In this episode, Carl shares a passionate response to someone who got in touch with him about how he is trying to make money with his new online female only kickboxing course.

Carl explains why he does what he does and the work that goes on behind the scenes supporting those who need it – all of which couldn’t happen if the gym wasn’t operational and making money. There are always the things you don’t know about and Carl shares an insight into how and why HKA is firmly rooted in and serves the community every day.

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• We are a business and yes we are trying to make money. We all have bills and commitments that we need to look after.
• I love what I do and that’s why I spend 2 hours a day checking in on people who are struggling.
• The better we do, the collectively the more we move forward.
• The more we can develop ourselves the better we can be for others.
• We make champions
• We build people’s confidence
• We turn people’s lives around
• We deal with low self-esteem
• We deal with domestic violence, anxiety and depression
• To enable us to do this the gym has to make money because it frees up my time to do better things for the greater good.
• If we get better everyone else gets better and that’s a good thing.
• I’ve started to re-educate myself because I want to be a better me.
• If I won the lottery I’d still be here because I love doing what I do.
• We are working hard and trying to do our best every day.

 

BEST MOMENTS

‘I left BT to chase a dream  and it’s all about trying to get there’

‘We wouldn’t have left our full-time jobs and taken a risk if we didn’t love it’

‘We will do it day in day out until we die because we love it’

 

VALUABLE RESOURCES

HKA Main landing page www.hastingskickboxing.co.uk/kickstartnow

YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/user/Hastingskickboxing

HKA Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Hastingskickboxing

Adult community link  https://m.facebook.com/groups/274624209886110?ref=share 

[email protected]  - Join Leigha every weekday for a workout for a fiver per month

 

ABOUT THE HOST

Hi, my name is Carl Denne.  

I was born in Hastings in 1980. Married, father of two beautiful daughters, Bethany and Leigha. 

My daughters, the wife, and gym ARE MY LIFE.

IF I’M HONEST, I pretty much failed at school. Heavily dyslexic, I was dismissed for being a “naughty kid” that didn’t want to learn. I was heavily bullied for having shit clothes and ginger afro hair. I didn’t have many friends. 

When I say bullied I don’t mean called a “poo-poo head” and being looked at in a nasty way. I mean thrown downstairs, and hit with chairs and tables. Clothes were stolen whilst in the shower. That kind of bullying…

Oh, how things have changed… 

Martial arts, and specifically Kickboxing, have changed my life, and now I am much happier and change other people’s lives for the better on a daily basis. 

I am a complete adrenaline freak, so In my spare time, track days, jumping out of planes, sitting on top of them, rage buggies in the desert… The higher, the faster the better for me. I’m always looking for the next thing to get my blood pumping, so if anyone has a challenge I’ve not found yet, please feel free to share. 

I do like a Saturday night movie night, Chinese, Netflix, lots of chocolate with my three little ladies. I love being around my friends and family. This is why I love the crazy HKA family so much, as this is my extended family.   

I left school with pretty much nothing! A few sad GCSE’s C - D grade, BUT I did have a shit-ton of energy and passion to achieve, and to prove all the teachers and people that looked down on me for all those years, wrong. So, after a few jobs here and there, I settled on working for Openreach (BT) as a cabler/jointer copper and fibre optic multi-skilled engineer with HGV.

I left this in 2015 to chase my dream of running my own Kickboxing Academy and working with the future of today, rather than a job that just paid the bills. 

I’ve trained pretty much my whole life: Karate, boxing, Judo, from the age of 9, and of course, I’ve now done over 29 years of Kickboxing. I’ve passed many Instructors and coaches courses, attended many training courses and seminars, grading up through the syllabus. I passed my 4-hour hell-on-earth 3rd Dan black belt in July 2018 with the ICO.

If I’m honest my real passion and skills have come from learning the hard way; through being in the trenches. I know how it feels to be on your arse. I know how it feels to have to pull yourself out of the pit. I’ve been through a divorce. I’ve lived through the pain and have worked with thousands of members, students, children, teachers and adults over the years, and the one thing I get told every time is how well I/we keep it very real, and that I have a complete understanding on most eventualities. 

Thank you for reading and listening. I hope you connect with myself and the team, take away some ideas, understand you’re not alone, and that it’s good to talk, listen and help others as and when you can.