Ben Day's Ringtone Health and Fitness

Ever wondered what it's like to start your own gym? Ben Day, a BBBofC professional boxing coach and a fighter in his own right, took the plunge to begin running his own place. Having previously worked at Rooney's gym, and been involved with boxers such as Ian Napa and exciting light-welterweight prospect Chris Evangelou, Ben has recently founded (and part built) his own gym - Ringtone Health and Fitness.

"Basically it's taken about 4 months to get here. A lot of people let me down but we've made it", explained Day.

"Scott Borthwick came in as my partner and he's been a breath of fresh air.

"Looking for a premises is the hardest thing to do but in the end we're in a perfect location in Euston and it's really easy to get to.

"We've got a great set up where upstairs there's a Health food shop where all the fighters can have 20% off. Downstairs we've got a treatment room where we can do nutrition, therapy, sports massage, we can do the lot."

The gym is aimed at a mixture of people, equipped with bags, speed balls and a ring, but also running machines, weights and other kit for the fitness fanatic. Ben's keen to stress he wants a gym that caters as much for the curious beginner as the established pro.

"It's 'Ringtone Health and Fitness' for a reason rather than 'Ben Day's Boxing Gym' because we're welcoming the office staff and we want to help them see how much you can do with boxing without punching people in the face!

"It can be with some gyms that you walk in and it's a little bit intimidating so we're going to have a gym where we don't mix things up and everyone's welcomed.

"In the mornings we'll have the pros and I fight myself so I'll be training myself but if there's one-to-ones that want to come in we'll get them in then and then after that the white collars will come in. In the evenings we'll do classes, including ladies classes.

"I believe there is a niche in the market for what I've created, it's very much a boutique gym and we've already created a great buzz that's not seen in other gyms."

If you've seen a video on youtube with blindfolded padwork, it's likely Ben and his friend Karol Ozimkowski who recently developed the Ultramitts padwork system, based on the Mayweather mitts system - a training method Ben's hoping will be a feature of his gym.

"We;re hoping to get that accredited by the British Boxing Board of Control, the chairman Mick Collier is coming down so it's good to have their support.

"The system helps to develop muscle memory and reaction timing so it improves your hand speed and rhythm as well as stamina.

"We use it to compliment traditional training methods."

Amongst his supporters, Ben counts Razorlight frontman Johnny Borrell as one of his clients.

"It's good to have someone like Johnny Borrell at the gym because people come down and are excited to see him and want their picture taken and stuff.

"He's bringing down a signed picture to put on the wall. That's great so it's not all dirty posters, it's not strictly boxing. I do have pictures with me and Tyson and Roy Jones Jnr who I met recently and that's great because successful people like them give me a huge boost to keep dreaming when awake and not just asleep. But there's a mixture, which is what the gym's about really.

"We'll start advertising now and we'll get some white collar shows up and running at different venues all round London.

"Hopefully I'd like to have five gyms, that's my target, but we've got to get this right first!"

For more information, head to www.ringtonehealthandfitness.com or call Ben on 07816 823 586.