‘This gym helped me find confidence with my body’

When Robin Harrison moved to England from the Netherlands, the first thing he did was sign up to a gym.

He hadn’t set up a UK bank account yet and had to arrange to pay in cash for the first month, but he didn’t want to wait.

That’s because he knew Bristol Co-operative Gym would be a special place, somewhere he could go as a transgender person and find a welcoming space to get fit.

“The inclusivity it offered, without any sense of expectation, really helped me find confidence with my body. I was in awe of that,” he said.

This is the ethos behind the gym and the reason people flock to a council-owned building on St Anne’s Road in Brislington and the hidden oasis within.

“Its slogan is ‘we hate gyms too’ and it’s really accurate,” said member Hannah Atkinson. “It’s got all the equipment and coaches but it doesn’t feel like a gym.

Robin Harrison said the gym made him feel comfortable with his body – photo: Molly Pipe

“Going to a typical gym can feel very busy and overwhelming. But here there are no egos and no pressure to prove myself.

“It’s very supportive and very friendly. I really love it.”

That’s the reason Haz Horobin signed up as a secretary, one of the 25 members who run the co-operative.

“The gym was a huge part of my life. I joined when I first moved to Bristol and it was a really great way to meet new people,” they said.

“I would have quite an anxious day at work, but I’d come here and by the end of it I’d have forgotten all my worries.

“When the gym was asking for volunteers, I really wanted to support it.”

The gym has moved on from the “little dusty space” it started in – photo: Molly Pipe

2026 marks one decade of Bristol Co-operative Gym, with a celebration event planned for later this year.

It’s come a long way in that time.

“Someone called Guy Lochhead set it up at All Hallows Hall in Easton,” explained chair Paul Hurley. “It had that DIY community centre feel, just really nice people trying stuff out.

“It didn’t feel like any gyms I had been to before, none of that body image pressure or competitiveness. I remember Guy saying it’s just picking up heavy things and putting them down again, and that’s all it is. But it’s amazing.”

“All Hallows Hall was a little dusty space,” said member Lotte Kammenga. “All the equipment was kept in a cupboard, and if it rained it would all get wet.”

The move to St Anne’s House in 2021 was hardly better at first.

“It was just a dusty old council office with weird carpet,” said member Anna Sopwith. “Then we did a crowdfunder for the refit and now it’s a really nice gym.”

“When we designed this space we had a lot of consultations with members to make it feel as inclusive as possible,” explained Lotte.

“It’s really nice to think we have built this from the ground up.”

As for Robin, the gym has offered more than a place to train; it has changed his whole career.

“The gym funded me to do a personal training course and later on I became a trainer here,” he said.

“Now I’m starting my own personal training business.

“It’s such an amazingly important place for me. I was so excited by it that I wanted to share that joy with other people.”

Main photo: Bristol Co-operative Gym

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