OUR STORY

Covid 19 brings back bad memories, obviously not on the same scale but the current crisis does remind me of the time our gym came down with a bad spate of staph skin infection. With many fighters scheduled to fight, some in very big career fights and the mats were absolutely packed full of talent training hard every day. My star student Nathaniel Wood was due for a world title and he had suffered skin infections repeatedly in the past, the last thing we needed was a breakout of staph and having seen fighters suffer over the years , I knew it was no joke!

One by one guys had to take time off from their training and camps, some were just ashamed and others were just trying to carry on by covering up. They started using lots of lotions and potions, there were bottles everywhere and I remember complaints of the awful medicated smells , constant dry skin with cracked hands and feet, Some even complained that the medicated shower gels burned their balls!!

Looking back on the sweat drenched mats, all the different classes and people it’s not surprising I suppose. I went to see my good friend and Osteopath for many years Neil Patel and mentioned the outbreak , I told him of the staph outbreak and he could relate because of the nature of his job, I asked him how he avoided dry skin and infections on his hands since his work involves touching many patients and hand washing constantly.

It was then he showed me his own soap which seemed to be completely different to any I’d come across. He explained that it was packed full of natural, antiseptic ingredients and most importantly didn’t contain SLS , how common SLS was and its affects. He told me how he didn’t believe it was good for his kids skin. I found myself agreeing when I realised how strong it was and saw just how much of the chemical was in and around my own home.

He agreed to have some of his soap made for me and mainly for Nathaniel as he was his physical therapist too, as they say the rest is history. Nathaniel like others at the gym used the new soap and continued training without disruption he cruised to another world title and had gone on to win three in total before signing for the UFC all with no infections or illness.

It’s not the cheapest shower gel but by saving on shampoo, moisturiser etc the cost difference is negligible and this was 100% naturally derived, smelt amazing and could be used by the whole family, so for me it was a no brainer. When I’m abroad commentating or cornering my fighters I can use it to shave and it brushes straight out if you use it as a hair gel without the chemicals, so it saves me lots of money on many personal products. Some of our Fighters end up soaking their kit in a solution as a pre-soak to get rid of the smell of stale sweat, others add it to their sports wash so the list of uses is endless and its even vegan friendly.

When we released Vigour8 over a year ago we never believed it would be used in so many ways by environmentally conscious people from anglers to campers or those who work in high sweat conditions such as construction workers, chefs, fitness / pool instructors, medics and therapists , but most importantly at this current time of crisis, we’re most proud that it’s helping those NHS workers on the front line fighting against Corona, helping to keep staff safe, preventing infection and dry skin issues just like it does in MMA.

Brad 'One Punch' Pickett

Head Coach Gt Britain Top Team & Co Founder Vigour8.com