Head Coach Alex here, reaching out with a heavy heart.
We are not working financially. We never really have. But what has worked over the last 10 years is the mentorship, growth and development of my students. I have watched them become doctors, entrepreneurs, police, artists, engineers and so much more. Watching them grow and make mistakes, start and end relationships. Ask for guidance and share their hardships. It has been hard but also the most satisfying and fulfilling job I have ever had.
However, it came at the cost of my physical and mental health. And it has finally caught up to me. My time is coming and I want to pass on this position and responsibility to someone else. But we are not in a position to pay someone what it actually costs to do this job. To actually make lives better.
Elijah. He started at 13 years old as one of my students, trained as an instructor and is now working as a Radiographer. He is going on to complete his second degree: a Doctorate of Medicine. Now he is now my friend and a peer in many ways.
When we opened our first gym I felt like we did so much good. But I was just one person. I wanted to help more people than I could alone.
So I trained and put my all into as many coaches I could find. We got a bigger gym. We raised prices as little as possible to keep helping as many as we could.
We grew. And as a consequence, began to lose some ability to really help and act as mentors for the young people in our space. As the demands grew, I continued to expend myself to try and cover the gaps and my staff followed the example of my leadership.
Our coaches both past and present. Only Oscar and Abi still teach.
The staff are burning out, both due to the impossible standard I demonstrated to them and our inability to compensate them for the level of training and effort that they put in. We have all reached a point where we can no longer sacrifice ourselves to this degree.
For Newcastle Parkour to survive and ensure that our instructors continue to love what they do, to continue to have the best coaches who support their students and not turn into a drop off/after school minding service like so many others, we have to raise our prices and change the format of our gym. I know that this will be hard, but without change we will certainly close.
What the future of classes looks like
Whilst we re-structure we will not be running any 3 - 7 Yrs classes, Women's classes or homeschool specific classes. When we stabilize as a business we will revisit and hopefully offer them again.
My aim is to have a year round program that will grow our students into Incredible human beings. To achieve that we are temporarily cutting back our timetable so we can do our core classes exceptionally well.
We've sought guidance from experts in the US who have the same goal.
They charge $310 per month for 2 classes per week. I was shocked.
I do not have it in my heart to charge that, but I'm committed to finding a balance that honors our values while ensuring our survival.
We can no longer offer term bookings, casual drop in classes or free trials. To get the best outcomes, attending 2 classes a week will be at the heart of our program.
Our price for new students will be $245 per month.
However, we will only charge current students $210 per month for two classes pw It will only be available for 3 months, In that time we will prove to you why $245 is worth it. As the most experienced coaches, Zak or I will be there every single afternoon ensuring Newcastle parkour's classes are the best. Ensuring the staff are supported and the kids get what they need.
What now?
We are organizing a new website and booking system and will be aiming to have it up Week 9 so you can sign yourself up. This is all new to us and the process is going to have many points of friction until we figure it all out, so please continue having patience with us!
We will make sure we put out flyers, texts and blog posts to ensure we don't miss anyone.
I appreciate your patience, care and support. Thank you to all of our families who have been with us through this journey, and for trusting us with your children. We are forever grateful.
Alex; Founder of Newcastle Parkour