The Active8 News is being handed over to one of our most well-established and popular personal trainers at the Westbury Park site, Damion Rice, who believes “our North View gym is located perfectly for personal fitness in Bristol.”
Damion, who has worked at Active8 since 2003, is the longest-serving personal trainer employed in the business and provides a high level of professional fitness support to a number of long-standing clients at the Westbury Park fitness centre.
We caught up with Damion to chat about his background and passion for helping clients to achieve their health and wellbeing objectives in Bristol over the last 18 years at Active8.
What got you interested in personal fitness?
“I always loved sport as a youngster, and come from a sporting family. My Uncle played professional football, and I grew up in a very physical farming environment in Exeter.”
Did you study sport before entering the personal training industry?
“Yes. I studied a BA in Sport & Recreation at Staffordshire University, followed up by an MA in Sports Science from Loughborough University.”
How did you start your fitness and personal training career in Bristol?
“In 1995, I start working at a health club in Redland as a Fitness Advisor, then went on to run a gym for a multi-national insurance corporate in central Bristol.”
When and why did you join Active8?
“In 2003 I was living close to the first Active8 fitness centre when it was on Chandos Road. I met Shane who founded Active8 and we really hit off.”
“By 2005, I had lots of clients on board through Active8 and after eight years the gym moved to North View in Westbury Park. It’s a bigger fitness centre with a great community and most of my Clifton and Redland clients followed me there too.”
How has the personal fitness sector developed in Bristol?
“It’s a very competitive market in Bristol, and Active8 has really worked hard to provide community-led fitness and personal training in Bristol.”
“Active8 has grown, with the launch in the last 18 months of the Clifton fitness centre and gym on Berkeley Square with plans to launch another site this year in Downend. The demand from clients for our personal trainers has been amazing.”
What makes Active8 different from other Bristol personal training providers?
“It’s our service and commitment to each client. We deliver motivation, with a good level of rapport, and a professional positive attitude. It works so well.”
“Most of our clients stay with us for a long time. There is a real commitment, with most clients working with one of our personal trainers for an hour twice a week. Senior PTs in Bristol such as myself have 40-50 clients each.”
Is an Active8 personal trainer a better option than a gym membership?
“The choice is down to each client, but we do find that our clients love the personal 1-2-1 service provided at Active8. Many of my clients have been coming to me continually for 10 years and beyond. That speaks volumes.”
How has Covid impacted the personal training sector in Bristol?
“We had an online provision in place from the first lockdown and were providing personal training via Zoom. This later included outdoors personal training sessions on the Downs and other open spaces in the city.”
“Clients have stayed loyal during Covid-19 and the various lockdowns. I have been amazed at how they have supported Active8 during this difficult time.”
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
“I’ve always really enjoyed providing 1-2-1 personal training, and our North View gym is located perfectly for personal fitness in Bristol.”
To find out more about Damion and the team of North View personal trainers and therapists at Westbury Park, please visit here.
Ring our Active8 Westbury Park fitness centre on 0117 974 1852 for more information or email us at info@active8fitness.com.