BARNSLEY Clubbercise instructors Sharon Adams and Sonique Smith have been nominated for a Proud of Barnsley Award.
The pair run the Barnsley branch of the fitness concept twice a week at Barnsley Academy, which is host to around 70 people.
Aside from teaching the fitness classes, they offer a personal touch to all those who attend, and have clearly had a huge impact.
Sarah Ainsworth is a regular at the sessions, and nominated Sharon and Sonique on behalf of the whole group.
Sarah, 33, of Pontefract Road, Barnsley said: “In the past year they have created a family - we’re all so close.
“When I first walked into the class, I weighed just short of 20 stone with no confidence at all. But through their support and encouragement, I have lost four and a half stone. I suffer from spinal nerve damage, and Sonique also carries out holistic therapy sessions for me - she’s a life saver.”
Sonique, 44, from Doncaster, runs several other fitness businesses, while Sharon also works full time, but both of the ladies give lots of their free time to Clubbercise. The classes are set in a night-club atmosphere, with disco lights, UV light and glow sticks.
Sharon, 39, said: “I first met Sonique in 2015 when I joined her Clubbercise classes in Pontefract. I fell in love with it after the first class. We immediately struck up a friendship and we found that we had a lot of things in common, particularly our love for dance and fitness. After a year of Sonique’s constant nagging, I trained as an instructor.”
Both ladies decided to set up a class somewhere new together, and after positive feedback on a one-off session at Barnsley Academy, they decided to run weekly sessions from January 2017. There were 60 ‘clubbers’, and the following week they had to put on an extra session.
Sharon added: “The sessions are more than just fitness for us. We want people to come and feel as though they are part of a family, a network of support to enable them to reach their goals.
“We get numerous messages telling us that we have helped to change people’s lives, but what they don’t realise is that the people of Barnsley have had such a positive impact on our lives. We have had the most loyal and supportive people that come along each week and give us their time and energy.
“We were both so incredibly overwhelmed and surprised by the nomination. We never expect anything in return for doing what we love.”
Clubbercise runs at Barnsley Academy on Mondays at 7pm, Thursdays 7pm and 8.15pm, and Family Clubbercise is on Saturdays 10am.
