It’s January and whether you’re a year-round gym bunny, trying to recapture your fitness mojo, or considering dipping your toe in the exercise world for the very first time, you’re probably getting a bit swept up in the New Year health hype.
Manchester is blessed with a plethora of options to keep active, whether you’re into a butt-kicking boot camp or a mindful yoga session.
But there aren’t many gyms in town where you can train in several different ways for one single membership cost.
Credit: The Manc GroupV1BE has two gyms, both of which are plenty spacious.
Now with two locations in the city centre, this is a gym space that marries boutique fitness classes with an open gym kitted out with all the equipment you need for a complete solo workout.
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V1BE’s original studio was down in a basement unit in the Northern Quarter and had built up a loyal following with its classes, which blend treadmills, free weights and boxing.
V1BE and Lifestyle Fitness joined forces a couple of years ago to launch a £1m facility in Ancoats, going on to open a second joint venue on Mosley Street.
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Considered one of Manchester’s best class-based gyms, the addition of an open gym area has made V1BE one of Manchester’s best gyms full stop.
In the free weights area on Mosley Street, you’ll find a stylish gym that may be compact, but one which has an impressive array of equipment (and properly nice changing rooms too).
There’s a huge rig in the middle of the room for pull-ups and callisthenics workouts, along with a track for sled pushes and pulls, resistance bands, battle ropes, paralettes, kettlebells, sandbags, gymnastic rings, weight belts and more.
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Fancy a blast of cardio? They’ve got it all: Wattbikes, assault bikes, stairmasters, treadmills, rowers and ski ergs.
Ready to move some weight? There’s a great range of machines plus a whole wall of dumbbells, two squat racks, many barbells, and an Olympic lifting platform.
Then when you’re done sweating you can grab your stuff from the digital-locking lockers, hit the showers, and blast your hair back to order with GHD hairdryers and straighteners.
V1BE has all the versatility and freedom you could want from a gym.
Back upstairs at V1BE you’ll find the studio area, hosting the classes that it built its name on. Classes range in length (30, 45 or 60 minutes) and intensity.
There’s IGN1TE, where you’ll flit between treadmill sprints and floor workouts. STR1KE does the same but also incorporates boxing drills. ADRENAL1NE skips the treadmills and focuses on free weight and bodyweight exercises. And then there’s BOOT1E, dedicated to lower body strength.
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V1BE has also just launched new pilates to its timetable in time for your 2024 health kick. With their full membership, it means that in one week you can lift heavy, stretch deep, or sweat hard, with whatever workout you fancy each day.
Memberships for V1BE start from £39 – you can find out more HERE.
BOX sports bar on Deansgate is putting on the perfect night out for fans of horse racing
Danny Jones
With Cheltenham Festival 2024 coming up, both casual punters and die-hard horse racing fans are getting ready for the massive sporting weekend and Deansgate’s beloved sports bar, BOX, has come up with the perfect event to get in the mood for it.
Put simply, if you like the thrill of horse racing or the idea of race day vibes but aren’t so keen on the real thing, this might be perfect for you.
Simply dubbed ‘Race Night’, the new monthly series combines the virtual world and interactive games with one of the biggest sporting disciplines on the planet, as well as plenty of booze and food to go along with it. Oh yeah, and plenty of friendly competition, of course.
Revolving around a virtual horse racing simulator which everyone inside the bar can get involved with, BOX’s mini Manc version of Cheltenham has already got underway and you can be a part of it – plus it goes towards a good cause too.
Having now visited ourselves, we can confirm Race Night brings a proper party atmosphere and a healthy dose of wanting to rub your victory in your friends’ faces.
Don’t worry, they get plenty of those too, even if not the bragging rights all for themselves.
As you can see, it’s all quite simple: you place bets on the virtual horse racing events via your phone and watch the heats live on the many big screens located around BOX bar’s massive Manchester venue on the main Deansgate strip.
