Top Gear’s mystery racing driver, The Stig, was caught checking out our Durban roads including the Moses Mabhida Stadium, as he tested the route for this year’s new look street circuit Wednesday afternoon.

The Stig pushed a BMW M6 and Birkin 7 to their limits in the grounds of the Stadium demonstrating his legendary driving skills to a select few including Olympic and Commonwealth Games champion Chad Le Clos, Durban’s very own sweet-talking DJ Fresh and stunning actress Hayley Owen.

Check out the video here:

DJ Fresh was one of the first in the passenger seat.

“That was incredible!” he went on to say, “ It was too short – but Flip – he knows what he’s doing – he is a professional there’s no doubt about that!  You feel safe – your safety is never in question.  He doesn’t talk or shake hands – all I got out of him was a nod (not sure how I will get that to translate on my radio show!)”.

Over 67,000 petrolheads watched The Stig set unprecedented times in several supercars including a Lamborghini Aventadour and McLaren MP4/12 last June.  This year, The Stig will tackle the longer, more challenging course in some of the world’s fastest track cars, as well as joining Top Gear Presenters Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond for their live show!

Further street circuit highlights include two-time Formula 1 champion, Mika Hakkinen, the Franschhoek Motor Museum 90th Le Mans Tribute along with some very special “Grudge Matches”. 

This is going to have the spectators on the edge of their feet!

Also, for the first time ever at Top Gear Festival, South Africa’s very own Geniel de Villiers, will showcase his Red Bull Toyota Dakar rally car and with local favourites, F1 master Sasha Martinego and Rally Driver, Gugu Zulu hosting  proceedings down on the circuit, it’s bound to be one of the highlights of the event!

This is one show you don’t want to miss out on!

For more information regarding ticket packages, click here.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to keep updated on all the latest Top Gear Festival news and information!

Manchester City Fans, we have some amazing news headed your way!

English Premier League Football Club, Manchester City, will be visiting South Africa in their upcoming pre-season programme, ‘City on Tour’!

Two games will be played against top PSL Clubs, the second taking place on Mandela Day, 18^th July at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.  To recognise Mandela Day,the organisers, Matchworld, have collaborated with Africa Rising and Manchester City to get the world to understand the concept ‘67 minutes for Madiba’.

The overarching objective of Mandela Day is to inspire individuals to take action to help change the world for the better, and in doing so build a global movement for good. Ultimately it seeks to empower communities everywhere. “Take Action; Inspire Change; Make Every Day a Mandela Day.

The South African ‘Football Invitational in support of Mandela Day’ kicked-off in the same period last year when Manchester United played Amazulu.  “We are pleased that Manchester City has included South Africa in their pre-season Tour and help us promote Mandela Day.  We are continuing from where we left off last year and give all South Africans a chance to see another great team in action” said Lyndon Barends, Executive Chairman, Matchworld.

The two games will take place on 14 and 18 July against South African PSL, and the teams are still to be finalised.

“South Africa’s love of football was clear during both the World Cup and most recently the African Cup of Nations.  The national pride that comes from hosting these prestigious tournaments is a testament to how the country embraces the sport,” said Tom Glick, Chief Commercial & Operating Officer at Manchester City Football Club.

“We are very excited to bring Manchester City closer to the South African community and our rapidly growing global fanbase. This will be a fantastic tournament and I speak for the full squad when I say how pleased we are to visit this wonderful country. Not only are the training facilities fantastic, but we have already seen the fans passion first hand from our previous visit in 2009 and look forward to July 2013,” said Glick.

Ndaba Mandela, co founder of Africa Rising and granddaughter of Nelson Mandela says: “We as Africa Rising are extremely proud to be associated with the Football Invitational in support of Mandela Day on this special birthday of our grandfather”.

Stay up to date with all the action on Twitter using the hashtag #cityontour.

We will keep you updated on our Facebook and Twitter page regarding all match info, so keep your eyes open.

Tickets, like last year, will be priced between R150 and R350 and will be on sale at Computicket at the end of May.

Despite the threatening weather on Saturday, the ‘Steppers’ who all partook in the StepUp 500 Challenge managed to raise R275 000 for the Jumping Kids Prosthetic Fund at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.

