs. In return for your support, we have some great rewards!
As well as grow our boxing business, we want to offer our training to people most in need - by working with local support organisations, schools and community groups, we can encourage more people to get active and build healthier, happier lives.
We have just scheduled our first training session for a local community group in West Kensington - more info on this below!
What's the deal?
In return for your support to help us achieve our goals, we’re offering lots of great rewards at lower prices, all exclusive to this campaign. No need for wait for this campaign to end to cash in your reward - just message us to book or arrange for delivery/collection.
As well as the rewards highlighted below, check out our full list in the rewards section of this page. Feel free to pledge more than the stated amount if you can :)
Choose your own rewards
If you don't see a reward you would like, please message us and tell us what you're after. Perhaps you're after a different combination of rewards or have other ideas. Whatever it might be, we're open to suggestions so please get in touch.
All support is very much appreciated - if you are unable to pledge but would like to help, please share this page with anyone you think might be interested and on your social channels.
Why are we doing this?
Our training has had a positive impact on so many lives over the years, improving fitness and mental health, self-worth and confidence for lots of people.
It takes a lot to step out of your comfort zone, but the rewards are amazing and we have so much respect for everyone that has achieved their goals with us. We are finally in a position to offer more people, those that need it most, the same opportunity to benefit.
From amateur boxers to people who had never exercised before, we’re inspired by their stories everyday and we are proud of the 5* reviews we have achieved:
Read more of our reviews on Google
Our first community training!
With the help of Works4u, part of The HFVC Group (Hammersmith & Fulham Volunteer Centre), we're excited to be providing our first free training for children living on the West Kensington, Gibbs Green, Bayonne and Field Road estates. The first training session of a six week course started on 20th February (a few snaps from the session below).
We're partnering with the Community Champions project to deliver a course of six training sessions. Their programme brings local people and services together to help improve health and well-being and reduce inequalities by offering such activities. Supporting families on low income, they also aim to build awareness of the benefits of active living.
"As a project whose main aim is to address health inequalities, we are super excited to partner with ‘The Square Boxing Club’ who will provide boxing skills to local underprivileged children. This is an amazing opportunity for them to have fun and get fit whilst learning confidence, discipline and the art of patience which are skills they can take forward in life." Community Champions Project Manager
With your help, hopefully this is the first of many community sessions. We'll add an update on how the kids get on to this page, so keep your eyes peeled!
What’s the impact?
In alignment with our ambition to grow our boxing business, we're passionate about bringing the benefits of sport and physical activity to more people that wouldn't normally have access to quality training, both children and adults - to help reduce the inequalities in sport and exercise that persist today.
We will ring-fence time each week to our deliver free training through partnerships with local community groups, charities and schools. More than improving fitness, we've seen how much exercise, being part of a positive community and learning a new skill can inspire and boost a person's spirit.
If you know any organisations, schools or groups that might be interested, or even businesses keen to work with us, please get in touch.
What’s the point?
Active living not only makes a huge difference to a person’s happiness, health and mental well-being, but being part of a sporting community also helps to breakdown social exclusion and encourage integration. By helping a few more Londoners get active, we can do our bit to help tackle the social and economic issues affecting London.
Inactive people have a 45% greater risk of developing anxiety or depression. A more active and healthy way of life can boost self-esteem, confidence and mental well-being. Not to mention the billions it could save the NHS when it comes to treating illnesses related to inactive living.
Inequalities are also growing – the most deprived children at primary schools are more than twice as likely to be obese as the least deprived children. It doesn't end there...
Let's buck the trend
People in the UK are around 20% less active now than in the 1960s. If current trends continue, we will be 35% less active by 2030.
Access to training and a positive community can go a long way to improve the lives and prospects for those most vulnerable, especially children and young adults tempted by more negative paths. With your support, we can help motivate healthier choices and create brighter futures.
Sport England defines an ‘inactive’ person as someone who does less than 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week. So it only takes a small amount of activity to make a big difference.
