In April 2020, everyone in Manchester seemed to come to the same conclusion – it was time to get fit.
The world was closed for business and everyone was cooped-up inside until further notice. There had never been a more ideal time to shed some pounds and pack on some muscle.
Demand for fitness equipment was insane. Dumbbells, exercise bikes and yoga mats all vanished within a matter of weeks, meaning people had to improvise.
People filled water jugs to use as weights, used resistance bands instead of cable machines, and hit the tarmac instead of the treadmill.
And it worked.
Those who embraced a street-style fitness regime saw some of the best results and found the workouts more fulfilling – and it’s this raw, urbanised form of training that Urban Reform has been running since setting up in 2018.
Inside the industrial unit on Pollard Street is where it started for Urban Reform.
Fitness fanatics were flipping tyres, swinging kettlebells and throwing about heavy weights, and although seemed a tricky task, people who’d never lifted in their life were squatting like pros and doing walking handstands. But that’s just the way things are at Urban Reform – progress is fast.
People went to the facility looking to transform their lives, and within weeks, they knew more about themselves and their bodies than ever before.
Urban Reform was set up by Dean Ashton and Ricky Gibbins, and began life offering outdoor fitness programs / Credit: The Manc Group
“We want people to leave the gym feeling good about themselves,” co-founder Dean Ashton tells us.
“Our ethos is to educate people so they can take full ownership of a healthy lifestyle with simplified and tailored programs [and] we offer the right info, at the right pace, at the right time – it’s as simple as that.”
Urban Reform was set up by Dean Ashton and Ricky Gibbins, and began life offering outdoor fitness programs.
Personal Trainer Dean decided he wanted to bring fitness to the doorstep of the Manchester community, and so he started conducting classes in car parks and green areas – which would grow in attendance almost every week – and meanwhile, on the other side of town, Ricky was running an enormously-successful Personal Training business that transformed lives from his home garage.
The pair decided to put their heads together, merge their respective followings, and set up Urban Reform – a fitness centre that retained a grassroots feel while offering a more holistic kind of service.
“Our ethos is to educate people so they can take full ownership of a healthy lifestyle.” / Credit: The Manc Group
“PT businesses can be narcissistic sometimes,” Dean says.
“They can push vanity and perfection. We wanted to do it right. We wanted to utilise our skills of understanding people and put them into Manchester – using fitness as a way to help people develop a balanced lifestyle, keep fit and healthy.
“As fitness trainers, we’ve got a duty of care to busy people living and working here, which is why we’ve brought in staff in different areas, including mental health specialists, transformation coaches, weightlifting coaches, lower back pain experts, trainers adept in helping young and older adults, and nutritionists.”
The multifaceted fitness centre has been a smash-hit with Mancs throughout 2020 and into 2021, with programs in physical and wellness transformation having been hosted both online and on site, depending on tier restrictions.
“During COVID, we offered online services that have proven extremely popular; such as online exercise plans and videos,” explains Dean.
“And after lockdown, all our classes were fully booked – now, we want to grow and develop.”
The multifaceted fitness centre has been a smash-hit with Mancs throughout 2020 and into 2021 / Credit: The Manc Group
Both Dean and Ricky’s determination to support the mindset of busy city centre lives has led to a number of collaborations with businesses to support the resilience of staff on a wider scale across Manchester.
Dean continued: “We’re launching a new service at Exchange Quay with AJ Bell to offer a wellbeing service for all their staff, as well as working with Capital and Centric to provide services for their residents.
“We are now located in a new facility near Piccadilly Train Station that’s double the size of our current venue, and it’ll have a focus on creative fitness, strength and offering consistent wellbeing messages.”
Urban Reform is has a number of packages to engage all levels, including physical and mental transformation programs, strength-based classes, urban fitness outdoor bootcamps, and even weight lifting programs that teach beginners to lift like a pro. So whether you’re brand new to training, or a top level athlete, the team is more than equipped to support everyone and provide the highest level quality.