With a total of five races to try and win during the night, you’ll have plenty of chances to holler your head off and cheer on your winner. Whether you’re a pro, a ‘once-a-year flutter’ kind of person, or just joining your mates for a laugh, we can certainly voucher for the vibes.
Better yet, beyond the user-fuelled action on the telly, there’s plenty more entertainment to be enjoyed on the night, from BOX‘s regular DJs and live music to plenty of other interactive party games to give other guests a chance to win extra prizes.
A very fun and often silly party. (Credit: The Manc Group)
‘What’s the top prize?’, we hear you ask: how does a £200 bar tab sound?
Even from entry, your £5 entry fee scores you a complimentary glass of prosecco upon arrival and, as always, there’s plenty of delicious food and drink to tide you over throughout the night.
Here’s a more detailed breakdown of how Race Night works:
Guests place their bets with fun money tokens through our virtual bookies on their phones.
You can bet on multiple horses per race but you are only paid out for the winner.
This payout goes directly into each of their betting accounts so will change throughout the event.
Odds are worked out via the software and vary by however many people bet on the same horse.
Races are pre-recorded – it all comes down to the luck of which horse you pick.
The winner is the person at the end who has the most fun money in their betting account.
The overall winner gets a £200 bar tab.
Table downstairs for our live band at 9pm.
Two rounds of the ‘Chair Jockey’ game: first to pop the balloon gets a round of shots for their table.
Put your inhibitions aside, folks – there’s booze to be won. (Credit: The Manc Group)
Set to happen every month, with the next event taking place from 7-9pm on Friday, 14 March – the week of this year’s Cheltenham Festival – you don’t want to miss out on the unique virtual and immersive sporting event.
You’ll also be glad to hear that all profits from the tickets, which are again just a fiver, will be donated to MNDA (Motor Neurone Disease Association), with a guaranteed minimum donation of £2.50.
Before you inevitably get off your seat to cheer on a digital horse and jockey, you can book yours HERE.
With just a few days left of the competition, it also happens to be one of the best places to watch the 2025 Six Nations.
Hit theatre production set at a house party to visit Manchester on UK tour
Daisy Jackson
Alright then, 24 hour party people, we’ve found a theatre production you might like the sound of – it’s called The House Party, and it’s set in (you guessed it) a house party.
This smash hit production by pioneering theatre company Headlong is set to land at HOME in March as part of the arts venue’s 2025 theatre season.
It tells the tale of a wild 18th birthday party, where Christine is trying to pick up the pieces of her best friend, a newly-dumped Julie (who happens to be the birthday girl).
Themes of class, power and privilege are all explored with a raw intensity as the cast on stage plough through shots and dive head-first into a night that will change everything they know.
The House Party, which has received glowing reviews from previous showings, is filled with ‘privilege, desire and destruction’.
When it stops off in Manchester, its cast will include Bridgerton’s Sesley Hope as Christine, Synnøve Karlsen (Miss Austen, Last Night in Soho) as Julie, and Tom Lewis (Gentleman Jack, Patience) as Jon.
The ensemble of Frantic Assembly performers includes Ines Aresti, Oliver Baines, Cal Connor, Micah Corbin-Powell, Rachael Leonce, Jaheem Pinder and Jamie Randall.
The House Party is written by Laura Lomas and is a reimagining of August Strindberg’s Miss Julie for today’s generation.
It’s directed by Headlong’s artistic director Holly Race Roughan, who directed the Royal Shakespeare Company’s world premiere of David Edgar’s major new political play The New Real.
The House Party. Credit: Ikin YumThe production will be at HOME. Credit: Supplied
Movement direction will come from Frantic Assembly’s Scott Graham.
Prior to the UK tour of The House Party, Headlong celebrated its 50 year anniversary, including the hit production of A Raisin in the Sun which played nationwide.
The House Party will be at HOME in Manchester between 25 and 29 March, 2025 – you can get your tickets HERE.
Daisy Jackson -
5th January 2024 
