My founder story- Part 2.

It's crazy to think that it's been 4 years since Covid. I still remember going home the evening it became obvious lockdown was coming.

I cried like a baby!

Dramatic I know but at the time it felt like my world was falling apart. 

I'd worked hard to build this self-employed business that was now being pulled from under me and it wasn't nice.

But after a day or two of feeling sorry for myself and making the most of the weather (if only we had Covid weather now) I got on with things...

I am someone who is really not very good at giving myself praise but if I do have one trait it's an ability to just get on with things and deal with the cards I'm dealt.

That is exactly what I did during Covid.

I did zoom sessions, recipes, Facebook lives, bootcamps (when we were allowed) and everything else to keep my clients going and I shouldn't admit this but I LOVED it.

As with many others it gave me a chance to reassess and make some big decisions.

I spent hundreds of hours and thousands of pounds during Covid doing courses and learning.

I also gave up Football which had been a huge part of my life for 15 years.

Both these things were intertwined.

I realised I wanted fitness to be a 'career' in the same way my clients worked in the bank for 30 years and I realised to do that I needed to stop treating it as a hobby and start taking things to the next level.

I was up at 6am every day learning and trying to drive my clients on.

Simultaneously I also started looking for a site to build a gym...

As with all these things I had a few 'nearly' moments with various sites that fell through for one reason or another.

Then one day, as if by magic, the original site where I started working almost 4 years before came up on the market (this is where the photo in the first blog is from).

After a lengthy negotiation I signed the lease and became a business owner at 22 in the middle of a global pandemic (this was August 2020).

That evening I went to bed wondering what the f**k I'd done...

With more help from Christie, my family and friends than I care to admit we turned the site round in 6 weeks and brought in 40 people on day 1 at Elevate98.

Why Elevate98?

I knew from very early that I wanted it to be about more than just me and thus naming it after me wasn't suitable.

Elevate as a word always appealed to me.

I wanted to Elevate people's lives as I had done during Covid. I started to see how much happier and more fulfilled i was now I was getting up early and looking after myself physically and mentally.

98 was my little nod to myself (I was born in 1998) and it added a nice little ring to it If I do say so myself.

We were open from November 17th and it was a BLAST.

I worked from 4:30am-9pm everyday for 6 weeks solid and it was the most fulfilling time ever.

We had created something people loved! They came in and left with a smile on their face and even in that short period made some amazing progress physically.

Had I actually created a viable business?

Not yet...

As we all know lockdown mark 2 came pretty quickly after.

After the initial deflation I actually felt okay. I'd been here before and managed through it.

Myself and the team (who at that stage were only part time) worked tirelessly to deliver Zoom sessions and then outdoor workouts that kept people on the straight and narrow.

We eventually reopened on April 26th with 28 members and got to work.

Almost 3 years in our initial site passed in a blur.

We had so many good moments.

Games days, Mikey becoming full time, social nights, fitness competitions, growing to almost 180 members, Begbie buying a house, Capesy going from receptionist to coach, adding to the team, some amazing marketing campaigns, raising over 4 figures for various charities and consistently making the product and space better are just a few of the highlights.

We also had some bad times...

Members leaving, issues with council, unexpected tax bills, struggles financially, hiring the wrong people, marketing campaigns going wrong and long days are part and parcel of owning a small business but they don't make it any easier.

(I actually have a notes folder on my phone with 'worst business owner weeks' to look back on and it's pretty full).

However I can safely say that the good days outweighed the bad.

Despite all the 'big' moments listed above what made it truly special was seeing people grow as humans and leave with a smile on their face 7 days a week.

We have staff and members who have genuinely became friends for life and I am so proud to have had the honour of playing a part in over 500 people's fitness journey.

Eventually we got to a point where I knew we were outgrowing our original site.

The space was small and cramped and lacked natural light. We had created 'premium coaching' but the space didn't quite match.

The problem?

We'd grown such a loyal following and thus couldn't move far away.

I won't bore you with how hard it was finding site 2.0 but I'll never forget my conversation with the estate agent.

I told him what I was looking for in terms of location, size, parking, rent and more and he simply replied:

'Good luck'.

As always, luck seemed to be on my side.

I actually first viewed 13 Edina Place (the address of 2.0) almost 21 months before we took over and I KNEW it was the place for us.

Many times we came close to getting it but it just slipped through our fingers.

Eventually on 27th February 2024 we signed the lease.

That was the easy bit...

I can honestly say the 4 months since have been the hardest of my life.

I don't like talking in financial terms but 2.0 is a six-figure project and for a self-funded business with no investment that's enough to cause sleepless nights.

Noise concerns, repairs being harder than expected, difficulties getting rid of the old site, continuing to run the old site during building, negotiating with contractors, kit companies, solicitors and much much more ensured it was a tough time.

Training, sleep and relationships took a hit.

But, as always, we came out the other side.

2.0 is now finished and it is EPIC if I do say so myself.

We have kept the vibe and friendly nature we've always had and put it in a bespoke location that is IMO as good a gym space as you'll find anywhere in Edinburgh.

We have the team (and will continue adding) and now facility to ensure we can give people the BEST fitness experience they will come across.

If you've made it this far you need to get a life:)

All joking aside I realised how much we've done now that I have to try and condense it all into a couple of blogs.

If you would like to find out anymore about our journey I always love talking about our baby so I'd be happy to answer!