CrossFit Orpington, a family-run gym on Chipperfield Road, has expanded from around 20 members at its opening in February 2023 to 108 today, serving adults, children, and teenagers. Founded by Favour Sulaiman and his wife Magda, the gym focuses on strength and conditioning to improve everyday life, from playing with grandchildren to enhancing sports performance.
From 20 to 108 Members in Two Years
Favour Sulaiman told the News Shopper: “At its core it’s a strength and conditioning programme where it helps people gain muscle, build strength, but also feel fitter in their everyday life. A lot of what we do is helping people gain the confidence to do the simple things in life really, really well.” The growth reflects the gym's appeal to a wide demographic, including those new to fitness.
The gym's approach allows workouts to be scaled to individual fitness levels. Favour emphasized: “Anyone can come in, and the workouts and the programming can be scaled to wherever you find yourself on your fitness journey.” This includes beginners, with one member—a grandmother—starting one-to-one training with Magda after discovering the gym on Facebook.
Building Strength for Grandchildren and Sports
Favour noted the grandmother's progress: “This particular woman has improved in terms of her overall strength. She feels like she can pick her grandkids up a little bit easier. She feels like she can play with her grandkids.” The gym also runs a youth programme, starting with teams needing extra strength for football and rugby, now attracting 20 to 25 young people weekly.
For younger members, the benefits extend beyond physical gains. Favour explained: “They’re seeing real improvement in terms of their overall strength, their confidence in terms of the way they’re performing in their sports. They’re making fitness part of their everyday life at a young age, which is only going to carry into their older lives.”
A Personal Journey and Business Growth
Favour, born and raised in Orpington, trained at a local CrossFit gym before founding his own. The couple, who had no business experience, opened the gym in February 2023 and married the following month. They now have a 10-month-old son. Favour reflected: “Within a space of a month, we opened a business and got married at the same time. It was a lot. But it was amazing. It’s part of this story, and it’s special to do both things at the same time.”
The gym operates seven days a week, with Favour and Magda working six days alongside five part-time coaches. The intentional small membership fosters a welcoming atmosphere, as Favour said: “We don’t have thousands and thousands of members, and that’s kind of designed on purpose, because we don’t want people coming in and being just another number.”