‘Steppers’ Natalie Jay, Dick Muir, Tyrone Pillay, Troy Prinsloo, Carl Stow, Ross Veenstra and Natasja Barnard woke up to pouring rain but were fortunate enough when the rain subsided for a few hours and they were able to get the job done in time.

A special thank you goes out to Mr Vivian Reddy who joined the team, climbed the stairs with the group and donated his cheque for R275 000 at the top of the arch.

During the event, Sharkie made a surprise appearance, which was the cherry on top of the cake for the kids of the Jumping Kids Prosthetic Foundation who got the opportunity to watch the Sharks last home game that afternoon too.

Overall the event was a huge success with a total of R550 000 being raised for it’s two charities, the CANSA Fund and the Jumping Kids Prosthetic Fund thus far.

The StepUp 500 Challenge is sure to leave a huge impact on all those that were involved in and benefited from the event, especially the children.

We will keep you posted regarding the Stepup 500 Challenge next month and how you can be a part of this event.

How can you help?

Donations: Gill on 079 528 4665 or email gill@sugarrush.co.za

Website: www.steup500.co.za

Grant Pitcher is no ordinary photographer. With a thing for exceptional coffee and a love for  breath taking architecture, we were lucky to catch Grant when he wasn’t up in the air, shooting from a Robinson 22 Helicopter, you know, the usual.

With the goal of becoming one of South Africa’s most respected photographers, we had to pick his brain, particularly on the architecture of our city, and find out all about the Image Consultant.

MMS: Hi Grant, we know you love to “capture the world as our eyes see it” in your work, tell us how this all began for you?

GP: Well it goes back to a long while before I started earning a living from photography. I travelled Europe, spending two summer seasons teaching sailing in Greece, finishing it off with a month trip to the west coast of Canada and I then returned to Durban late in the year 2000.

I loved to pull out my panoramic film camera to capture scenes and scenery. Some of the results I got received high praise from friends and family. This really sparked my interest in photography but it wasn’t until a number of years later, when a client saw a few of my scenic shots of Durban harbour and requested to purchase some for their office decor. This gave me direction in the thinking that maybe I could make a life in photography.

The rest as they say is history but it wasn’t until early 2007 when I earned my first magazine cover that I had the confidence to call myself a pro photographer. It was from then on that it has been my mission to make the built environment and sculptural art known as architecture come alive. Capture it in beautiful light and attempt to add a new dimension to scene or building. Sometimes it’s more than just as the eye sees it but also as the heart feels it.

MMS: We’re in love with your aerial shots of Durban, photographing such unique views! What’s it like being up there, taking photographs from inside a helicopter, you must face some difficulties?

GP: You see the city and the landscape from a completely different point of view. Every time I fly I get a nervous sense of excitement as I know I’m going to see something new. Because of cost, I normally use a Robinson 22, which is a 2-seater helicopter made in America. It’s the cheapest option and we fly with the doors off. You have a lot of control in a helicopter and I can direct the pilot into different vista perspectives.

 ”with the doors off it didn’t feel comfortable – the feeling of falling straight to the ground was very real!

Generally, though I’m the passenger, you end up calling the shots and specify the direction as to where the pilot needs to place the helicopter for best view of the building being captured.

My recent expedition was by far the most thrilling as we needed two different but difficult shots. One being a view of the seaward side of Moses Mabhida Stadium area but from directly above at 1200ft as if it were a satellite photograph – it’s unnatural for the helicopter to be in that position (at 90 degrees to the ground) and with the doors off, it didn’t feel comfortable – the feeling of falling straight to the ground was very real!

Then for the other shot we needed to be about 2km out to sea to attempt to get a view from Durban harbour to King Shaka International Airport. The wind had really picked up by this time and this small aircraft was being blown all over the place with the wide open Indian Ocean below. The seamen on the ships out there must have thought we were crazy! We got the shot though!

“this small aircraft was being blown all over the place with the wide open Indian Ocean below.”

