While the Covid-19 pandemic has shut down businesses, personal trainers Jody Wells and Enver Pockpas decided it was the perfect time to start a new gym.
Pockpas and Wells opened their training centre Renew Fitt in Factreton. Their business offers personal and group training sessions, in-person and online.
The name Renew Fitt was inspired by the pair’s search to overcome the dire effects of the pandemic on the fitness industry.
“2020 was a time to renew the fitness industry and renew society’s mindset about physical activity. We want to encourage all members of society to participate regardless of their age, gender or fitness level,” Wells said.
As gyms were shut for five months in the pandemic, opportunities for personal trainers were far and few.
Pockpas has been a personal trainer for the past eight years and was out of work when gyms closed.
“I was amazed at how quickly the pandemic brought our industry to its knees. Thankfully I had clients that were willing to train, and this allowed us to create our fully fitted training facility.”
Wells was in the final year of his sports science degree and couldn’t find a job due to all franchise fitness clubs being closed.
“I soon realised that due to the pandemic, job vacancies are scarce. I knew that if I cannot find employment, I would have to create employment."
Renew Fitt became the answer to both of these problems. The pair started by offering the first session free to individuals and have since been growing their business.
Starting a business in the pandemic comes with its own set of challenges, and for this personal trainer duo, hosting group training sessions is one of them.
“Group training sessions are our main source of income and can be considered a mass gathering in the pandemic,” Wells said.
He added: “We were able to overcome this issue by implementing strict protocols and limiting the members allowed in a group training session.”
Renew Fitt has a disinfecting period of 20 minutes between each session, where all equipment gets disinfected and prepared for the next session.
Their online sessions started as a method to keep clients fit without losing momentum.
Wells added: “Online training has its limits as not everyone has enough equipment or training space. As trainers, we are trying our best to ensure that our members remain interested and that they always have fun."
Weekend Argus