BRONX Boxing Club is not your typical amateur gym. Of course, it offers a refuge for the younger generation, a place where they can learn more about themselves both in and out of the ring.
Yet still, there is something that gives Bronx a fiercely unique identity, with the Camberwell-based gym’s founder and owner, Marnie Swindells, looking to break down barriers while also forging a formidable legacy.
“Anyone who’s been in an amateur gym knows it’s not just about the boxing: it’s about what it feels like to be part of something,” Swindells told Boxing News.
“My whole agenda is to minimise that gap between what the world thinks boxing gyms are and what people in boxing really know them to be, because they’re beautiful, magical places full of all different kinds of people.”
Shortly after winning series 17 of the BBC’s Apprentice, Swindells used her newly acquired £250,000 investment to expand her previously established boxing club.
The gym, as it happens, was already a flourishing spot in the heart of South London but following a swift injection of cash, it ended up receiving more than just a face-lift.
And so, within a six-month period, Swindells was able to introduce a range of cutting edge facilities to her fighters.
“[The upstairs of Bronx now includes] a café so that, even if they’re not necessarily into boxing, there are elements of the gym that people can gravitate towards,” she said.
“We also have a sauna; we have a weights gym; we have a studio. And by diversifying what we’re offering, we’re attracting a whole new demographic of people who might have thought that boxing wasn’t for them, or that it was intimidating.
“For our existing fighters, too, having the sauna and state-of-the-art weights gym has natural benefits to their training. We can offer them things that a local grassroots gym may not be able to.”
Swindells has always insisted that she wants Bronx to represent a healthy balance between a spit-and-sawdust boxing club and a more profitable commercial gym.
She is, after all, running a business, but equally acknowledges the importance of building a strong amateur stable that consistently produces champions.
“We’re growing a small but mighty amateur squad headed up by my head coach, Callam Stewart,” Swindells said. “He’s taken the fighters from nothing.
“We interview the boxers before letting them join. We want commitment; we want athletes; we want talent.
“So I’m really proud of the direction that we’re heading in because, being a woman, and coming off The Apprentice, there’s a misconception that this is a women’s-only gym, or it’s not real boxing.
“I’m just here to make a statement about our heart and our spirit – that this is real boxing and we are the real deal. I want the Boxing News readership to know that we’re taking this seriously.”
Off the back of her scintillating victory on The Apprentice, Swindells was immediately thrown into the deep end, expected to deal with the pressure that naturally came with her elevated profile.
But while her new-found fame has lent itself to greater marketing for Bronx, it has also brought about a far less desirable change to her life.
“From a business perspective, [the media attention] has been incredible,” Swindells said. “It’s given us exposure that would’ve taken us years to build.
“But from a personal perspective, going from no one having a clue who you are to The Apprentice, and being spat out the other side of it… it takes its toll.
“Everybody has an opinion, so you have to develop really thick skin. There’s no guidebook to follow; you just have to handle the pressure on your feet.
“I suppose that very much resonates with boxing: stepping into the ring where, at an amateur level, you don’t know who’s going to be in front of you, so you literally have to roll with the punches and figure it out on the job.
“Every business at this level has hiccups and makes mistakes, but I don’t feel like I have the luxury of making a mistake.
“A lot of the time, the people who have a [negative] opinion are people who (a) don’t have the balls to say it to your face and (b) don’t have the courage to take the same risks that I took.
“Whether I fail or become triumphant, I take a lot of solace from knowing that I’m trying. I’m doing something that a lot of people can’t say they’ve had a go at. ‘Heavy is the head that wears the crown,’ is what I often say to myself.”
In addition to growing the Bronx brand, Swindells has aspirations to, one day, become a professional boxing promoter.
And so, having previously worked as a barrister, while also promoting several white-collar events, the ambitious entrepreneur is convinced that she would not only survive but thrive in the treacherous world of pro boxing.
“My career in law has given me a skillset that’s transferable to doing deals in the pro boxing world,” she claimed.
“I think there’s a lot wrong with the pro boxing. I see a lot of talented fighters fall before they even get started, and that just comes down to bad contracts, bad management, bad promotion, and bad deals.
“Being a woman, too, I can bring a new, fresh perspective, as there isn’t really a go-to female promoter in the UK.”
While her entry into professional boxing is, by her own admission, still a long way off, the northerner has already taken an enormous amount of inspiration from Boxxer promoter Ben Shalom.
And even with seasoned promoters Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren directing their fair share of jibes at Shalom – the new kid on the block, in many ways – Swindells remains undeterred, refusing to lose focus on her goal to build the Bronx boxing promotional outfit.
“[Shalom] shot to the top very quickly, so any mistakes he makes, he has to make them in the spotlight,” she said. “He doesn’t have the same benefit that Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren have had – years of cultivating and growing their businesses.”
Becoming one of the UK’s only female boxing promoters would be a remarkable feat, providing Swindells with the opportunity to have an even greater impact on the sport.
But still, there is plenty more work to be done at Bronx – with regards to expanding her business and perhaps even opening a new gym – before she can consider applying for her promoter’s licence.
“I’m looking forward to the next step, which will hopefully be to find premises number two,” Swindells teased.
“To my disadvantage, though, I’m probably overly ambitious. If I could set about opening another gym tomorrow, I would. But I need to make sure that I can walk before I run.”