MMS: As someone who loves Architecture as much as yourself, you must be super excited that Durban has been chosen to host the UIA (Union of International Architecture) Congress next year. Do you think this will help highlight the architecture industry in Durban and create awareness around the industry?

GP: Yes this is massive for Durban. I had felt that Durban was falling behind in regards to modern architecture but with structures like Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban’s ICC, The Pearls of Umhlanga and some of the amazing new office blocks going up in the Umhlanga new town district (including Ridgeside), is all bringing about a wonderful change to the Durban skyline.

But with modern, sensational design that pushes architectural and structural boundaries comes the requirement for huge budgets. Let’s hope the Congress would greatly highlight Durban as a playmaker in the industry and bring this much needed investment.

MMS: Buildings in Durban are renowned for reflecting our population and colourful history. What’s your take on structure in our city? Do you have any particular favourites?

“depending on what elevation you’re viewing the building from, it looks as though it’s falling over!”

GP: It you take time to look at the diversity at the architecture in our city from the commercial right through to variation of residential homes from Glenwood to Umhlanga, it is quite astounding. There is great architectural history in some of the older buildings along the beachfront and up on the Berea that have been around since the mid-1900’s.

To be honest though, I much prefer the modern era and love the newer buildings like The Pearls of Umhlanga, The Embassy and new ABSA building in the Durban CBD. Residential apartment blocks where it’s not just about a structure emerging from the ground but multi-facet design has been wonderfully applied and incorporated to the inhabited space. Places like The Spinnaker on Durban Point Waterfront Development, One on Herwood and The Coastlands Hotel in Umhlanga as well as the new Strauss Daly building in Ridgeside, which depending on what elevation you’re viewing the building from, it looks as though it’s falling over!

MMS: We love how you get behind your art and give in depth explanations about photography. Would you say this has helped your audience curiosity?

GP: Yes possibly. This goes hand in hand with my passion and determination to capture the perfect shot in perfect light. A great number of the top images I have wouldn’t be able to be reshot as the conditions were so perfect.

I love to detail my experience when attempting to report back to people what I encountered in the process of bringing the structure to life. It’s more than just pressing a shutter button. Sometimes the weather or location is not perfect so often the story is about how I worked with those conditions to achieve the best results – things like shooting the stars on a clear night at low tide in a resort in Mozambique to provide the resort with a unique perspective in their image portfolio.

 ”things like shooting the stars on a clear night at low tide in a resort in Mozambique”

Or waiting until it’s quite dark to the naked eye, using a longer exposure and then converting the resulting image to black and white with high contrast, or get a beautiful sunrise to frame a building and provide dreamy colours.

“The image below was captured in Vancouver on a recent trip to the west Coast of Canada. This is the cruise ship terminal designed to look like massive ship with the sails on the foredeck.”

I am filled with such excitement with the prospective of being able to respect architectural lines and properly represent a building as the eye sees it and add in there plenty of passion so that the viewer will know it was ‘as the heart feels it’!

Get in touch:

Website: Grant Pitcher
Blog: Grant Pitcher
Social: Facebook  Twitter

BREAKING NEWS TOP GEAR FANATICS

Top Gear fans will be ecstatic to hear the news that Richard Hammond has just been confirmed to join his co-presenters at this year’s Top Gear Festival.

Hammond was determined not to miss out on this year’s show and re-arranged his schedule so he could join Jeremy Clarkson and James May, as well as the mystery driver and infamous ‘The Stig’, for the highly anticipated event.  Thousands of fans will have the chance to see the boys live as they take to the stage in the Moses Mabhida Stadium for the live show-one of the highlights of the Festival.

“When I discovered the Top Gear Festival in Durban was going to be bigger and better and more explosive than ever there was no way I could miss it – I certainly didn’t want The Oaf and The Bore to have all the fun. So, see you there!”

Along with the Top Gear Live Stadium Show and the improved street circuit, the Festival has new highlights for 2013 across the site, including a series of grudge matches between; rally cars, hot rods and hot hatches, tandem drifting, MSA racing action, an extreme Action Zone featuring FMX Bikes and Trail Bikes and the Shell Stunt School.

