"The Beast" Strongman Eddie Hall opens new boxing gym in Leek
The reopening of Keatesy's Boxing Academy has brought the lifeline of their community back
Last updated 13th Apr 2021
A new gym at a Staffordshire boxing club dubbed the lifeline of the community has been officially opened by World's Strongest Man Eddie Hall.
Keatesy's Boxing Academy in Leek, which opened for the first time in June 2019, has been out of action for months due to lockdowns and specific coronavirus restrictions.
Now, with the national reopening of hundreds of businesses and services on Monday in line with the Government's roadmap, Keatesy's Boxing Academy has opened it's doors again and welcomed people back with a new and fully equipped gym.
Owners Andy Keates and Carly Ball hope to start rebuilding the physical and mental health of their members and community, which has taken a substantial hit throughout the pandemic.
Carly said: "I can honestly say to you - us being open again - we've probably easily saved ten people from probably the worst thing that could possibly happen. So that's a big achievement for us. It's made us realise our benefit and impact. It's made us realise that if we promote more projects and do more around mental health - it's definitely going to have an impact on the levels - from children right through to the older ages. It's just what's needed."
Eddie "The Beast" Hall said: "It feels good to be a part of any sort of gym community, it's bringing people together, it's giving them a place to vent, to get their frustrations out. Most of all - there is that bit of a bad stigma with boxing, you know, big gnarly men go in and punch each other. Some people see it as violent; I see it as self-control. Kids are on the streets fighting and stabbing each other, I think why not give them the opportunity to come in, turn that into controlled aggression, turn it into something that they can maybe make a profession out of - so I'm all for gyms like this.
"I think gyms in general being shut has been a massive hit to the country."
"I think the suicide rates have gone through the roof. I myself have lost a few close friends to suicide over the last year. And I do put it down to what's happened, and gym closure been a big part of that."
Carly added: "This is a huge achievement for us and it's been such a long time. It's just been nice to build another business from scratch out of all this to be honest.
"We've been sensible with any grants and things like that. Obviously we're fully functional to a certain degree, there's a few classes that still can't happen till the 17th May but we've made the place bigger and we've made it better. We've become a lot more versatile with things so we've got a lot more to offer now. We're not just a boxing gym anymore. And we've got a couple of new professional boxers coming out of this gym now - so they've made the decision during lockdown to turn professional which will be really good; that's another huge achievement - especially for Andy - to watch his own amateur boxers now turned over into what he was successful in."
The Beast added: I think the fact gyms are open around the country again, and people have been given grants and government funds is a big thumbs up.
"Keatesy's - they've put any grants and government funds back into their place and they've expanded, they've made it more accessible, they've put better equipment in there for the people, for general public and for this community. I just really want things to get back to normal and the mental health side of things to dim down again.
"It's not only giving kids a chance to vent and get all their anger and frustrations out it's also a good place for them to release. Mentally. The mental health side of things: they can talk to each other, make friends, and build a community. They can build this community again. Gyms are a great place for that. It's not just about going in then working out it's about making friends and making lifelong memories."