Pro Gym // Nov 2018

In the UK today, austerity is more than policy, it’s daily life. Pubs are closing, youth clubs are disappearing, and high streets, schools, and libraries are in decline. The spaces where people once gathered are vanishing, leaving connection and community harder to find.

Pro Gym, in Foleshill, Coventry, stands against that tide. More than a gym, it’s a vital community hub, a space where people build strength, discipline, and solidarity. In a society of shrinking opportunities, Pro Gym offers a place to belong.

“Sometimes people tell me they’ve been training for two hours and I laugh, no one trains that long. A good workout is 30 to 45 minutes. What they’ve really been doing is socialising, sharing time. That’s what this gym is about.” – Chunlee Johal, Owner of Pro Gym

Boxing is often shaped by exclusion, marked by gender stereotypes, class divisions, and racialised identities.

“Boxing is for men and is about men, and is men.” – Oates (Woodward 2007: 3)

But at Pro Gym, boxing becomes something more. It’s about resilience, motivation, and mental toughness. The boxers learn to fight, not just in the ring, but in life. They learn to lose, recover, and come back stronger.

“Boxers have heart.” – Trimbur

Boxing is an education in surviving working class life.

Thank you: Chunlee, Simon and the Pro Gym community.