We celebrate our 25th anniversary on 30th March 2024 and what a 25 years it has been!
Our humble existence began when our owner/founder, Colin Marriott, identified a gap in the market for an independent gym equipment service and repair provider and established ServiceSport (UK) Ltd in March 1999. Our core purpose at the time, to prolong the life of commercial gym equipment. This was a time when gym equipment was predominantly mechanical and in its simplest form. Since then, technology has revolutionised the industry with the introduction of wearables, fitness tracking apps, virtual workouts, AI trainers, connected fitness experiences and even smart gym equipment itself.
Gyms and “standard” workout classes – such as step aerobics and legs, bums and tums – used to dominate the market but now there is an influx of boutique fitness studios that offer specialised classes like HIIT, Pilates, spin and yoga, that cater to diverse preferences and provide personalised experiences. Even the layout of equipment in commercial gyms has changed. The rows and rows of cardio equipment, complemented by fixed-weight machines, have given way to functional training areas that provide gym users with access to rigs, sled tracks, SkiErgs, plyo boxes, kettlebells, lifting platforms and more!
It’s great to see and just shows how far the industry has come. There’s now a growing emphasis on sustainable practices too, such as eco-friendly equipment, green fitness initiatives, energy-efficient facilities, and eco-conscious choices to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint and promote environmental responsibility. This is something that we have advocated for many years by encouraging gym operators to prolong the life of their existing equipment, not only through a preventative maintenance programme but by refreshing their existing assets.
Moving forward, we will continue to see the industry focus on holistic health, mental wellness, nutrition, mindfulness, and overall well-being, leading to a more balanced approach to fitness as opposed to just physical fitness and aesthetics. One thing is for sure, fitness has become a lot more accessible with on-demand workouts, virtual training sessions, live streaming classes and fitness apps, making it more convenient for users to engage in exercise anytime, anywhere! This has moved forward another step with the rise in hybrid models that combine in-person and virtual elements, offering a blended approach that caters to different preferences and lifestyles, allowing users to seamlessly transition between physical and digital fitness experiences.
Since our inception in 1999, ServiceSport UK has evolved with the industry. In the beginning, we offered the service and repair of gym equipment, 25 years later, we maintain more than 80,000 assets a year and have expanded our portfolio of services to include gym upholstery repairs, the refresh of used gym equipment, the extraction, build and installation of gym equipment, 3D printing, CNC machining, custom branded clothing, electronic repairs and asset management software that is making life much easier for gym operators.
We are proud to have played our part in supporting the fitness industry and we’re extremely excited to see how the fitness industry continues to evolve!
Here’s to the next 25 years!
