Jess Young is talking about the Shred Shed, a fitness studio she opened with her husband Blair in a corrugated iron-clad shed at the Tapanui showgrounds in January last year.
Their nominator said the couple had done an "amazing job" of providing a service to the rural West Otago community to get people out and about and exercising in a safe environment and space where they could connect with others.
"They are providing a variety of classes to cater for all ages and stages and the update has been incredible due to their openness and embracing attitude."
Jess said the aim of Shred Shed was to bring communities together through group sessions by motivating and encouraging personal wellbeing in a fun and positive environment. Classes focused on workouts for all fitness levels and age groups.
The success of the Shred Shed had exceeded her expectations and the demographic it was attracting was not what she had initially envisaged. Young people appeared not particularly bothered by their health but older people had "taken it on board massively".
It was inspiring to see some of the older members of the community, up to about the age of 86, coming along to classes. There was a greater awareness of how important it was to keep active, and particularly the importance of strength training.
Rather than focusing solely on weight loss, it was more about mobility "and just being able to live". There were women who had not yet reached their 60s and had trouble getting off the ground — "‘it shouldn’t be like that" — and she loved seeing their progress.
Shred Shed was intentionally a country gym with a down-to-earth atmosphere. Having felt insecure at other group training gyms, Jess said she wanted to create a safe space for people to feel welcomed and not judged.
"I love it. It’s given people so much confidence just coming to the gym," she said.
She was keen to build a new shed to house the business and, eventually, she reckoned franchising the business was a possibility, to bring other rural communities together.
Blair, better known by his nickname Tubby, takes a couple of classes a week. The Heriot Rugby Club stalwart — who came up with the business name — has finally hung up his boots after notching up his 300th game for the club last year.
