North East entrepreneur launches health and fitness business in Leeds

North East-based entrepreneur Paul Alexander is launching his health and fitness business in Leeds.

elite: together, which was established by Paul eight years ago in his native North East, currently operates four studios. Leeds will be the fifth and a sixth will open soon in Warrington.

Due to the business’ ongoing growth, Paul is planning to open four more by the end of the year.

The elite: Leeds studio will open on the Gelderd Trading Estate on May 1st.

The business is known for its elite: transform programme – six weeks of diet and exercise that makes full use of social media to spur participants on. The programme is free for anyone who manages to lose 20lbs during the process.

Paul said: “You go to a typical gym and most have the same ethos, all muscles and six-packs. But elite is accessible for people who maybe don’t have the confidence for that sort of thing.

“We’re changing the way people think about themselves. We make the impossible possible for ordinary people.

“What we do is the opposite of a gym. There’s not a treadmill in sight – it’s about a new way to see health, fitness and wellbeing, designed for everybody. We don’t simply train your body, we train your mind.”

The manager of the Leeds studio is Ben Green, who was signed by Bradford City at the age of 11 but had a short-lived career as a footballer.

Ben commented: “I was lucky enough to be funded through university by the Professional Footballers Association and gained a degree in sports coaching and development.

“The skills and knowledge I have picked up along the way, coupled with my unrivalled enthusiasm and passion for fitness makes me a great motivator and I’m looking forward to helping the people of Leeds who join the Elite family.”

Deputy manager is George Holland, who has a rugby league background and spent the past three years as a personal trainer and as an assistant manager in the leisure industry.

George added: “I battled with my weight for a number of years. Knowing the Elite mindset and having once been in that situation, I can’t wait to play a pivotal role in helping others transform their lives.”

Paul now employs 33 staff in Cramlington, Newcastle, Stockton-on-Tees, Manchester and Leeds.

Paul concluded: “The north has the highest obesity rates in England and I want to help people, ordinary, everyday people, do something about that. elite is not quite an empire yet but we have ambitious growth plans.”

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