Box your way to mental health at Banbury gym

The free classes will be run by Dave Earle at his Spit ‘n’ Sawdust Boxing Club on North Bar from Monday, October 24 from 11am.

The hour long class will be followed by an optional coffee and chat at the White Horse pub which is suppling the beverages free of charge.

Two years ago Dave was approached by Jamie Hamilton from Aspire, a drug and alcohol counselling service in Manchester, to see if Dave could offer classes for those struggling with addiction.

Dave has had much success working with addicts but found that, for many, the root cause and main contributing factor that lead to their dependence on drugs or alcohol was a mental health problem.

Dave said: “I’ve always done the addiction side of it but really the classes were for everybody.

“Not as many people would come forward and say ‘I’m an addict’ but there were far more people suffering with anxiety than an addiction.”

The all-inclusive class is open to anyone regardless of fitness levels and over the years has attracted a wide variety of people from all walks of life who on the surface seem confident and successful but have been struggling with crippling anxiety for years.

Dave said: “Some of the people who come forward you would never expect. People held in high regard and you’d never of thought they were suffering from anxiety.”

Over the years Dave has had some notable success stories working with people from difficult backgrounds with substance abuse issues who have risen above it all and gone on to great things.

The most notable successes, however, have been achieved by those with more modest goals that most people take for granted.

Dave said: “One lad’s father was on the streets, an alcoholic and he had no confidence. He was self harming and punching walls and he came in, started boxing.

“What he did was things you never expected. He got a job, got a girlfriend. He got a car and passed his test, you would never expect him to do those things.”

The course will be on a weekly basis with no set time frame for completion.

Dave added: “I just want people to focus on the positives, there’s a lot of positives.”

To contact Dave about the free classes visit his Facebook page.