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How did a former rugby and basketball star with a background in finance end up transforming the old Channel TV studios into a major new CrossFit hub?
Andy Whelan teamed up with fellow crossfit enthusiast Asa Le Fustec to open Valiant CrossFit in July at La Pouquelaye, over two years after first discussing the idea.
Andy, who previously played rugby and basketball for the island, discovered CrossFit five years ago through a friend.
Impressed by videos of CrossFit athletes, he decided to join Jersey CrossFit, where he discovered a new workout regime, found a new passion and met his future business partner.
Pictured: Andy first discovered CrossFit five years ago.
“Asa and I both came together through CrossFit,” Andy said. “We love the CrossFit ethos, the training and camaraderie.
“When you get to certain age and you are fitness focused, you look for something you can do from an age perspective. What I love about CrossFit is it’s all based on functional movements that you do in your daily life. Everybody should be able to squat for example, sitting up or sitting down is a squat.
“You are also constantly varying the exercises so that your body does not get into a routine and everything we do can be scaled, because not everybody is an athlete, and not everybody is on the same journey. It’s important to be able to work through your fitness without killing yourself.”
Enthused by the health benefits of CrossFit, Andy was also drawn in by the social aspect. “CrossFit is about community, support, training regime and the family,” he said. “Once people get into CrossFit, it’s a bit like a cult. It’s all class based and what makes you get to class is your friends and family who encourage you to train.”
Pictured: The training room was installed where the Channel TV soundstage used to be. (Ollie Jones)
Keen to encourage other islanders to get into CrossFit and replicate the facilities they had seen in other ‘boxes’ around the world, Andy and Asa started discussing the opening of their own ‘box’ in early 2020. They then spent nine months trying to find a suitable property to house their box.
“Half of the battle was finding somewhere that was cost-effective,” Andy explained. “We are doing this because it is a passion for us, but it also needs to be financially viable. We wanted to be in the St. Helier area to get the main traffic and footfall, but rentals are expensive.
“There’s a lack of warehouses, it’s a problem across Jersey. If it’s in a prime site, it’s been redeveloped as commercial or residential.”
After finding the perfect fit at the former Channel TV studios at La Pouquelaye, the pair then had to obtain permission from the Planning department to change the use of the building from office to gym and eventually received it early this year. “It took a year longer than we thought, it was a drawn-out process,” Andy said.
Pictured: The box features rigs, weight machines and all the other equipment required for CrossFit. (Ollie Jones)
An “expensive fit out” of the premises followed, with the installation of rigs, weight machines and all the other equipment required for CrossFit. Valiant CrossFit opened its doors in late July with Chris Veal at the helm.
Explaining the meaning behind the name, Andy said: “With over 15,000 affiliates listed at CrossFit HQ, picking a name is extremely difficult as you can't have a similar name or a derivative of an existing name! Valiant for me means, being a part of a team or unit, honour, courage and even self-sacrifice, which is probably a step too far!”
Valiant will provide CrossFit coaching and training, personal training sessions, yoga classes as well as access to massages from an osteopath. The team will soon grow with the arrival of Jade Knight, who teaches Birthable classes before, during and after pregnancy, and Andy and Asa are looking to recruit a physiotherapist and new coaches.
They are also looking for new members - a maximum of 200 to keep the class sizes small so that “people are not left to their own devices”.
Pictured: Anyone is welcome at Valiant. (Ollie Jones)
Anyone is welcome, even CrossFit newbies, as Valiant will provide ‘on ramp’, a four-week course to help those who have taken a break from - or are new to - training, gain and regain their confidence, before they join other classes, such as Metabolic Conditioning or Crossfit WODs.
All members will have access to an app in which they will be able to enter their results after each work out as well as check the content of the day’s workout and the leader boards.
“To improve your training, you have to be able to monitor it and have targets, which is something CrossFit is very positive and supportive on,” Andy said. “If you cannot monitor what your results are, how can you know if you are making progress?”
“If you are committed to the journey, you will enjoy it,” Andy promised. “With CrossFit, you are constantly learning and challenging yourself, and you have like-minded people around you doing the same. I cannot do everything yet but I am enjoying the process!”
Pictured: From left, Jade Knight, Andy Whelan, Chris Veal and Asa Le Fustec.
Having seen the benefits of CrossFit workouts for his physical and mental health - “it’s a stress release mechanism” he said - Andy wants to see more islanders get involved, including teenagers, who will have the opportunity to join a training camp next summer.
Andy and Asa also have “lots of plans and ideas” for the future but they do not include the opening of a second box in the island. “I do not think the island can sustain too many CrossFit boxes,” Andy said. “Someone told me there are 14 gyms in St. Helier, it’s a lot!”
With a background in finance, Andy is perhaps not your typical gym owner, but his family and friends were fully behind him when he shared his plans with them.
“They know that I love to train and that I enjoy CrossFit so they were very supportive,” he said. “They all use the facilities, so we can train together, and the kids come too. It’s a passion, we love it. My son is doing his CrossFit qualification as well!
“I keep saying it’s the most expensive gym membership I have ever bought! But it’s all about having a great experience! I am firm believer that when you are passionate about something, it becomes successful because the passion feeds excellence.”
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