Bars don’t normally condone fighting but the Revolution outlet in Plymouth city centre is to become home to a kickboxing business.
Plymouth entrepreneur Nadia Millinship is restarting her Club Kombat fitness classes inside the bar and eatery at Derry’s Cross. The single mum-of-two began classes in the location in 2018, chosen because of its accessibility for people with disabilities, but had to move lessons online during the pandemic lockdowns. Now, as restrictions are eased, Ms Millinship plans to resume her classes at Revolution as well as continuing her online provision.
“I would like to see Club Kombat go from strength to strength within this online platform, as well as building my new Nadia K Coaching brand,” she said. “My aim is to continue online and create more opportunities for instructors to join my platform, offering more options for people especially those who are underrepresented.
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“ I will also be running events in the nightclubs, starting in Plymouth but with a plan to recruit ambassadors in different areas, bringing members of the community together through fitness.
“I have experienced a rollercoaster of emotions and have had to remain positive and resilient with the hope that all my efforts will pay off. But I am feeling excited about what lies ahead.”
Ms Millinship’s Club Kombat was originally solely based at Revolution, combinng kickboxing and mixed martial arts (MMA) to create a high-intensity fitness workout. Each cardio interval – packed full of “Kombat” moves – is followed by a strength training exercise to tone and build the entire body.
Under Ms Millinship’s model, the venue is utilised with groups at different stations around the space, as instructors move through each group to support and coach each exercise safely and efficiently.
Whistles are used over the music to alert everyone about the change, and visual cues allow everyone to be able to look and follow the movements. The sessions include regular appearances from DJs..
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“I wanted to set up a business where people from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds would be able to take part in a fitness class with a mix of kickboxing and combat moves to give a full body workout,” said Ms Millinship,, who has recently completed her masters degree in entrepreneurship for creative practice, specialising in embedded diversity in fitness, at Plymouth College of Art.
“I did not want it to be just another fitness class as it was important to me that I broke down barriers to enable people from all backgrounds and situations to be able to benefit from better health and a more positive mindset as part of a wider inclusive community.”
Ms Millinship made steady progress in her first 18 months, hosting fitness classes every Wednesday evening and building her Facebook community, and was awarded a Diversity Business Incubator Champion Award in January 2020.
However, with Covid-19 restrictions in place and the Revolution venue being temporarily closed, she adapted quickly to take her fitness offering online and host her classes from her back garden.
“Such an exceptional event forced me to pivot and make swift decisions to ensure that my offering remained relevant and to keep my business afloat,” Ms Millinship explained.
“This meant a change to how I structure my working week and also consider how my children could also feature positively in my content to demonstrate the role of fitness in improving physical and mental health for all the family.
“Ironically, however, the move online has got me closer to the digital delivery model that I previously had in mind because it enables anyone to access my classes, including those who have no childcare support. I have also had people on my online classes who have been recovering from Covid-19.”
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Ms Millinship has been supported by YTKO’s GrowSmart programme, a national online learning platform giving SMEs the knowledge, skills and insight to scale up their businesses, teaching practical ways to reach markets and increase sales and profitability, as well as maintaining and improving productivity, equivalent to an intensive two-week course.
Ms Millinship is one of 22,000 businesses and nearly 31,000 disadvantaged entrepreneurs to have been supported by YTKO over a 14-year period.
Meanwhile, Ms Millinship is not the only business to be utilising the Revolution bar in Plymouth - in for fans of the diminutive dogs.
Meanwhile, Revolution Bars Group has just completed a successful £21m fundraise. The company – which operates 66 venues – has conditionally placed 5,001,866 open offer shares and 100,000,000 firm placing shares through finnCap and Peel Hunt.
Chief executive Rob Pitcher said the move comes on the back of a solid period since initial restrictions were lifted. It will put £7.5m into expanding its estate, as well as £2.5m into refurbishing an additional 15 bars over the next 18 months.