'Above and beyond': Bramley gym smashes target by raising over £4,000 for dementia with 24-hour workout

A gym in Leeds has completed a 24-hour workout-athon and raised over £4,000 for a dementia charity.

The Bramley gym, Transform Hub Leeds West, is owned by couple Rowan Griffith-Jones and Ruby Noble, who decided to run the fundraiser, on Saturday, April 18, due to their family’s personal experiences with dementia.

Many members of the gym have also experienced the effects of dementia on loved ones and were keen to rally together for the cause.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Rowan said the response of the gym community showed just how many people have been touched by the disease.

“It was about getting people out of their comfort zone and going above and beyond to raise money charity,” Rowan told the YEP. “Pretty much everyone you speak to has had a friend or family member suffer with dementia so it was a cause very close to people’s hearts.

“We put the feelers out to see who would be interested and we had an incredible response. The first hour of the workout we had 70 people in the gym and for the final hour we had 64. The support was beyond anything I thought people would put themselves through for charity and it was absolutely amazing to see.”

Gym members who took part, including owners Rowan and Ruby, completed a 24-hour workout-athon, running workout drills on every hour mark. Eighteen members stayed in the gym for the full 24 hours to complete the challenge and over 100 people were involved in the fundraiser overall.

Across their JustGiving page and cash donations on the day, the gym raised 4,200, smashing their initial target of £1,500. The money will be to Alzheimer's Society.

A key donor to the funds was Transform Hub CEO James Calderbank (the Bramley gym is part of the wider Transform Hub fitness franchise), who was keen to support the cause as his grandad had suffered from dementia for many years. International security firm G4S also pledged £500, along with local firms Law Contracting Limited and The White Swan in Yeadon providing key contributions.

Rowan, who is an ex-Royal Marines Commando, particularly wanted to do something to support dementia causes, after watching his beloved nana spen tsuffer with the condition. He and Ruby’s family have also had other members suffer from the illness.

“My nana was one of the nicest people ever and she spent the last three to six months of her life suffering with it. It put a big impact and a big stress on everybody, seeing the slow demise of the person that you love.

“It was really really tough for everybody, especially my mum. She spent her last months in hospital not really knowing who any of us were. Sometimes you would go down and she would just have no idea who you were or were she was, and other times she would recognise you for five minutes then nothing.”

Transform Hub Leeds West has only been open for just over a year, having opened in March 2025, but has already built an extraordinary local community.

The gym is not a traditional one where members simply pay for a membership and train solo. Instead, as part of the wider Transform Hub fitness franchise, it offers a group-based personal training model with high-energy sessions, designed particularly for those over 30.

Owner Rowan says all members also receive individual coaching on nutrition, accountability and lifestyle habits. The gym offers an initial six-week challenge, where members typically report losing a stone.