Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Ford.
Hi Michael, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started martial arts when I was a kid, and it was something I excelled at. It took me all over the world as a member of the United States National team. In 2011 I got into personal training, and became a kickboxing instructor shortly after. A few things I noticed was that people really enjoyed kickboxing for fitness, and they were seeing results as well as sticking around a lot longer than regular personal training clients. I quickly fell in love with my job and started to learn as much as I could about kickboxing, boxing, and other striking martial arts. It was my goal to be the best at what I was doing. In 2019 I was presented with an opportunity to open my own gym, and that was something I had always wanted to do ever since I got into the industry. I combined everything I knew about martial arts and opened up Surge Kickboxing, where we offer cardio kickboxing workouts, boxing and kickboxing private lessons, and youth martial arts. The main goal of the gym is to create a warm and welcoming environment that our members feel a part of a community. We try to do fun events each month, like self defense seminars, kickball, boxing and beers, and so on. The Surge Kickboxing community has blossomed into an amazing community and I am honored and blessed to be part of it.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
A smooth road is about the opposite of how it has been. We opened in October of 2019, which for the fitness industry is not the most ideal. Usually gyms see a drop in membership toward the end of the year due to holidays. However in January and February of 2020 we were rocking. Gaining new members each day, we were doing well. Then March hit and the pandemic happened. We were forced to shut the gym down. During the shut down we offered FREE online workouts to all of our members, and we even offered free workouts to the general public. We did not generate any revenue during the shut down, because I do not believe in charging people a gym membership if they are not physically coming into the gym, but we did encourage our members to donate if they could. We greatly appreciated the donations, however it was not nearly enough to keep the business afloat. When we reopened in May it was slow to start. We had a few of our loyal members come back immediately, and as everything slowly started to reopen we gained more and more momentum and started getting more and more members. By September we had hit our stride and were back to where we wanted to be from a growth stand point. Again the end of the year was a bit slow for us, but at the start of 2021 we saw another huge intake of members. Then disaster struck… During the cold snap in February when the temperature dropped below zero, one of the pipes froze in the gym causing it to flood. Again we were forced to shut down. Insurance, attorneys, and neighboring tenants were involved which created a gigantic mess. The landlord was not very helpful and was making ridiculous demands for money. We were closed down for about 2 months, again where we were not generating any revenue. We did everything we could to reopen as quickly as possible, and in April we were able to reopen again. All of our amazing members came back once we reopened and we are so grateful for the amazing community that we have at the gym and all the support they have shown us through our trials and tribulations. Now we are open and charging full steam ahead. Huge shoutout to all the members of the Surge Community for being the most incredible people in the world. We love you guys!
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Surge Kickboxing?
WHO WE ARE We are Colorado’s premier fitness and martial arts training center. We provide our members with a new functional full-body workout in just under 40 minutes while empowering our students to become stronger physically and mentally.
WHAT WE DO
We help our members achieve their personal fitness goals through martial arts and a workout in under 40 minutes. We provide quality training with proven results for any fitness level.
HOW WE DO IT
Our qualified trainers build lasting relationships to help each member along their fitness journey through support and accountability. We provide powerful community for all our members to find their power.
We offer a full-body functional exercise circuit that can be completed in just under 40 minutes.
Here you can show up anytime for a workout, with a team of trainers that will help push you to the next level. Our workouts are designed on a weekly basis with a focus on a different technique for each week. Every week, there will be 6 different types of circuits that you can pick from, or you can choose different exercises from each circuit to create your own workout circuit. Circuit 1 will be centered around lower body related exercises, Circuit 2 will be centered around upper body related exercises, Circuit 3 will be centered around cardio-related exercises, circuit 4 will be centered around core and stability related exercises, Circuit 5 will be centered around full-body exercises, and Circuit 6 will be a little bit of everything. Every day you come in, you will be guaranteed to receive personal attention from one of our qualified trainers, get a functional and effective full-body workout in under 40 minutes, and have a great experience while earning each drop of sweat.
We also offer Traditional Karate Classes & Self Defense for all ages. Not only will our students develop hand-eye coordination, physical strength and endurance, discipline, and confidence, they will also learn to seek perfection of character, be faithful, endeavor, respect others, refrain from violent behavior, and love themselves and love others. Our goal is to provide a training center that offers a supportive and well-rounded community of all ages and abilities. As a part of our Karate program, we have opportunities to participate in Olympic Sport Karate Competitions. We have a competition team that travels locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally to compete in WKF Sport Karate.
OUR COMMUNITY
Stronger Together
At Surge Kickboxing we strive to create a warm and welcoming environment for all. Whether you are trying your first kickboxing class ever, or you are a professional fighter, you will always be treated with love and respect. We like to think of our members as family, and as family we always support one another and build each other up.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Ask for help. The answer is always no unless you ask. The more people looking at a question, the more likely you will find the correct answer. Drop your ego and be willing to learn. As a black belt, I can always learn from a white belt.
Pricing:
- Bronze Membership = 2x per week for $119 a month
- Silver Membership= 3x per week for $139 a month
- Gold Membership= Unlimited for $159 a month
- Student/Teacher/First Responder/Military Discounts available
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://surgekickboxing.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surgekickboxingwestarvada/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SurgeKB/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/kickboxingsurge
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_nVEPKLtglopU8bnjj7BXA
