A COUPLE, who were both motivated by being bullied into getting super-fit, have bought and built their own gym.

Ray and Jordan Bath opened their gym at Bowlers Croft, Basildon, this week under their health and fitness brand BodyByJR.

The couple, from Basildon, first launched their brand in March 2014, and became a limited company last year, renting out gym spaces to run their own one-on-one training and exercise classes.

They previously met in a gym, and both had been overweight going through school and had suffered from bullying.

Following business growth, they were able to buy the new premises for £200,000 and have transferred all their clients to focus on bigger group sessions and bootcamps.

Ray, 30, said: “We beat the bullies, lost the weight and built a business and now we have our own gym.

“It’s really overwhelming and I can’t quite believe we’re here, it’s been such a rollercoaster.

“I literally get goosebumps when I think about it.”

He told how when his business became a limited company their bank mentioned about future investments in new places and that’s what sparked their gym dream.

Ray continued: “We thought it would be the best goal to aim for. We previously rented spaces in gyms that were heavily focussed on weight-lifting, and while that is what we like, we wanted to have a better space to run group sessions. It was a really old factory building, and we’ve managed to transform it into a modern functional fitness gym.

“We had our grand opening on Saturday with the first bootcamp, which we now do every day of the week. We had some great feedback on the class and how people liked the new facility.

“It’s always been the aim for us. We still do one-on-one sessions but we are really expanding now to build a community of classes and bootcamps.”

The gym will be used for members’ group classes and personal training sessions seven days a week. After meeting through the gym, the couple began a calorie-controlled diet plan.

In October 2014 they competed in the Miami Pro UK Championships - where Mr Bath placed fifth in his category. In April 2015, they took part in the Miami Pro World Championships where Jordan, 26, placed sixth in the beach-body category and seventh in the fitness category. They got engaged at Christmas 2014 and married in Cyprus in 2016.

For more information on the gym visit www.bodybyjr.co.uk.