BOXING legend Frank Bruno has thrown his weight behind a Cheshire-based business for its work supporting mental ill health.
The ex-World Heavyweight Champion said Spartan Survival deserved huge praise after finding out about how their courses are aiding wellbeing.
Frank, 60, found out all about the firm, which runs bushcraft and survival courses, during a visit to Chester to talk about his new book 60 Years A Fighter.
He spoke to course-leader and Spartan Survival founder Ian Huntington who has invited Frank to attend one of the courses in the future so he can find out for himself more of the benefits the outdoor experiences can have.
Paying tribute to the work of Spartan Survival, national treasure Frank said: “The work Ian and the team are doing is great. It’s been proven and shown that being outside, keeping active and taking some time out now and then is a brilliant way to keep your mental health in check.
“That’s the secret to what we do at our courses at the Frank Bruno Foundation and it’s clear it is at the heart of the philosophy Ian and his team use too. It’s a great organisation which people should give a go.”
During his visit to Chester Racecourse, Frank also met Spartan investor Roy Shelton, who is also the chair of the Chester Business Club. (pictured with the retired champ).
Spartan Survival Founder Ian said as well as extending an invite to Frank to their site in Cholmondeley Woods his team are also hoping to put on an event near to Frank’s charity, based in Northampton, in the future.
He said: “Frank’s a national treasure, whose work on raising awareness of mental ill health is absolutely inspirational. We look forward to hopefully working with Frank and his team in the future.”
Since the pandemic, Spartan Survival has seen a dramatic increase in bookings as business leaders seek a “reset in mindset.” Increasing numbers of teams, many now working from home, are currently “reconnecting” via Spartan courses, which are specially designed to address pandemic brain fatigue.
Spartan has also been busy overseeing an elite course at a secret location in Scotland, which offers similar challenges to those featured on survival TV programmes loved by millions of viewers.
In the space of a year, attendances on the Cheshire-course have risen from 10-a-month to 60-a-month. Almost a third of those taking part are women and the Cheshire based business is now also offering female-only courses. There has also been a spike in demand for elite training from the expert team at Spartan Survival, all of which have served time within the military or special forces.
Business leaders attending courses are put through their paces by the accomplished elite military veterans, serving as course instructors, who share their insight and skills to attendees imparting various military techniques and survival knowledge in the process.
Last month the company was named by the Business Insider group as one of the north west’s most exciting new companies.
Ian added: “Those running businesses often turn up to our courses with their minds crammed full of things they need to do and tasks they think they need to complete. But as soon as they arrive we make clear they need to press pause on all of that and instead encourage them to focus on just four things: shelter, fire, water and food.
“Many are a bit wary of handing in their mobile phones. And some look nervous as they head off to spend two or three days on their own in the wilderness, device-free, with the only task on their to-do list being survival. But by the end of the course they’ve gone through a total reset in their minds.
“Everyone who attends later reports how much it helps to improve their performance once back at work. Our courses are also proving really popular too for groups of co-workers who are no longer based in the same location. It’s clear the pandemic has transformed the working environment and many companies now feel detached by work from home, even though it does have its plus points. But by attending a course, people find they can work together again, side-by-side in a challenging environment and it creates a stronger bond and team spirit.”
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