Our new boxing studio
Feel free to pop by and see us. Our basement studio is at 345 North End Road in Fulham (map) inside 'Shopping Palace'.
We've worked hard to create a well equipped and comfortable studio, transforming it in to a functional and fun boxing training space. A portion of our funding target will go towards recouping the refurbishment and equipment costs, without which we wouldn't be able to invite communities in for our training.
From this...
To The Square Boxing Club...
Allocation of funds
We are aiming to raise £26,180 to enable us to deliver free training for the community (based on approx 4 hours of training per week over a year, covering approximately 30% of the cost to us) plus additional equipment such as boxing gloves.
The target fund also includes the cost of refurbishment and equipment needed to create a fit for purpose training space, that we hope to recoup . Plus a small amount for marketing to help to raise awareness of the free training, it's results and benefits to the community.
Finally, the cost to become and meet the criteria for England Boxing, the governing body of amateur boxing clubs in England. This will open up additional support and funding opportunities.
About our club
Founded in 2015 by amateur boxer Martin Dimitrov, who has over 100 amateur bouts and international title wins. We offer a range of fitness and boxing training services including group technique and HIIT classes, ABA and white collar coaching and personal training. All levels are welcome and our experienced founder and coach is DBS checked with Amateur Boxing training qualification, not to mention the numerous international boxing titles under his belt.
We’re a boxing studio for anyone that wants to train to the highest level, including non-boxers of any shape or size looking for an inspiring and challenging road to greater fitness. Our approach to training has established us as a club known for its no-nonsense, focused and determined approach. More than just a means to fitness, many people who train with us find a greater sense of well-being across other areas of their lives.
For 7 years, Martin was Head Coach of Kings College London Amateur Boxing Club, teaching students how to box and learn essential life skills along the way.
Joined by Charlotte Cumming a few years ago, to help find a space and grow the business with her marketing and communications background, plus passion for fitness and boxing!
Martin's experience coaching KCL has contributed to our ambitions to help more people benefit from boxing and we're proud to have inspired so many students including Eden and Lauren...
THE SQUARE BOXING CLUB is a lifestyle! A community of people sharing one vision of what real training is! Hard work, there’s no substitute for it. We look forward to welcoming you and to offering the same benefits to people that wouldn’t normally be able to afford training in such a club.
For more of an insight in what it's like to train with us, take a look at this video from founder of Nutrifix, Joel Burgess. Joel trained (very hard) with Martin for a fight night - which he won! Watch the video below:
Rewards
We hope one of our rewards inspires you to pledge, if you have an idea of something else you'd like to pledge for, please message us as we're open to ideas.
- One, Two and Three Year Memberships - Enjoy huge savings on classes and personal training, plus discounts on our clothing and equipment. You will get a tailored fitness plan in line with your goals and free nutritional advice.
- Become a 'Square Boxing' sponsor - Make a difference people really in need, by sponsoring group training sessions for a local group or school.
- Corporate rewards - Encourage and inspire your company to get active, with training classes for colleagues; or perhaps you want to challenge everyone to a fight night - we'll train you all! You can also book a corporate day for some team fun and a mini fight competition before you hit the pub!
- Personal Training for two - Bring your other half or a friend and get ready for the toughest session of your life. Plus a free pair of wraps each!
Just a note - all clothing and merchandise pledges are subject to availability. If we can't provide your first choice, we'll hopefully be able to offer you something else or the equivalent value in training. Check out some of the range available below or visit our shop for more product and details.
Thank you
If you've made it to the bottom of our page, thank you so much for taking the time to read about our story and mission. We hope we have inspired you to pledge and if so, look forward to seeing you in the gym very soon. If you can't make a financial pledge, no problem at all: you can still be a great help by sharing our page through your social media channels and with anyone you think would be interested in our campaign and what we are aiming to achieve. Thank you for your support.
Resources:
Mayor Of London, Active Londoners
Public Health England, Health matters: obesity and the food environment, 2017
National Child Measurement Programme - England, 2016-17
Statistics on Obesity, Physical Activity and Diet: England 2018