Laura goes above and beyond to raise money for charity, and she has taken part in so many challenges, from running marathons (2 whilst pregnant with twins), jumping out of a plane and signing up to UWCB. When she signed up to UWCB, Laura said that if she managed to raise £2,000 for Cancer Research UK she would brave the shave, a promise she kept. By the night of the weigh in, Laura had raised an incredible £2,500 and she had her head shaved by the UWCB team. Laura is a fantastic advocate for charities and her selfless fundraising has inspired many.

Austin is a true inspiration, he signed up to Ultra Comedy after being diagnosed with bowel cancer in September 2018 and wanted to give back to the research that saved his life. He created an online blog to follow his experience and has been very open about his personal experience with cancer in order to raise awareness, this led to him raising an incredible £2,170 for Cancer Research UK.

Simon signed up for UWCB after losing a family member to cancer, within 3 days had raised a PHENOMINAL £6,000 for Cancer Research UK. Throughout his journey he posted regular updates on Facebook with photos of his training and by fight night he had raised a staggering £10,000 for Cancer Research UK. He put so much time an dedication into his training and his fundraising and inspired so many by taking part. Simon will continue fundraising for the charity and aims to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

At the start of 2019, Kyle tried to take his own life after suffering with depression and feeling that no one would miss him. Realising he would be leaving his family behind, Kyle decided to make a positive change and signed up to UWCB to help focus his mind. Not only did he train hard and step out of his comfort zone, Kyle was invited on local radio to share his story and speak out about mental health. Kyle has turned his life around by taking part in UWCB, he is a fantastic advocate for anyone battling with mental health.

Sophie and Alex signed up to Ultra Ballroom for a new challenge and a different way to raise money for Cancer Research UK. During the 8 week training they have created a documentary each week showing their hard work put into learning their routine and lifts, showing that practice makes perfect. Their dedication to raise as much as possible for Cancer Research UK is truly inspiring, and they have had multiple nominations from their fellow team mates saying how helpful, friendly and welcoming they are.

Steve has gone above and beyond to raise money for Cancer Research UK, initially signing up to UWCB to put himself through something tough, just like his wife who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Since taking part, Steve sadly lost his wife, Gemma, in June 2019 after a long battle with breast cancer. Steve went on to take part in a second UWCB event and has raised a staggering £5,500 for Cancer Research UK in memory of Gemma.

Aimee took part in her first UWCB event in November 2015, she fell in love with the sport and decided to carry on boxing at her local UWCB club. Since taking part Aimee has won a number of boxing bouts, one making her the female English champion! Not only has Aimee lost over 20kg and continued boxing, she also helps train the new budding boxers signing up for UWCB. Aimee is a fantastic role model to anyone looking to take UWCB further.

Brett was diagnosed with a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma on his 30th Birthday in 2007, just before his twin girls turned one. In 2009, the cancer had spread to Brett’s spine, he underwent chemotherapy and steroid treatment and had to learn to walk again. In 2010, he received a lifesaving bone marrow transplant and began to rebuild his life. Brett took part in UWCB in 2015 and has since lost 10 stone and ran the London Marathon twice to raise incredible funds to charity.

Kelly weighed over 20 stone at the age of 31 and decided that she wanted to change her way of living. She started off by going to her local gym and swimming lengths and soon she had lost an incredible 8 stone. Deciding that she wanted a challenge that pushed her out of her comfort zone, she signed up to UWCB in memory of her grandma who she lost to cancer. Kelly says that UWCB gave her a kick to keep going and after taking part she carried on training, and has lost a total of 10 stone!

Fesa is an absolutely fantastic teacher described as ‘superwoman’ by many of her students. She puts in so much time and effort into teaching every single person in her Ultra Ballroom class and has so much patience and understanding. Nothing is ever too much trouble and she injects so much fun and energy, giving everything she does 110%. Fesa even puts on extra sessions in her free time, coming up with ideas which she personalises for every couple. She really does go above and beyond to make the Ultra Ballroom experience the best it can be.

Chris is kind, caring and supportive and he puts his all into training the Ultra Comedy groups to get them ready for their performances. Thanks to Chris, everyone involved smashes their sets and he motivates people to do the best they can to raise money for a very worthy cause. After the event, Chris keeps in touch with the participants and even continues to mentor and actively encourages the ones who chose to continue on the comedy circuit. Chris gives everything he does 110% and is an incredible mentor for Ultra Comedy.

Richard and Lisa create a fantastic atmosphere where everyone trains hard but they have fun. They actively encourage the participants to work hard, but also to raise money for Cancer Research UK, and often the Leeds UWCB events raise in access of £20,000! They even took part in Ultra Ballroom themselves to raise funds for a fantastic cause. Richard and Lisa are incredibly knowledgeable and fantastic trainers who are friendly and welcoming and they put so much time into making sure the Leeds Ultra events are incredible for each participant.

Lion’s gym are a fantastic group of coaches who work together to encourage building the participants up to be the best they can be. They go beyond their requirement of trainers and help with nutritional advice and diet plans. Sally and Colin are so motivational and supportive and help to keep the group focused, giving fantastic advice throughout the 8 weeks and on fight night. It is a great gym who helps to change the lives of many who walk through the doors.

Total Dojo have a HUGE team, they are professional and help participants to learn as much as possible in the 8 weeks of training. They make sure training is enjoyable and safe and have a great ethos. Tony at dojo welcomes participants the moment they walk through the door, his personal experience with cancer means that he puts 110% into motivating the group to raise as much as possible and train hard for the main event. They are a brilliant team who give training their all.

Brian and Darren at Fast Gym create a fantastic team atmosphere, making sure to get to know everyone individually and their passion inspires the group. The gym have an ability to make sure everyone works hard, pushes their limits, respects each other and enjoys every second. They go above and beyond to help fundraising, even putting on a ‘boxing demo’ at a local company to raise money for Cancer Research UK. They are so supportive of everyone taking part and are a true asset to the Ultra team!