Inspire Fitness Academy in Derby has recently reached over three hundred thousand people internationally including Scotland and America.
The fitness charity launched the One Stop Shop during the first national lockdown, which started in March of last year. The launch of the One-Stop Shop has enabled Inspire Fitness Academy to move all its fitness classes from the gym to a digital platform.
Inspire Fitness Academy typically relies on boxing shows throughout the year to raise funds for vulnerable members of the community. However, they have had to adapt to challenging circumstances throughout the pandemic.
The IFA gym, which is located at Sherwin Club in Harrington Street, has been closed for the vast majority of 2020 due to strict government guidelines. This has meant that boxing events have been unable to go ahead safely, and it has had a damaging impact on the charity.
Tom Berrington, marketing coordinator of Inspire Fitness Academy, said: “the entirety of our revenue has basically disappeared due to coronavirus.
“We can’t put on any in-person group events, in-person single events and we can’t put on any of the boxing events that we planned, and it has left us solely with costs.”
The Academy has adapted its fitness courses and activities for online use, and they can now create content including boxing lessons and mental health workshops for Facebook’s 2.8 billion monthly users.
Tom Berrington said: “We can offer more services online than we could ever do in person.
“With online, we have managed to get so many more people on board, including work experience, students, volunteers, as well as trainers, personal trainers, anxiety and mental health coaches all over the country.”
The One Stop Shop has proven to be successful, with viewership from thousands of people across the world who are tuning in every day.
Tom Berrington said: “We have had so many people express gratitude about the classes we put on.
“Every trainer that is a part of IFA has seen massive engagement rates, massive numbers of people in the thousands when originally we did not have that sort of coverage, so there’s a clear desire for fitness.”
To overcome the lack of income that the charity has been receiving due to the closure of the gym, the IFA has had to produce an innovative method to monetize the online classes.
The charity created the IFA One Hundred Club, an exclusive club that companies and businesses can become members of by sponsoring £100 per year to the charity in return for social media exposure and promotion to IFA’s large audience.
Inspire Fitness Academy aims to reach half a million people by the end of the year, as it aims to grow and support more people who need mental health support and fitness sessions, especially throughout the pandemic.
Tom Berrington expressed his aims for the charity, he said: “We want people to engage with us. “That’s why we are a charity, we are a charity to support the community and to support specifically those groups that don’t get support from larger charities due to them not being targeted.”
