Thrings Associate Rebecca Stanton meets Anthony Fenton-Wells and Tom Luke, Directors of bespoke personal training gym Torque Training
Rebecca Stanton: What is Torque Training and how did it get started?
Anthony Fenton-Wells: We are a Bristol-based gym born around the belief that the way you train manifests itself in all aspects of your life, whether personal or professional.
Having been in the gym industry for the past 15 years, first starting in my native South Africa, I wanted to develop a product that stepped up from what you might find elsewhere, creating a positive space where people of all experience and ability levels can thrive in achieving their fitness and wellbeing goals.
Fast forward five years and we have built a community we are proud of with an amazing, diverse and growing membership enjoying the services we provide, whether it is in one-to-one personal training sessions or taking part with others in our small group PT sessions and the regular crazy challenges we set.
RS: What sets you apart from other gyms?
Tom Luke: The attitude we promote is to respect and believe in everyone who comes through our door, being a support base for their journey and leaving bravado at the door. It doesn’t matter if you’re an elite athlete or a first timer, you are in a place where you can work on your own skills, not be judged and get the same level of support as the person training next to you.
I have the luxurious side-hustle of being the backs coach for the Bristol Bears Women and we will often have the girls in the gym training alongside our other members. It is great to have them in with us mere mortals as it not only shows these elite athletes – many of whom are internationals and the best at what they do – as the role models they are, it also shows they are human and sweat, struggle and strive like anyone else.
We also have our Strong Mamas class, giving new mums a place to come and lift weights or hop on a bike with their baby in tow. I started it shortly after my wife had our first child, simply to give her and her NCT group a place to get fit with zero pressure, but it’s grown into a different beast, becoming an amazing and unique social space where they can chat, work really hard and whatever else in between. It has become one of our most popular offerings and is packed every session with mums, babies and the occasional puppy everywhere!
RS: But while you are working with people at all stages of their fitness, you’ve had some real high-end success stories, haven’t you?
TL: It’s true we have had some success stories, people running ultramarathons, going from barely being able to swim to completing Iron Man events and even recently to climbing one of the highest mountains in the world!
It’s a huge achievement for someone who has never lifted 20 kilos of weight before to then turn around and run a marathon and what we enjoy doing is helping people to create that resilience that enables them to say to themselves that their current ceiling isn't their limit.
AFW: We very much believe that you take the lead from your leaders and we always try to push our own boundaries. Tom really demonstrated this last year when he took on an insane challenge, breaking the 24-hour world record for skiing in the gym. We also ran a 100km race last year together. The times were nothing to shout about but completing it was the aim and, whilst it didn’t feel like it at times throughout, it was a truly awesome experience.
RS: What is next for Torque?
TL: For me, I just want this place busting at the seams, we have an amazing vibe at the moment that I want to keep going as we grow so we are in a position where we could incorporate a bigger space, taking our community with us without anything else changing.
AFW: The question I always ask myself is how we can add more value to our members. It is how our Engine HIIT classes and Strong Mamas came to be. We know we are good at what we do and don’t want to deviate from that, but we want our members to know that they are getting the best from us and will continue to evolve.
To find out more about Torque Training, visit torquetraining.co.uk.
