Defying The Odds: Our Startup’s Journey 1 Year On
According to the Office for National Statistics, around 80% of businesses in the UK fail within the first year. That's without adding a global pandemic to the mix. However, this has not been the case for a Poulton based Strength & Fitness Gym that opened its doors in October 2019.
At the time we asked Dean if he would like to talk to us about how he came to start a business. Dean spoke candidly to us about his own mental health journey and his motivation for starting Defiance. [Read the original article here..]
One year on we interviewed Dean about his first year as a business owner, his plans for the future and how Defiance was able to beat the challenges brought about by COVID-19.
Dean, it’s been a year since you opened the doors of Defiance Gym, tell us about the business and what’s new?
Dean Finegan
Owner
What impact did the lockdown have on you and the business?
Dean said: “After our first year in business we’re still here! We survived lockdown! We have a new PT [personal Trainer] who specializes in Olympic lifting and power lifting as we don’t want the gym to be pigeon holed into just being a Strongman gym. Defiance is for anyone interested in developing their strength and fitness.
I’ve had an influx of younger people wanting to join up. Strongman is becoming one of the fastest growing sports. We have a young man who is tipped to become a professional rugby player and another who has loved watching strongman throughout his childhood and came here to try it for himself. He’s an amazing lifter. We also have an ex- England Hockey player who is at the start of her strongwoman journey. I really enjoy coaching young people because they are so eager to learn and have not picked up bad habits!
I’ve seen a number of friendships form in our gym and we see family members training together here too. I encourage members to bring in any sporting memorabilia from any sort of events or competitions they have been in so we can display it on the wall and make people feel more at home. It’s my business but it’s everybody’s gym. “
Dean said: “Thankfully, we were eligible for financial support during lockdown which helped a lot. I used the time to make improvements to the gym. We’ve opened up the floor space and introduced more equipment including more atlas stones and calibrated competition plates.
During lockdown World's Ultimate Strongman was one of the few sporting events still available on a lot of platforms. They put on a record breakers series with competitors live streaming from home or their private gyms and so at a time in the world when there was no sport at all, strongman was still going every Saturday afternoon at 4 pm. Kaos Gym owner Rhiannon Lovelace from Preston appeared on it and broke the women’s world record for the atlas stone lift [141 kg]. It was something for people to get excited about and shone a spotlight on the sport and since restrictions were lifted enough for us to re-open, we had a lot of new people signing up to our gym.
I think the lockdown restrictions had a real impact on the mental health of people who train at my gym as it did with me. Training is very therapeutic for a lot of people and when that is just gone you can have quite a hard time with it. On the flip side, returning to normal life with training and work is also scary for people; especially those who had to return to work with virtually no warning. It’s starting to level out now as people get back into their routines.”
Strongman is a huge part of your life and you compete as well as coach others. Do you have any competitions coming up?
Dean said: “I coach strongman Bren Powers who is getting back into competing; he recently came 7th in the UK Strongest Masters and won Scotland’s Strongest Master.We are both competing in a qualifying comp but for different events. Bren’s is for UK Strongest man and I’m hoping to qualify for the Arnold Strongman Classic comp. I’m also competing in the English deadlift and log championships on the 31st October. I’m going for 180 kilo log over my head and 370 kilo dead lift which were winning numbers last year. People in powerlifting are starting to become a bit more aware of me now as I’m only 2 years into my training. By raising my own profile in strongman comps it also raises the profile of the gym which is great.”
How have you found being a business owner and do you have any advice for people thinking of starting a business?
Dean said: “I’ve learned a lot about being a business owner these past 12 months. Bookkeeping, how to manage the finances, making sure our members are happy all while fitting it around my personal life and family commitments. I’ve tried to take it all in my stride and learn from my mistakes. You can’t let fear of failure stop you or hold you back. There was a time when I was even too scared to dream but with the right support I got where I wanted to be and I have made something that’s my own.”
