'It's a dream come true': Thriving fitness and martial arts academy Gorilla Grapplers goes 'from strength to strength' in mere months

Gorilla Grapplers opened its doors in Waterlooville at the start of March after its founder, Adam Gunning, found himself at a ‘crossroads’ when the gym he worked at closed suddenly.

Adam said: “I was asked to instruct Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at Basecamp and then when it closed suddenly in July last year we were at a cross roads but we already had 40 or 50 students so instead of closing, we decided to do it on our own and then the search began - we were really lucky to come across this place so we went for it.

“It was all systems go. We kitted it all out ourselves and between myself, my partners, our friends and students, it all came together.”

The business started trading a few years ago and operated within different gyms across the city but Adam said having their own permanent site has been brilliant.

The 36-year-old went into the new venture alongside friends and Brett O’Brien and Jamie Irish who spent three months transforming the site into a fully functioning academy.

Gorilla Grapplers offers a combination of Brazilian jiu jitsu, nogi grappling, mixed martial arts, yoga, striking and kids Brazilian jiu jitsu.

Since opening, the academy has made waves and has successfully secured more than 130 members.

He explained: “We have gone from 40 members up to 130 since we opened which is insane - our goal was get 80 students in the first year so we have definitely achieved a lot more than we expected.”

He said the general response ‘has been phenomenal’ and a lot of people have said the academy is what Waterlooville needed.

Adam added: “It is literally a dream come true for us. We couldn’t have anticipated that it would turn out this way and we never thought we would open our own place but it’s going from strength to strength - it’s been phenomenal.

“For us, this place is a passion project and the fact that it is something we love to do is amazing.”

For more information about Gorilla Grapplers Fitness and Martial Arts Academy, click here.