Project scope

When Wokingham Borough Council set about creating a boutique boxing hub for local residents, it turned to Physical Company as the perfect partner to help bring its concept to life.

Mission

“During lockdown, we saw people working out in parks and enjoying new ways of being active. It reinforced the fact that not everybody wants to exercise in a mainstream gym,” says Joe Howorth, commercial activity manager for Wokingham Borough Council’s Sport & Leisure team.

“When a new space became available, we therefore decided to do something different – something to complement our Places Leisure gyms and our football, tennis, cricket and hockey facilities.

“The result is BXGFit, a £630,000 boxing boutique that opened on 26 November 2021. The focus is on group classes, which take place on the training floor, but you can also train independently or one-to-one. It’s the first of its kind in Wokingham.”

Strategy

“We worked with Physical Company to design and equip our space very differently from mainstream gyms. There’s a boxing ring, punchbags, aqua bags, functional training rig, turf track, Air Bikes, SkiErgs, and plenty of free weights and functional kit,” says Howorth.

“Physical Company helped put our brand front and centre, too: woven into our turf and emblazoned on our punchbags, gloves and the corners of the training ring. Our range of branded merchandise further enhances the sense of belonging.”

The results

“It’s been an absolute pleasure partnering with Physical Company,” says Howorth. “They were uniquely able to provide everything we wanted, within budget, and their way of working ensured a wonderful balance between supporting us in doing things our way and offering advice from their years of experience.”