This year Street Circuit drivers from Motor Sport SA (MSA) and the Franschhoek Motor Museum (FMM) will need to put their skills to the test as they race around the newly-updated track layout and the enhanced 2.8km Street Circuit show will be presented by popular and respected Sasha Martinengo and Gugu O’ Zulu.

Visitors can expect two days of sensational driving, as the Street Circuit features a number of daring events and skills to match:

1)      THE STIG

The king of the track, The Stig, will lay down the law as he screeches through the Street Circuit in the country’s fastest, most enhanced track-day vehicles, setting the fastest times throughout the show.

2)      HOT HATCH GRUDGE MATCH

Get behind your favourite hot hatch back cars, driven by international pro race drivers, as they go head to head to lap each other in five races, in an attempt to set the fastest lap.

 3)      RALLY CARS GRUDGE MATCH

For the first time catch the Red Bull Toyota Dakar car, driven by our very own Geniel de Villiers, who will take on a special individual rally stage in a point to point timed  event. Vehicles and drivers will face handbrake turns as they display masterful manoeuvring at the new hairpin and chicane in the course.

 4)      RUGBY HOT RODS GRUDGE MATCH

A gem to be seen, this year eight Hot Rods, courtesy of the National Hot Rods Series based in Richards Bay, will race five laps in the name of South Africa’s eight Super Rugby teams. They will try to outdo each other as they race to predict who will win this year’s Super Rugby Challenge.

 5)      TANDEM DRIFTING GRUDGE MATCH

Also taking to the new course and streets for the first time, watch the country’s top drifters go head to head drifting, as they lead the crowds in their favour while taking turn to be the lead car and the chasing car.

Other highlights will also include world famous presenters; guest drivers including two-time Formula One World Champion Mika Häkkinen, who will later be interviewed live on stage in the Ultimate Village along with a number of legends and celebrities all in action.

The show will round off with the Franschhoek Motor Museum’s impressive display, as they celebrate the 90^th Anniversary of the Le Mans 24 Hours by showcasing an impressive procession of 14 iconic race cars spanning from the 1930’s to present day.

Tickets are on sale now and range from the Basic Ticket at R250 to R2 100 for an Ultimate Package. 

For travelling Top Gear enthusiasts and guests, there is a full range of travel packages, from self-drive packages and luxury coach packages to flight packages, which include travel, and accommodation on a B&B basis.(For more information on Travel packages, visit http://www.topgearfestival.co.za/tickets/travel-packages or http://www.edusport.co.za/tgf)

Get in touch and check out Top Gear Festival SA:

Website
Facebook
Twitter

With a love for the ocean and a passion for Durban, we met up with the team that makes up Durban based Photography agency, Ocean Driven Media.

“anything to do with the ocean replenishes my soul.”

We had the chance to chat to them each individually and this is what Mike van Heerden, Wade Howard and Teagan Cunniffe had to say.

MMS: Firstly, let’s hear a bit of background into who you are and the styles of photography that you most enjoy?

W: I started photography over 13 years ago and find renewed interest and passion each year. I thrive on capturing people and their emotions. I am closely tied to the sea, and anything to do with the ocean replenishes my soul.

M: I enjoy event and sport photography, and I enjoy photographing people.

T: I’m still relatively new to the photographic world, which has given me quite a lot of freedom to explore and find out what genres I enjoy, as well as be a little bit more experimental with my style. So far I’ve honed in on model work, as you can be very creative with lighting, composition and concept. Travel photography will always remain the area I most enjoy in photography; nothing beats seeing new landscapes and cultures for me.

MMS: We were inspired to do this interview because we both share a common interest, what is it about Durban that inspires you?

T: Having grown up in Durban, I feel like I know our city extensively. I always feel like I know where I am, even in the strangest of places. What I like most about Durban are the hidden corners that get overlooked. You can find so many interesting places and things when you look for them.

M: I think Durban’s slogan ‘It’s the warmest place to be’ says it all. From the climate to the city- it’s an amazing place to be.

W: There is such a variety of people, places, sport and culutre. The weather is fantastic as well.

“Having grown up in Durban, I feel like I know our city extensively.”

MMS: Is there any other subject / genre that you feel shows Durban at its best or tells it’s story?