Urban Reform is has a number of packages to engage all levels / Credit: The Manc Group
There’s just as much focus on the mental side as well as the physical.
“Every one of our coaches are put through a mentorship program which involves mental health courses, so they can recognise anxiety and depression,” Dean explains
“Mental health first aid is essential in this line of work. As a PT – you’re a support worker, too [and] you need to understand or be aware if someone is struggling.
Thousands of Mancs found solace by working out in their gardens or streets during lockdown, and Urban Reform is taking the spirit of this training, cranking up the intensity, refining the focus – and making us a fitter region as a result.
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Urban Reform’s open day is taking place on Saturday 11 September, and you can find more information by heading over to the website here.
There’s also a chance for one lucky fitness fan to bag themselves a 12-week transformation program worth £1,000.
You can find more about the competition and get your entries in here.
Featured Image – The Manc Group
Manchester
The Manchester charity that’s championing the community one step at a time
Thomas Melia
There’s a Manchester-based charity which is helping uplift and champion communities throughout the city centre and wider Greater Manchester region.
Us Mancs certainly know a thing or two about community, whether it’s our influential music scene, football clubs, our hospitality scene and so on, but Forever Manchester takes this to the next level.
This charity has been consistently funding and supporting community initiatives throughout Greater Manchester by helping people achieve the extraordinary, all while maintaining plenty of local pride.
Forever Manchester was born from a mission to support the people and places that make Greater Manchester magic, and is all about making sure the community is at the forefront of everything they do.
Credit: Forever Manchester
The community-first charity has invested over £65 million into local communities and awarded £517,968 to over 100 different community groups.
This isn’t a new charity either, Forever Manchester has been deep in our city’s culture for quite some time since launching in 1989, most notably commissioning local poet Tony Walsh’s ‘This is the Place’.
The piece was originally published in 2012 before finding a very special place in our hearts back in 2017 when Walsh performed the poem at a vigil for the Manchester Arena attack.
This love letter to Manchester has not only gone on to become a part of the city’s history but also reaffirmed this organisation’s place throughout communities in the region.
Credit: Supplied
Now, the community-minded charity is ready to make a mark in 2025 with a whole host of initiatives, including a Forever Manchester lottery, pub quizzes, comedy nights and disco bingo.
Anyone looking to find out more information about this community-first charity and see some examples of the work it does can visit Forever Manchester’s official website.
Remember, this is a city that looks after its own – that’s the kind of energy we want to see you keeping up all year long.
And, if you have a soft spot for a tote bag or wall art prints, look no further than Forever Manchester’s shop, where every purchase directly contributes to community activities in Greater Manchester HERE.
Billie Eilish at Co-op Live, Manchester – tickets, times, setlist and more for UK tour
Thomas Melia
Billie Eilish is ready to take over Co-op Live for four nights of tear-jerking, heart-wrenching, belly-aching hits right here in Manchester.
Ms. ‘Ocean Eyes’ herself is coming to Manchester this month, and we’re on hand with all the info you need so you don’t have to ‘Guess’ anything on the day of your show.
Billie Eilish has cemented her position in the music industry as one of the leading hitmakers, and at only 23 years old, this artist has won nine Grammy Awards and racked up three UK number-one singles.
The American star has been grafting since her early teens, dropping her first ever EP, don’t smile at me, in 2017 at only 16 years old and has reached height after height ever since.
Billie Eilish gig guide
Billie Eilish is playing at Co-op Live in Manchester on 19, 20, 22 and 23 July.Credit: Press shot (supplied)
Her latest album ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’, which is also the name of the tour, is Eilish’s third studio album and it’s stacked with bangers like ‘Birds of a Feather’, ‘Lunch’ and ‘Wildflower’, just to name a few.
Are there tickets left for Billie Eilish tickets in Manchester?
Anyone after tickets to any of the upcoming Billie Eilish gigs in Manchester might be in for a ‘not-so-lovely’ surprise, as you can expect, as most general tickets are sold out.
