How Horizon used photography to launch their new HYROX classes

We’ve been collaborating with Horizon Leisure Trust on their photography and video for a while and we love their ethos. They’re a charity that aims to inspire healthier, happier communities, offering affordable access to fitness and state-of-the-art facilities within their leisure centres. So, when they asked us to help promote their new HYROX affiliation and classes in Havant, we were ready to get stuck in.

What is HYROX?

HYROX combines functional strength, endurance, and high-intensity intervals into an effective training style. With events held around the world, the HYROX movement has turned into a global community of health conscious enthusiasts who not only train to the HYROX ethos but compete in races that consist of eight 1km runs combined with functional workouts.

The brief

Horizon needed a bank of photography to celebrate the launch and inspire people to try the new Hyrox classes via digital channels and print. To facilitate the shoot, Horizon held a test class, inviting staff, Horizon ambassadors, trustees and even Millstream staff to take part and model for us. This was great as we love capturing real action as it happens but it also presented us with the challenge of time constraints and limited the amount of direction we’d be able to give the models.

The shoot

Representing Millstream was Ben and Scarlet who were brave enough to take part and show us their good sides, even with a sweat on! They donned their gym kit while Darren, assisted by Archie, assessed equipment options. The class would be taking place in a long narrow area of the gym and the amount of workout stations and surprising amount of people in attendance meant that space was going to be tight.

We needed to artificially light our shots, so we opted to shoot with an off camera flash mounted to a lightstand, handheld by Archie. The benefit of this and a two man crew meant we could be more creative but nimble, moving quickly to get to the action while keeping out of the way and ensuring everyone stayed safe. With minimal diffusion on the flash, we knew our images would have an impactful level of contrast while the kit remained compact and easy to manoeuvre.

As the class progressed, Darren and Archie worked together to capture the variety of workout stations while Ben and Scarlet began to realise how tough HYROX can be! That didn’t stop Darren from honing in on his colleagues for some closeups though. 

Making the right kit decisions meant we were able to get into tight spaces quickly without interrupting the flow of the class. As smiles gave way to sweat, it gave the team the opportunity to capture some of the energy it takes to partake in HYROX to inspire potential new athletes.

The result

We sent a comprehensive selection of bold, impactful photographs to Horizon the same week and received some glowing feedback in return. Horizon began using the images immediately for social, web and print - promoting the new HYROX offering at their Havant gym. We love seeing our work in the wild, it’s great to see our hard work utilised so effectively and we can’t wait to work with Horizon again.