About Bristol Co-operative Gym

Welcome

Bristol Co-operative Gym (BCG) is the first cooperatively owned gym in the UK. It’s our belief that a co-operative model for running a gym is a good way to ensure that the services we provide are relevant to the people who use it and accessible and adaptive for all, in terms of socio-economic barriers including disabilities, ethnicity, age, household income, sex, gender, education, deprivation of area and sexual minority.

It's our aim to provide a place where you can exercise in an environment that is welcoming and supportive, where members and coaches work collectively to create a gym that they want to see and be a part of. People can train how they want to, on their own terms and for their own reasons.

What is a Co-op?

A co-operative is “an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned enterprise”.

It is an organisation or a business that is owned and run by its members. The members are crucial to decision making, as they have a say in how the co-op is run. The benefit is that the decisions made reflect the shared needs of the members and create a service unique to their own requirements and desires.

Processes

Click to learn more about BCG Legal Structure, how we make decisions and how we get things done.

History

Bristol Co-operative Gym is a member-owned gym in the UK. Set up in 2016 to offer an inclusive, welcoming space for exercise free from assumptions around identity, appearance and ability. Being member-run means we can provide social health and fitness activities tailored to our members’ reasons for training and develop a culture that supports us in achieving our goals, both individually and collectively.

This gym is the solution. A not-for-profit co-operative space that supports an approach to fitness unique to each member.

As the first gym of its kind, we believe this model holds great promise for removing common barriers to gym-based physical activity and hope that Bristol Co-operative Gym can become a pioneering example of a new form of community-led centre for social physical activity.

Purpose

The purpose of the Co-operative is to carry out its function as a co-operative and to abide by the internationally recognised co-operative values and principles of co-operative identity as defined by the international Co-operative Alliance. This rule may only be amended by an extraordinary resolution. 

Mission

To provide exercise options that are accessible, affordable and adaptive for anybody, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, identity, ability or body shape.

To provide social health and fitness activities in an environment where we can feel comfortable and supported, from which can emerge a different sort of fitness culture – one unique to us, that serves our members’ varied reasons for training rather than conforming to some imposed “ideal”.

We are excited about the possibility for change that this model could bring to the fitness industry and hope that it may be replicated.

Aims

Aims breakdown the mission into more actionable chunks.

• Build a culture that’s free from judgement and assumptions about identity and appearance 

• Be inclusive and supportive, celebrating each other’s progress 

• Empower people to improve their own physical and mental well-being 

• To engage people who are excluded from most training facilities

• Provide high-quality coaching and facilities 

• Be as affordable as possible, with a fair pricing model 

• Reach out to communities who feel excluded from mainstream commercial gyms 

• Work with local community groups

Objectives

· To make best use of our equipment and resources through well-attended sessions

· To continue to improve our offer through increased number and diversity of sessions

· To use accessible venues and work towards a secure tenure

· To employ professional coaches with a fair wage and fair contracts