Five years ago, Carl left a safe, secure job and decided to follow his dreams of becoming a gym owner.
It’s a journey that’s been challenging at times, but one that has transformed not just his life, but the lives of the people he cares about most. In today’s show, hear all about how he did it, and what led him to take that fateful leap.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
After a health scare, Carl realised that even though he was still relatively young, he had not yet spent enough time pursuing his dreams, and so decided that the time had finally come.
Carl’s lack of interest in his job caused him to give his work less attention. This led to an ultimatum that finally gave him the push he needed.
One of the hardest parts of turning self-employed is acquiring the new routine that sees you through each day, and which gives you some kind of structure.
The rewards from doing the things you love are numerous, and not just monetary. They come from knowing you’re making a difference to yourself, to the community, to the world.
BEST MOMENTS
‘I had the cholesterol of a 90 year old smoker’
‘Learning a new routine was a crucial part’
’Something had to break’
’That’s not why I do this'
VALUABLE RESOURCES
HKA Main landing page
www.hastingskickboxing.co.uk/kickstartnow
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/user/Hastingskickboxing
HKA Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/Hastingskickboxing
Adult community link
https://m.facebook.com/groups/274624209886110?ref=share
ABOUT THE HOST
Hi, my name is Carl Denne.
I was born in Hastings 1980. Married, father of two beautiful daughters, Bethany and Leigha.
My daughters, the wife, and gym ARE MY LIFE.
IF I’M HONEST, I pretty much failed at school. Heavily dyslexic, I was dismissed for being a “naughty kid” that didn’t want to learn. I was heavily bullied for having shit clothes and ginger afro hair. I didn’t have many friends.
When I say bullied I don’t mean called a “poo-poo head” and being looked at in a nasty way. I mean thrown down stairs, and hit with chairs and tables. Clothes were stolen whilst in the shower. That kind of bullying…
Oh, how things have changed…
Martial arts, and specifically Kickboxing, have changed my life, and now I am much happier and change other people’s lives for the better on a daily basis.
I am a complete adrenaline freak, so In my spare time, track days, jumping out of planes, sitting on top of them, rage buggies in the desert… The higher, the faster the better for me. I’m always looking for the next thing to get my blood pumping, so if anyone has a challenge I’ve not found yet, please feel free to share.
I do like a Saturday night movie night, Chinese, Netflix, lots of chocolate with my three little ladies. I love being around my friends and family. This is why I love the crazy HKA family so much, as this is my extended family.
I left school with pretty much nothing! A few sad GCSE’s C - D grade, BUT I did have a shit-ton of energy and passion to achieve, and to prove all the teachers and people that looked down on me for all them years, wrong. So after a few jobs here and there, I settled on working for Openreach (BT) as a cabler/jointer copper and fiber optic multi-skilled engineer with HGV.
I left this in 2015 to chase my dream of running my own Kickboxing Academy and working with the future of today, rather than a job that just paid the bills.
I’ve trained pretty much my whole life: Karate, boxing, Judo, from the age of 9, and of course, I’ve now done over 29 years of Kickboxing. I’ve passed many Instructors and coaches courses, attended many training courses and seminars, grading up through the syllabus. I passed my 4-hour hell-on-earth 3rd Dan black belt in July 2018 with the ICO.
If I’m honest my real passion and skills have come from learning the hard way; through being in the trenches. I know how it feels to be on your arse. I know how it feels to have to pull yourself out of the pit. I’ve been through a divorce. I’ve lived through the pain and have worked with thousands of members, students, children, teachers and adults over the years, and the one thing I get told every time is how well I/we keep it very real, and that I have a complete understanding on most eventualities.
Thank you for reading and listening. I hope you connect with myself and the team, take away some ideas, understand you’re not alone, and that it’s good to talk, listen and help others as and when you can.
CONTACT METHOD
