Bristol member-owned gym launches fundraiser for venue

A member-owned gym for "all sexualities and body sizes" has launched a crowdfunder to revamp its new space.

Bristol Cooperative Gym is the only one of its kind in the UK and aims to fight "negative" and exclusionary gym culture.

Its founder said the space moves away from notions like "the women do the cardio, the men do the weightlifting".

Gym member Rachel Hahn said it "feels like home" but needs some financial support to make it better fit for use.

She said: "Lots of people, especially those who identify as women, transgender, non-binary do not feel welcome in regular gyms and that has stopped me going to gyms in the past.

"This one is different, it feels like home and I'm very proud of it.

"It helps to calm my mind. It's my community."

The gym had been running from All Hallows Hall in Easton since 2016 but has now moved to an office block in Brislington after it was offered a permanent space.

The members plan to renovate it and make it more accessible for people who have physical challenges and those who are neurodiverse.

Founder Guy Lochhead said he hoped it inspired others in the UK to start up their own gym co-op.

He said: "I wanted to create a space that moved away from gendered notions.

"There are these third places that aren't home or work.

"The pub used to be a classic example, but I think the gym, in the way that we do it, could potentially take on that role."

Gym member Lotte Kammenga said when she was younger she felt excluded from fitness but now loves weightlifting at the co-op.

She said: "Gyms typically have a narrow target audience. I think it's a gender, sexuality, body size and age thing.

"But everyone here is in it together."

Mr Lochhead has released a podcast alongside the fundraising campaign called The Good Gym Guide.

Social science lecturer doctor Conor Hefferman, from Ulster University, features in it.

He said co-op gyms came to the UK in the 1920s but died off "in a major way".

He said Bristol Co-op Gym was "entirely unique" and provides a "radical reimagining of what a gym can, and should be".

"I've likened it to a punk gym. It is counter cultural in the very conservative fitness space."

The crowdfund has so far raised £20,000 with an aim to reach £27,000 by 25 April.

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