Thrive Festival is a brand-new bespoke health, fitness and wellness event taking place on 30th & 31st March 2019 in The Convention Centre, Dublin.
Ahead of the festival, we caught up with one of the speakers - Irish man, Shane Collins, owner of London's KOBOX, a gym favoured by everyone from Gigi Hadid to Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.
Tell us about your gym and what makes it stand out.
KOBOX is the world’s friendliest boxing gym. We run 50-minute high-intensity boxing classes. Half the class is spent punching our water filled punch bags, and the other half of the class is spent performing a series of strength and conditioning exercises.
You’re getting a really authentic boxing training session in an environment where nobody will punch you in the face. All of it happens under dark studio lights with a nightclub standard sound system. It’s Fight Club meets Nightclub.
Rosie Huntington-Whitely, Winne Harlow and Jourdan Dunn are all fans, what makes your gym so effective?
It's fun, and it works! That's the main reason. I don't think there is anyone on the planet that doesn't get some level of enjoyment from punching something that won’t punch back. It's an incredible stress reliever and a great way for people to get their cardio workout in without needing a bike or a treadmill.
Most people hate doing their cardio training, but boxing feels like you’re getting it in without even realizing it. I also think the environment we’ve created allows people to leave their ‘real’ world behind. You can be surrounded by 40 people in class but under the lights and behind the bag you can get lost in your own world, let your inhibitions go and give it everything you have regardless of whether it’s the first workout you’ve ever done, or you go to the gym every day.
There’s no judgement. The bag doesn’t ask anything of you, but it will take everything you have to give it.
It seems like more and more women are taking up boxing, why do you think that is?
The biggest worry I hear from female clients is that they're afraid they will bulk up if they work out too much. I totally understand that. Boxers are amongst the leanest athletes on the planet, there is no room for unnecessary size. The fear of bulking up just isn't really there with boxing.
It's also an incredibly empowering skill to learn. Boxing isn't just a way to work out, it's a sport, it's a skill, and it's a form of self-defense if needed. There's nothing more empowering than knowing you can deliver a sweet left hook if you ever find yourself in trouble.
Do your classes have a specific demographic in mind?
We are a boxing club for everyone. I think boxing has always suffered from the fear factor associated with being punched in the face. What we're doing is making boxing more accessible to people who want to get all of the incredible benefits without the fear of having to fight. Boxing has also benefitted greatly from some of the high profile women actively promoting the sport.
People like Gigi Hadid and Jourdan Dunn have become great ambassadors for boxing and made it more accessible to women. Our clientele is dominated by women, approximately 70% of our customer base is female.
What's being served up in the gym's kitchen?
We sell protein shakes, smoothies, and juice shots. Simple as that. Whether it’s a pre-workout energy shot or a post-workout recovery the KOBOX Kitchen is there to fill the gap between the gym and your workplace or home.
We use our own protein blend, Whey and Vegan, which have 5 and 6 ingredients respectively, most powders have dozens. Much like our workout, we’ve cut out the crap and given people what they want before and after their workouts.
We're so excited to see you on the Thrive line up! What can people expect on the day?
Expect to have fun, first and foremost. We will be providing gloves and wraps for everybody and teaching people the basic fundamentals of boxing. We teach boxing using a punch-by-numbers approach. Six basic punches, we number them 1-6 and we display all of the combinations on the studio wall so it couldn’t be easier to follow.
You should also expect to be surrounded by lots of people who may never have boxed before. That’s great, that’s what we’re here for. Our job is to introduce boxing to people who have always wanted to try but were too scared to give it a go. Expect dark lights, loud music and to sweat lots. It’s Boxing. Just not as you know it.
Shane will be one of the many speakers at Thrive Festival, click here for more info.