M: The diversity of the markets is something that is underrated. As a sports / adventure destination, it takes a lot to beat Durban.

W: Street photography; seeing the everyday lives of people and the amazing things that they do. Sometimes we never see these things or understand them. I find telling the stories behind these people to be what inspires me most about Durban.

T: I feel that photography based on the people and places of Durban showcases our character best. Often these images end up on online blogs or social media, and give a strong insight into the lives and happenings of our city.

MMS: We see you catch some really exciting moments, would you like to share any of these that really made you go WOW?

M: The 2010 World Cup together with Top Gear have to be at the top of my list as the most exciting shoots I’ve done.

“what happened next blew everyone in the audience away”

W: I once did an article on Umthombo, an institue that uses surfing to try rehabilitate the street children of Durban. I photographed the children over a few days and really got a look into their lives and stories… it was an experience that will never leave me.

T: A few months ago I photographed a charity visit made by members of The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra –widely regarded as leading in the world- to a school in Umlazi. The visit was going well; they had set up in a large classroom and were showing the children what their individual instruments could do. The children were loving it. Just before we were to leave, the principal stood up and said that the choir had a piece of music to give back to the orchestra members, in thanks for their time. The choir members came forward and what happened next blew everyone in the audience away. The children had the most incredible voices, in the middle of Umlazi in an relatively unknown school. The orchestra members were spell-bound and completely shocked. I remember feeling an overwhelming sense of pride for our nation and the raw talent we have all around us.

MMS: You get out a lot, we always see you guys at events – what would you like to see more of in Durban?

M: Top Music performers. High profile surf contests – our promenade and beach front just begs for a massive beach event

T: I’d like to see more Arts-orientated events happenings, high-quality events out in the street that get everyone involved.

Get in touch

Website: Ocean Driven Media

Social: Facebook Twitter

Break out and conquer your city as the Turbovite Jump City returns to Durban for the third time on 22 June 2013.

This edition of the 10km urban challenge promises to be tougher, to be higher and more challenging than ever before with four new obstacles being added to the lot.

The 2013 day event will take place at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, our playground and your adventure. The route will send you over, through, under and into parts of your city that you have never experienced.

This is a world first and the only series of races that takes you to such extremes. Nothing is off limits and the brightest minds in the game are busy putting together a route that will feature the best parts of your city.

All obstacles are designed and inspired by the city to give you an unparalleled experience, requiring athletes to climb, crawl, jump, carry, hurdle and slide-to name a few!

What’s so great about this race is that you can enter it as an individual, or as a team of two with loads of fun in the interim.

There will be up to R 5 000 in prizes for the winners and the Turbovite team will be  hosting lucky draws to all entrants as well as plenty of spot prizes to best dressed and best team names-so get creative!

What’s happening after the race?

There will be a food and drinks area for athletes to take in the city and swap war stories after the race as well as giveaways and plenty of freebies at the venue.

Date: 22 June 2013

Time:

07:25 City Charger (Elite individuals)
07:30 City Ranger (Individuals)
07:45 City Adventure (Teams of 2)

To enter visit their Website and click the gold “Enter Now” button.

For more info and inquiries, Get in Touch:

Website: Shift Sport and Marketing
Social: Facebook

Recently we caught up with Durban photographer, Keirran Allen. At the age of 22, he’s already taking the Durban shores by storm. You may have seen him on the sidelines of many a Durban Football matches at the Moses Mabhida Stadium and so we decided to have a chat with him and grab all the low down from him about what he loves about Durban and his booming career.

 ”my blood is actually yellow and I don’t go into the sun without my ninja suit on”

MMS: Hi Kierran, we can see that you’re super passionate about what you do. Tell us a bit more about yourself and how your work has influenced your lifestyle?

KA: Photography has literally consumed my life in such a good way. Before I even thought of becoming a photographer I was mixing with the wrong people, doing the wrong things and basically going down a road that not many people return from! Photography on the other hand, showed me a life of purpose and meaning. I now at the age of 22 am shooting for Moses Mabhida, Top Gear, ICC, the list goes on. My life did a 360 and went from nothing to everything. It was not easy but it can be done. A photographer must be one of the coolest jobs a person can do, you meet great people, see amazing places and have images to look back on, don’t get me wrong its not easy, but all I can say is that it’s an amazing life! Photography is not a job for me, it’s a way of life.

