Visually impaired Gym Member completes Great North Run

Meet Dal Singh

Dal is a member of our gym and a regular user. He is also blind.

He is a resident in Newcastle upon Tyne and during lockdown he felt isolated with very little support and no where to go.

In his own words: “I felt like I was locked up”.

He made the decision that when we were all able to come out of lockdown that he wanted to start going to a gym to get some of his fitness back.

He tried a few gyms around the local area but they were either unable or unwilling to provide the kind of support he required.

He first came across us here at Newcastle Trampoline Park in 2020 where he spoke to our assistant manager Joanne.  She took him by the arm and toured the gym with him so that he could get a feel for the layout of the equipment.  He was surprised to find that we offered CV equipment with raised buttons for visually impaired people, making it easier for him to control the equipment himself.

He was introduced to the Fitness Team and soon developed a great rapport with each of them. He quickly decided this was the gym for him, became a regular visitor and has been ever since.

He contacts the centre before he arrives to agree a time to visit so that we can provide a member of staff to escort him into the gym and guide him onto the equipment, where he is then able to train independently.

He absolutely loves coming to train and it was on our treadmills that he did his first 10k.  This inspired him further and he signed up to take part in the 2022 Great North Run. He had a fitness programme to follow, designed by our fitness team, to get him ready for the challenge and in September this year he completed the run in a time of 2 hours and 50 mins.

We are very proud of his achievements and pleased to have played our small part in his fitness journey.

Mr Singh would highly recommend our centre to anyone else with visual impairments or any other disability. He also urges people, wherever possible, to become independent.