Add lots of determination, minus negativity and multiply success- Welcome to MADfit!!
We recently caught up with Cape Town's Boxing Boss, Matthew Leisching, as well as the Cape Town favourite, Magic Man, Don Madge, to get some inside info on a place they now call home :)
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| Left: Don Madge Right: Matthew Leisching |
Having always wanted a place of their own "with great energy and an awesome environment that I would personally like to train in" adds Madge, MADfit offers Boxing, Kickboxing/ Muay Thai, No Gi Grappling, BOXfit, as well as personal one on one sessions and fitness coaching. While Leisching (professional boxing coach) focuses on the boxing aspects, from boxing to BOXfit and fitness, Madge (professional mixed martial artist) focuses on the aspects that go into MMA including striking, grappling and conditioning.
It was only a matter of time before Leisching and Madge spread their wings and did great things, but time definitely played a role in the start of their successful mission. "From wanting a place we could truly call our own, the opportunity had been granted through AG mobile as a sponsor and everything else just fell into place" said Madge and Leisching.
While Leisching says he owes his success to "simple hard work and dedication" because there are "no short cuts in life", Madge adds that they owe it to each other. "I wouldn't be able to do this without Matt, our success is due to the great relationship we have with each other".
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| Left: Leisching holding pads for Madge at the EFC open workout |
When asked about location, Madge said "We wanted to be right in the mix of Cape Town, so Bree street was an obvious choice and came to us at the right time", Leisching adds that it is also one of the popular streets in Town and it just "had to be".
Both Madge and Leisching have goals beyond what they have already attained, but where MADfit is concerned, going forward, "Growth and spreading our training methods & mindset across the community of martial arts and fitness" is definitelty on their whiteboard to success, says Madge. Leisching adds that he would like to keep all his pro fighters on a winning streak and of course, fill classes with eager students.
Getting to the crux of things, we asked Leisching and Madge what made MADfit different from any other gym. Leisching responded saying "In my opinion, a gym is all about the trainers, and there's no one like myself and don Madge is Cape Town", while Madge went on to say "We really care about everyone in the gym. We focus on the individual not the group and we really want people to better themselves". And me? I say that would most definitely make me want to train at MADfit :)
With every success story, there's the unseen failure and challenges that needed to be overcome, "My biggest challenge was blocking out the people that said I couldn't.. but now it's easy" said Leisching, adding a little wink of satisfaction ;) "Having to let go and move on from people that weren't ready for us to spread our wings without hurting anyone's feelings. It has not been easy but we have done the best we can and will keep our heads down, working hard toward our goals. I've had many ups and downs in my personal career and I'm thankful for it all. It has built my character as a man and I've grown from it" adds Madge
Averaging a 13 hour day, Leisching contently jokes "I live In the gym. I just visit home", with a rocking schedule startign at 6am, Leisching outlines a typical day at MADfit from "6am class, privates until 10am, I train myself, break for lunch, followed by 3 more private sessions and then at 6pm I train the pros. Some days I don't get a break" but we could tell there wasn't a hint of unhappiness in that statement. Madge outlines his typical day as 6am- 7pm, "Either Matt or myself opens up and teaches our first class at 6am, then we train. We have private clients throughout the day in between our own training sessions and then we teach a class in the evening followed by more of our own training. We call it a day at around 7pm and close up shop"
At some point we all need motivation, but doing what these guys do, entails endless motivation. when ask what motivated them, Madge said "Improvement, I never want to stay the same, I'm always looking to learn and improve. I want to be 1% better everyday!", while Leisching adds "the fear of not full filling my dreams and being that old guy saying I could've, should've would've".
When asked about fears, Madge said that he encountered no fear, just optimism, while Leisching added "You get nowhere in life without taking risks"
Concluding the interview with these two great sports, we asked what their most satisfying moment was, Leisching responded saying "opening my gym with the best fighter in Africa and my best friend, Don" while Madge added "Everyday is a satisfying day for me. I walk in and the place is something that myself and my partner have created. It's a beautiful thing", however, with those greatly satisgying moments, come huge sacrifices. Leisching admits he can't remember the last time he's had the time to watch a TV programme (it's okay, there's a lot of nothing on the TV these days, haha), continuing "I've missed birthdays, holidays, etc., but I don't see it at sacrifice cause there's no place else I'd wanna be but in the gym". Madge admits "I've had to let go of a lot of people that didn't support me. People that I thought had my best interest at heart. It's not an easy thing but nothing worth having ever comes easy".
Lastly we asked if they had any words of advice for anyone writing their own story the way they did- perseverance and persistence.
Leishing: "My advice would be do the small things right every single day like being on time, not missing sessions, keep you self in shape... Most of all be consistent!"
Madge: "Go for it. The longer you wait, the harder it is. Great things happen in an instant."
BoxingBarbieZA would like to thank both Don Madge and Matthew Leisching for taking the time out of their busy schedules to catch up with us! Wishing MADfit everything of the best and may it be a fun and successful venture :)
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