Underdog Fighting Fit

The Irish often associate themselves with the underdog, so it seems apt that Karl and Renata Bennett have named their new business in this regard. Underdog Boxing gym, which is located just off St. Stephens Green in the heart of Dublin, offers a range of fitness classes centred around boxing and is nearing its one-year anniversary. Karl and Renata, who have over eight years of experience running a business in the fitness industry, are under no illusions of the different challenges which are posed by running a gym which is predominantly focussed on boxing classes. “Although we have been in business for the past eight or nine years, this set-up is different to the previous one. We now employ people and are dealing with a huge number of customers. From the point of view of customer service, our approach to everything had to change,” said Renata. The Bennett’s former venture was the running of KB Fitness / Body Transform, a business which concentrated on one-to-one personal training.

Indeed, their ability to adapt ultimately led to the formation of Underdog. The recent economic recession resulted in Karl and Renata having to re-think their business model in order to deviate from the established gyms who offer typical fitness classes and exercise methods. Karl states: “I think when the economy changed, we had to come up with some new ideas. We found that when we first opened KB Fitness, we discovered that boxing was a huge selling point for us and we just based our success on that.” As Karl said, boxing proved hugely popular with their clients but Renata tells me that they soon found out that in order to meet this demand, they would need a larger space. “Our clients were looking for something different, so instead of the weights, treadmills and everything, they were coming to Karl for boxing and nothing else. We started boxing classes but the premises was too small for that, so we sold it and started looking for the right location.”

Karl himself was a former national kick-boxing champion and amateur boxer. His fighting experience, no doubt, is a key element in his ability to be a successful trainer and coach. However, he states that he owes a lot to his former mentor, Padraig Murphy, in developing not only his coaching ability but also the business acumen required to succeed in such a competitive market. “After my Leaving Cert I studied Fitness and Leisure Management and I was boxing at the local club which is where I met my employer and coach, Padraig Murphy, who was the area manager of Westwood Health Club at the time. He took me under his wing, he gave me an opportunity and that kind of fed my ambitions…I began seeing myself in a role of coaching and having something to fall back on.” Murphy is one of the leading figures in the Irish health and fitness industry and is a former kick-boxer at National and International level himself. Karl re-iterates how important the role of Murphy was in shaping his career. “If I’m being fair, Padraig was the main coach, mentor and influence in my life. He really focussed on me. He was the one who helped shape me to where I am today.”

Not resting on the success which Underdog has had in its first year, Karl is ever on the look out for new opportunities to grow not only the business but also his abilities as a trainer and coach. He has plans to travel to the United States to meet world-renowned trainer, Freddie Roach, who over the years has had a number of high profile boxers under his tutelage including Manny Pacquiao, Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto and Julio César Chávez, Jr. “I’ve also plans to travel to the States to meet Freddie Roach and other world-class trainers. I want to listen and to learn from these great coaches and bring back as much knowledge as I can and apply it to Underdog, to share with everyone that comes here.” This isn’t unfamiliar territory for Karl however, as recently he has been helping prepare French super welterweight, Dylan Charrat (7–0–0), for his upcoming bout on the 28th April in Nice, France. As a result of this experience, Karl is eager to obtain his professional boxing coach licence. “I’m looking to apply for my licence as a professional coach and looking to make contacts. I’m hoping to travel to France to meet Dylan’s coaches to develop a relationship with them and to see what we can build together.”

Having world-class facilities such as those present at Underdog has likely helped in convincing Dylan to train there for his upcoming professional bout. However, these facilities are not present throughout the country, especially for children who are looking to take up the sport. This is something the Karl allures to: “We need to have a look at the local clubs, the kids, the coaches and invest into these.” Although the Irish Sports Council have invested heavily into boxing facilities at the National Sports Campus in Abbotstown, Karl believes that this investment, although welcome, should be directed into facilities aimed at children looking to take up the sport. “I’ve seen the high performance facilities and they are great facilities. Not forgetting grassroots, champions are born in the local community boxing clubs and I think it is these facilities which they need to look at first.”

In addition to investment, Karl firmly believes that the removal of any intimidation towards newcomers to boxing is key to maintaining the success which Irish boxing has achieved over the last number of years. As a coach and fighting at different clubs throughout the country as an amateur, this is something that he has witnessed on occasion. “There was sometimes a sense of intimidation to any newcomers and this helped both Renata and I to mould this model that we have now today in a way that we can remove intimidation, overcrowding and provide a really great experience.”

With this in mind, Karl and Renata have a clear ethos to how they want their members to experience Underdog and that is a sense of community. “The whole goal is to provide the best facilities in Dublin for people to come, feel comfortable and feel part of the community.” Karl remains humble and insists that it is the members that are the most important aspect of the business. So much that he wants to commemorate this fact by displaying pictures of Underdog’s members on the walls of the gym. “What we will splash up on all our walls is our photos of our members. We want to celebrate the members, guys who come here, put the hard work in, who are dedicated, committed and who are getting results.” 
 
 Looking to the future, Karl’s and Renata’s success throughout their first year has led them to the decision to open up a second branch. “Were extremely happy with it (the first year) and were already looking at expanding to another premises on the northside to open up a second Underdog.” 
 
 As the first year anniversary of Underdog draws near, I ask Renata whether they have a party planned. “Parties are always linked with alcohol and cakes. People come here to get in shape, so I cant really be like, ‘hey just cancel out what you’ve just done in the last 45 minutes’! We need to think of a healthy way of celebration, maybe some chopped up carrots or something!”

Looking around at the facilities and seeing first-hand the success that the Bennetts have achieved, surely they are no longer the underdog.