Entrepreneur launches gym business in Leeds
A North East entrepreneur is bringing his health and fitness business to Leeds.
Paul Alexander, formerly of GlaxoSmithKline, launched elite:together eight years ago in the North East, and now the Leeds studio will be the fifth to launch.
The entrepreneur is looking to grow the brand further with four more openings planned by the end of the year, including a site in Warrington.
The Leeds studio will open on the Gelderd Trading Estate on May 1.
The company is known for its elite: transform programme, a six week diet and exercise programme using social media to encourage clients.
Alexander credits his wife Jan for the launch of the business, who persuaded him to leave the pharmaceutical industry and move back to Newcastle to launch the business.
He now employs 33 staff in Cramlington, Newcastle, Stockton-on-Tees, Manchester and Leeds.
Owner Paul Alexander, said: “The north has the highest obesity rates in England and I want to help people, ordinary, everyday people, do something about that. elite is not quite an empire yet but we have ambitious growth plans.
“You go to a typical gym and most have the same ethos, all muscles and six-packs. But elite is accessible for people who maybe don’t have the confidence for that sort of thing.
“We’re changing the way people think about themselves. We make the impossible possible for ordinary people.
“What we do is the opposite of a gym. There’s not a treadmill in sight – it’s about a new way to see health, fitness and wellbeing, designed for everybody. We don’t simply train your body, we train your mind.”
The manager of the Leeds studio is 25-year-old Ben Green from Huddersfield, who was signed by Bradford City at the age of 11.
He said: “I was lucky enough to be funded through university by the Professional Footballers Association and gained a degree in sports coaching and development.
“The skills and knowledge I have picked up along the way, coupled with my unrivalled enthusiasm and passion for fitness makes me a great motivator and I’m looking forward to helping the people of Leeds who join the Elite family.”