However, anyone who’s missed out on tickets for Billie’s FOUR-gig run in Manchester can still take a look at a variety of premium ticket packages.
You can grab your ‘Birds of a Feather’ and a ticket or two for the Saturday, 19 July show HERE.
Pack your ‘Lunch’ and put on your best outfit because there are exclusive tickets for the Sunday, 20 July gig HERE.
Your friends will be calling you ‘The Greatest’ when you let them know about the premium tickets still left for Tuesday, 22 July right HERE.
Finally, grab ‘L’amour De Ma Vie’ and sing your heart out with a range of hospitality tickets to choose from on Wednesday, 23 July HERE. And breathe…
Billie Eilish setlist
Chihiro
Lunch
NDA
Therefore I Am
Wildflower
when the party’s over
The Diner
ilomilo
bad guy
The Greatest
Your Power
Skinny
TV
bury a friend
Oxytocin
Guess
everything i wanted
lovely / Blue / ocean eyes (Medley)
L’amour De Ma Vie
What Was I Made For?
Happier Than Ever
Birds of a Feather
What are the stage times for Billie Eilish in Manchester?
Co-op Live has a strict curfew of 11pm, meaning concertgoers can be safe knowing ‘when the party’s over’ it won’t be well into the early hours.
Doors for ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’ tour are scheduled for 6pm with support acts Syd and Magdalena Bay on hand to soundtrack your evening and leave you feeling ‘Happier Than Ever’ before Billie at 8pm.
The first act, Syd, is known for co-founding influential R’n’B band, The Internet (big fans, by the way), and has just dropped a new solo single ‘Die For This’ ahead of her Billie Eilish tour stint.
How to get to Co-op Live
Tram
For those of you heading to Co-op Live, you’ll be glad to know it’s right next door to a rather famous big blue stadium and its integrated Metrolink stop.
Head along the light blue or orange lines directly to the Etihad Campus or Ashton-under-Lyne, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.
Trams run frequently on the Ashton-Eccles line to the Etihad stop, with services leaving every six minutes from the city centre until 01:00 on Fridays and Saturdays.
The ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour’ will mark Billie Eilish’s first ever Co-op Live appearance.Credit: William Drumm (supplied)
Bus
You can find the full list of bus routes HERE, with the one in closest proximity to the venue being the 53 bus, which runs from Cheetham Hill through to Higher Crumpsall, Old Trafford and Pendleton, leaving just a two-minute walk to Co-op Live. You also get free Bee Network travel with any valid event ticket.
Getting there by car and parking
If you’re driving, there is limited parking available at the venue,e but this must be pre-booked ahead of time and there are designated drop-off areas.
The postcode is M11 3DU, and you can follow the signs towards the wider Etihad Campus as you get closer; directions to the adjacent drop-off points will also be signposted.
Keep in mind that congestion on the roads close to the stadium is expected to gather around two hours prior to any event, so if you are travelling on the road, these are the suggested times they provide come event day – though estimates will vary, obviously:
Alan Turing Way (both directions): plan an additional 20 minutes into any journey by road.
Hyde Road (eastbound): expect an additional 15 minutes to be added to your journey.
Mancunian Way (westbound): plan for an extra 10 minutes of travel time.
There are also three park-and-ride facilities near Co-op Live, but be advised that the Velopark and Holt Town stops will be closed post-event to help safely manage crowds:
Ashton West (Ashton line) – 184 spaces and 11 disabled spaces
Ladywell (Ashton-Eccles line) – 332 spaces and 22 disabled spaces
Walk/cycle
Lastly, Co-op Live is only a half-hour stroll from Manchester Piccadilly, and you could even walk along the canal all the way to the front door if you fancy taking the scenic route.
Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes via the Beryl app, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app. There are hire points just near the south-west corner of the Etihad Stadium on Ashton New Road.
For more information on all travel options, you can check out the enhanced journey planner.