In my corner: CResults comes to Stellenbosch

Ding ding. Round one.

On 1 September, CResults Fitness Boxing opens its doors in Stellenbosch and I am very bloody excited.

Not only because I am an investor and partner in the Stellenbosch business (although obviously I want all of you to come and make us wildly successful 😂), but because this is something I have used, enjoyed and believed in for years.

And, like so many good things in my life, it started with a person and a connection.

Round 1: I really didn’t think I would like it

Years ago, when I was still living in Gauteng, my mate Robin van Ginkel suggested I try CResults in Bryanston.

Rob was Director of Hockey and Head of Sport Science at St Stithians and has coached at the highest levels of hockey, including the South African women’s and men’s teams. He was using CResults as part of the training of elite hockey players.

So he thought I should try it too.

I was less convinced.

Boxing? Me?

But I went.

And loved it from pretty much the first punch.

Because early on I discovered is that CResults isn’t really about learning how to beat someone up. (And, for anyone worried about this, our FAQ actually answers the question “Will I get punched in the face?” with a reassuring “Nope.” 😂)

It is a 45-minute full-body workout combining boxing, weights, functional training and HIIT. Technology in the gloves tracks your punches, including effort, speed, power and volume, so there is data behind the sweat. There are more than 100 different workouts and you can watch your own progress over time.

Which ticks quite a few of my boxes: short, hard, fun, measurable and no time to get bored.

Round 2: Fitness isn’t only for fit people

One of the things I have come to appreciate about CResults over the years is that it works for very different people.

Elite athletes can use it.

People who have never put on a boxing glove can use it.

Young people. Older people. Women and men. Very fit people and those of us whose fitness journeys occasionally take scenic detours via restaurants and wine farms.

You work at your level.

That matters.

Too much of the fitness industry seems designed to make people who aren’t already fit feel that they don’t belong there. I like the opposite idea: create a place where people can start where they are and then get better.

The technology helps. You aren’t pretending to be the person next to you. You’re building your own numbers and measuring your own progress.

That is quite a good metaphor for life too.

Round 3: The bloke in the other corner

The founder of CResults is Alan Harris. AKA, SuperChamp Alan.

Alan opened the original Bryanston operation and subsequently Houghton and now we are bringing CResults south to Stellenbosch. CResults has actually been operating in Gauteng since 2018, so this isn’t an experiment we’re dreaming up over a glass of wine in Stellenbosch. The model has been tested, refined and used by lots of very different bodies.

I’ve loved getting to know Alan better through this process.

Entrepreneurs matter.

They take risks. They create jobs. They try things. They get knocked down and get up again. They employ people and train people and occasionally lie awake at 3am wondering why the hell they ever thought entrepreneurship was a good idea.

So congratulations Alan.

But I want to congratulate Alan and his wife Laura for something else too.

They are a great couple and, most importantly, great parents (and now also my close mates).

We sometimes have a very strange definition of success. We celebrate the person who builds the biggest company, makes the most money or accumulates the most stuff.

Those things are fine.

But building a loving relationship, raising great kids, being kind, having mates, showing up for people and then also building businesses?

That impresses me much more.

Round 4: And suddenly the connections come home

Our first Stellenbosch trainers have been trained by Alan.

And here life does one of those wonderful things it does.

One is Ethan Leather, son of my mate and EasyEquities colleague Brad Leather. Like his dad, Etan is great with people.

The other is Leo Knoetzen, son of my mate Ilzemarie, who is my bridge partner in Stellenbosch and involved with Woordfees and much else besides. Leo is a superb athlete and boxer.

Robin introduced me to CResults in Johannesburg.

Through CResults I met Alan.

Years later Alan and I are partners bringing it to Stellenbosch.

And two young men connected to people in completely different parts of my life are among the people who will now help build it here.

1 + 1 seldom equals 2.

Life is about connections.

Make them. Use them. And, most importantly, help other people make them.

I think that is particularly important in South Africa.

Our networks too easily look like us. Same race. Same gender. Same schools. Same neighbourhoods. Same socioeconomic circles.

That isn’t networking. That’s often just reinforcing what we already know.

The real magic happens when we deliberately make our circles wider – across race, gender, age, background, profession and experience. Not as some worthy tick-box exercise, but because our lives, businesses and country become richer when people who would not ordinarily meet one another actually do.

We need more of those connections in South Africa.

Much more.

Final round: Stellenbosch, your turn

CResults Stellenbosch opens Tuesday, 1 September at the Blackhorse Centre, 52 Dorp Street (by the way, the building is owned by another mate – the artist and entrepreneur Katie Farringer whom I met through, yes you guessed it, my mate Rose Jordaan!) . Your first CResults class is free.

Classes are 45 minutes and run throughout the day from Monday to Friday, with morning classes on Saturday and Sunday. There are memberships as well as class packs, student and kids options, personal training and “train anytime” sessions.

And there’s another very good reason to try it if you’re a Discovery Vitality member: depending on your Vitality status, you can currently get between two and eight CResults workouts free each month.

Have a look at CResults Fitness Boxing and book the free first session.

Come fit or unfit.

Come young or old.

Come because you box. Come because you have never thrown a punch in your life.

Come with a mate – or perhaps even better, come and make a new one.

Congratulations Alan and Laura. Thank you Robin for making that first connection all those years ago. Good luck Ethan and Leo and the whole Stellenbosch team.

I’m looking forward to being back in front of a bag. As Alan rightfully often says – being able to exercise is a privilege and a choice, not a chore. 

So Stellenbosch: see you in my corner. Book your free session now! 🥊