Street workout is a sport that’s not for monkeys
BROTHERS Sizwe and Nkululeko Makhaya and their friend, Smith Mangena, share a common dream – they want street workouts to be recognised as an official sport.
The trio will be in Norway to represent South Africa at the annual Street Workout World Championships next Sunday.
They will go up against the very best in street workouts from around the world, yet they have received no recognition from the ministry of sport.
“It is a huge honour to represent one’s country,” said Nkululeko.
“We are all excited and looking forward to it.
“However, it would be great to get some sort of recognition from the minister of sport. Even a good luck handshake from Minister Fikile Mbalula would be a huge confidence booster.” The trio leave for Norway on Thursday.
Each contestant will be given two minutes on stage to display bodyweight exercises.
Street workouts have become an increasingly popular phenomenon around the world in the past three years.
The exercises use one’s weight and the resistance of gravity, as well as features in the environment, such as infrastructure.
Street workouts stem from calisthenics, the exercise method that uses body weight.
The Makhaya brothers and Mangena are having to pay for the trip themselves. However, the Street Workout Federation in Norway will be footing the bills for flights and accommodation.
“Thankfully, Norway recognises street workouts as a sport, so it is paying for flights and accommodation,” said Mangena, 39.
“If we’d had to pay for everything, it would have been very tough to go.”
The men from Alberton began experimenting with street workouts three years ago.
“My brother and I met Smith at a gym in Joburg and trained together,” said Sizwe, 27.
“In 2011, we had hit a brick wall at the gym and felt that weight training was not enough for us. We were not seeing the results we were hoping to achieve.
“We decided to experiment with body weight exercises and we have never looked back.”
The trio say that when they started experimenting, they were constantly mocked by fellow gym members for their unconventional way of training.
“It was really bad,” said Nkululeko, 29.
“People at the gym laughed at us. We were even called monkeys be- cause many of our exercises involved hanging from bars.”
Despite the criticism, the Makhaya brothers and Mangena persisted with their newfound passion.
“The really funny thing is that today, the guys who laughed at us are those who are doing street workouts with us,” said Sizwe.
“They noticed the benefits and many people have been joining us.”
The trio went on to form a business called Gravity Core, which assists other gym enthusiasts with street workouts.
“We are proud to say that Gravity Core has really taken off,” Nkululeko said.
“We have thousands of South Africans who have joined the movement and we are really proud.”
To qualify for the world championships in Norway, the Makhaya brothers competed at the African street workout championships – and walked away as winners of the tournament.
Now they are hoping they can go all the way in Norway.
“It would be great if South Africa were the street workout world champs. Just saying it gets me really excited,” said Sizwe.
“I have been nervous for the past few weeks, but right now I’m just excited about getting to Norway and showing the world what I am capable of (doing).”
There is no cash prize for winning the championships – it is all about bragging rights, according to Nkululeko.
“The prize is being able to brag about being the best in street workouts. We don’t do the sport for money – it’s all about passion.”
To find out more about street workouts and Gravity Core, check out their Twitter handle: @GCoreSA or their Facebook page: Gravity Core (G Core).