Jordan Bishop
THE THIGH’S THE LIMIT A young businessman from Cardiff has launched a range of swimming shorts specifically for men with large thighs and regular sized waists. Jordan Bishop, 23, a rugby and children’s sports coach, developed the idea behind Stridez when shopping for swimming trunks for a holiday. Due to the limited choice available in stores and online for men his shape and size, Jordan was forced to buy large, ill-fitting shorts that would fit over his legs but were far too big around the waist. Concluding that he couldn’t be the only person out there struggling to find a pair of shorts to fit their size, Jordan ran a survey which he shared on social media, throughout his gym and with his fellow rugby players, the results of which overwhelmingly corroborated his personal experiences. After a year in development, Stridez has now launched as an online shop and is also being stocked in three locations in south Wales including 7 Clothing on Wellfield Road and Ion gyms in both
Cardiff and Neath. Jordan said, “I struggled for years to find shorts that fit me properly and eventually decided to take it upon myself to come up with the solution. As a nation of rugby players there are a lot of guys out there like me who have big thighs but leaner waists and we’re not being catered for by the fashion industry at large. “I think I have found a real gap in the market and hope Stridez benefits other men who have been experiencing the same issue. The positive response so far has been incredible.” Jordan launched Stridez with the support of Big Ideas Wales, part of the Business Wales service to encourage youth entrepreneurship in Wales. Big Ideas Wales is funded by Welsh Government and the European Regional Development Fund aimed at anyone between the age of five and 25 who wants to develop a business idea.
For more: www.stridezswimwear.co.uk / www.bigideaswales.com
THE POWER OF THREE Loosemores Solicitors has announced the addition of three new appointments to its property department. Gill Hogan has now joined Loosemores as a solicitor specialising in commercial property, Amanda Fan-Watkins has joined as a specialist residential conveyancing solicitor and Laurie Jefferies has joined the team as a trainee solicitor. Senior partner, Mark Loosemore, said, “We are very pleased to welcome Gill, Amanda and Laurie to Loosemores. It has been an exciting period for our property team under James Pearn’s leadership. We aim to offer high quality legal advice and we also work very hard to provide a bespoke, personalised service to our clients. Gill, Amanda and Laurie all buy into that strategic approach and I am confident that they will look after our clients well.” For more: www.loosemores.co.uk
72 I CARDIFF LIFE I www.mediaclash.co.uk
Amanda Fan-Watkins, Laurie Jefferies, Mark Loosemore and Gill Hogan
A new space for working out
FIT FOR PURPOSE A new gym will be opening in the Red Dragon Centre in September. Simply Gym, which is run by Swanseabased Bay Leisure, will be taking over the 20,000 sq ft site formerly occupied by Evolution and is investing £1million to launch a brand new, state-of-the-art gym facility. The hope is to make the Cardiff location Simply Gym’s flagship offering with a full studio, a spin studio with ICG bikes, Hammer Strength equipment, web-enabled TVs on exercise machines, a ladies’ only gym and a coffee shop serving Starbucks. This will be the first Cardiff operation for the company, which currently runs five gyms in Wales and England, and will employ 20 new staff. Emma Constantinou, marketing manager for The Red Dragon Centre said, “We’re very pleased that Simply Gym has chosen The Red Dragon Centre for its flagship offering and are looking forward to working closely with the team to make the venture a success.” For more: www.simplygym.net / www.thereddragoncentre.co.uk