MMS: We have worked together before so we know how enthusiastic and driven you are, give us some insight into what drives you?

KA: This is something I actually get asked quite a lot, for me its about change, its so easy to sit back and let things come to you, I mean if you’re good you don’t have to do much marketing, things will just happen naturally. However, for me it’s the challenge of being out there on my own and making things happen for myself. It’s that constant change and having to adapt to certain situations. For example, shooting a football game vs Festival of Colour, two totally different genres of photography that require the complete opposite execution.

MMS: You shoot a lot for the stadium especially sporting events, what’s it like being on that filed with 56 000 screaming fans?

KA:  Breathtaking, football is one of my favorite things to shoot. When you see an entire stadium of passionate supporters screaming their lungs out and blowing those Vuvuzelas like there’s no tomorrow-no words can describe it…goose bumps!

MMS: Where or what is your favourite place to shoot in and around Durban and why?

KA: It’s really hard to pin point a location or object. I love shooting wide images so I would have to say the tops of buildings, the beachfront, Moses Mabhida Stadium and the harbour. Why I say that is because I like my images to have some form of depth and this City has so much to offer!

MMS: Are there any upcoming events in Durban that you’re particularly looking forward to?

KA: The Top Gear Festival I reckon is my number one, just because im one of the official photographers. The Comrades is also fun, shooting from the back of a motorbike is always a blast. For now I would say those two events, there are others but I would probably be shot if I opened my mouth!! haha

“shooting from the back of a motorbike is always a blast”

MMS: How would you describe Durban to somebody that has never been here before?

KA: Best city in South Africa, you have the beach, bush and everything inbetween!

MMS: And lastly for all the photographers out there, give us a rundown of your setup that you use?

KA: I am a Nikon guy, my blood is actually yellow and I don’t go into the sun without my ninja suit on!! Okay, on a serious note, I shoot with a Nikon D700 and a D300s, lenses are mainly a Nikon 70-200mm F2.8, 14-24mm F2.8 Fisheye 10,5mm F2.8, 18mm F3.5, 50mm F1.4 and a 400 F2.8. Then it’s the Imac, Macbook, Ipad, Iphone, Camera Bag and tripod! All of the above cost extreme amounts of money and I can advise up and coming photographers to forget about that new car or holiday overseas and buy proper gear, its worth every last cent!

Get in touch 

Website: Kierran Allen Photography

Social: Facebook; Twitter

World renowned entertainment icon and multi-platinum artist Snoop Lion (formerly known as Snoop Dogg) has been confirmed to perform a set showcasing his musical career come middle of May at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.

The Reincarnated singer-songwriter, producer, actor and sixteen times nominated Grammy award American rappper, released a new reggae single, “La La La” under the pseudonym Snoop Lion (@SnoopLion). Three other songs were also announced to be on new upcoming studio album entitled Reincarnated,   ”No Guns Allowed,” “Ashtrays and Heartbreaks featuring Miley Cyrus,” and “Harder Times.

Hosted by MTV Base, The MTV Africa All Stars concert will be filmed by MTV for broadcast globally on MTV channels as part of MTV’s critically acclaimed “World Stage” franchise and will also feature African artists Zakes Bantwini (@ZakesBantwiniSA), Flavour (@2niteFlavour), 2Face Idibia (@2faceidibia), Fally iPupa (@fallyipupa01) , Professor (@professorkalawa), D’banj (@iamdbanj) and Big Nuz (@BigNuz_Afro)

Date: 18 May 2013
Time: Doors open at 17:00
Price: R40, 00 per person
Venue: Moses Mabhida Stadium, People’s Park, Kwa-Zulu Natal (44 Isaiah Ntshangase Road, Durban)
Concert Duration: 5 Hours with no intervals
Tickets Available: Computicket
Parking: Available across the road at the Kingspark Swimming pool or adjacent to Mustering Fields.

