Kirkcaldy fitness manager's Purple Day fundraiser for epilepsy
and live on Freeview channel 276
Ben Smith, who lives in Kirkcaldy but works at Gym 64 in Glenrothes, is doing a Body Combat workout via Zoom on March 27 to coincide with Purple Day on March 26 when people in countries around the world are invited to wear purple and host events in support of epilepsy awareness.
The 29-year-old is inviting class regulars, members, friends and family to take part in the two-hour session from 10am to noon, to wear purple and give a minimum donation of £5 to Epilepsy Scotland.
Ben is hoping to raise £500 for the charity.
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Hide AdHe said: “I decided to do a two hour combat because it’s my favourite class to teach while working at the gym. It’s also very fun, it’s choreographed to music which makes it exciting and can be tailored to all fitness levels so everyone can join in.”
Ben was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2014. Since then he has been raising money for the charity and to date, he has collected an incredible £3453.
He has taken part in various challenges to raise awareness of the condition including the Loch Leven Half Marathon, the Stirling and Edinburgh Marathons and local parkruns as well as Tough Mudder 13.1 miles, the Glenrothes 10k and the Black Rock 5 Race in Kinghorn.
“I support Epilepsy Scotland because epilepsy has had a massive impact on me and has changed my whole life,” he said
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Hide Ad"I was diagnosed back in 2014 and was in/out of hospital constantly with bad seizures. I try and do fundraisers/awareness challenge for the charity every year as it’s something that’s very close to my heart.
"My epilepsy is now under control and has been since July 2018.”
He continued: "I feel it’s very important to keep fundraising for Epilepsy Scotland even throughout lockdown. Not everyone knows about epilepsy and Epilepsy Scotland does so much to raise awareness and to help people understand more about epilepsy. So I intend to keep fundraising and raising awareness every year to help raise awareness and help the people who need it.”
As well as the online fundraiser he has also set a purple month challenge on his Facebook page for anyone who wants to take part – inviting people to do a 1-5k run each day, walk 10000-15000 steps daily or take part in free online high intensity classes: “I know not everyone likes body combat so I wanted to give everyone a chance to get involved to help raise more awareness,” he said.
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Hide Ad"I am looking to get as many people as possible to take part. So many people have already been taking part in the monthly challenge and it’s helping me raise so much awareness.”
Anyone wanting to take part in the two hour Body Combat fundraiser can make a £5 donation to Ben’s Go Fund Me page and he will respond to everyone who has donated with the link and password to the online workout on March 27.