Age Restriction: No Under 14s (14-16 years olds must be accompanied by an adult)
Ticket Collections: Please collect your tickets at any Computicket, Shoprite, Checkers or Checkers Hyper store before the events as there will be no collection facilities at the venue. Credit card used to make the booking must be presented when collecting tickets.

To find out more information about time and price of tickets, keep checking our website and Facebook page  for follow up information or use the hash tag #AfricaAllStars on Twitter.

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With People’s Park Café within the same vicinity, one can enjoy a delicious and healthy breakfast after your refreshing workout, creating the perfect start to your weekend.

We chatted to Zani Cawood who came up with the idea for the weekly exercise classes to learn a bit more about what Park Fit has to offer.

MMS: We see that Park Fit offers a variety of different exercise classes every Saturday for free. What exactly do these classes consist of and how does one know which exercise class will be available that Saturday?

ZA: These classes consist of circuits made up to give you a full body workout using things that can be found in the park such as benches, stairs and anything else we use to create a different exercise circuit every week. There is a mixture of yoga, body weighted exercises and interval training, just to name a few. Every weekend is different and if we have something special on like ropes, kettle bells or themed days then you will be notified on our FB page.

MMS: What inspired you to start the classes at People’s Park?

ZA: We were inspired by the beautiful and safe setting that People’s Park offers to all those that visit the park. We knew this was the perfect setting for us to run outdoor fitness programs from as it’s safe and there is a lovely playground for the kids to play in while mom and dad get their weekend exercise in. We wanted to give back to the community and just knew that this was the perfect place.

MMS: Who are your classes aimed at and can anybody participate?

ZA: Our classes are aimed at anyone who wants to exercise on the weekend but doesn’t want to do yet another gym session, and also those who don’t like to exercise at gym and would rather enjoy the outdoors. It’s also a great way to learn different types of exercise and how to do them correctly.  It’s great for parents as their children can play safely while they exercise. We cater for all fitness levels and age groups. The classes are open to all and we always say the more the merrier.

MMS: Where exactly are the classes situated within the Park?

ZA:We generally run the classes on the grass patch right in front of People’s Park Cafe. If the I heart Market is on then we move further back onto the grass section by the metal stairs. You can’t miss us.

MMS: What is the difference, if any, between outdoor and indoor exercise? Does the environment make an impact on the level of exercise?

ZA: There is a huge difference exercising outdoors as opposed to indoors. With indoor exercise you’re not stuck inside with mostly a view of others exercising, gym equipment and loud music-not to mention you probably have to wait for equipment and are limited for space.

Now being outdoors, you get fresh air and have all the space you need to pretty much do any form of exercise you could do indoors. The outdoors provides you with such a variety of things you can do, you just have to get creative. Very often nowadays we don’t get to spend enough time outside with our busy schedules, so it’s important to take time out, be outside and enjoy nature. Not to mention the natural vitamin B we get from the sun is super important too.

Spending time outdoors helps with stress so why not mix that up with some exercise and you have the perfect recipe for good health, plus it’s also very social.

MMS: People’s Park café is right on you doorstep so to speak. Do you think that the morning classes, alongside having the café right there, go well together and make for a great venue?

ZA: It’s perfect because you can go and enjoy a cup of their amazing coffee afterwards and they have a great selection of healthy breakfasts. It’s a perfect morning out for friends and family.

MMS: If the weather for the day doesn’t look to be great, what is the alternative and how are the attendees of your classes made aware of any changes?

ZA: Unfortunately if the weather isn’t great we cancel the session. People are notified on our Facebook page. If they search Park Fit – People’s Park Cafe and like the page they will get all information, photo uploads (so they can share and boast to their friends) and health tips.

MMS: How has the response for these weekly free classes been thus far?

ZA: It’s been great and it’s continuously growing in numbers. We have only been running for 2 months now and we have people who come from as far as Hillcrest and Ballito. People have enjoyed not only the exercising side, but the socailising and laughter throughout the session.

Who do we contact for more information?

Visit Park Fit Facebook Page

Email: fieldfitclub@gmail.com

Contact: Zanie on 0734633553 or Liesha on 0727724146.