George Griffith is the owner and manager of Surfside Wellness Centre in Barbados.

George was given the chance to take over at Surfside in 1997, shortly after returning to Barbados from the UK, where he studied electrical engineering. Even though his business acumen was limited, George quickly built Surfside into a highly successful and well-established gym brand.

In 2018, George wanted to create an outdoor fitness event that would challenge participants with various obstacles while showcasing the country’s east coast. The first Barbados Adventure Race (BAR) was held in November that year.

BAR has since become a regular fixture on the Barbados sports calendar, and George has ambitious plans to develop its appeal even further.

Yello chatted with George about BAR, Surfside, personal training, and his fitness regime.

Describe yourself using three words.

Determined. Focused. Light hearted.

Please tell us about your childhood.

I grew up in Grazettes, St Michael. I was always into sport and fitness. I even remember that sometimes I would run to school from home, which at the time seemed like a long way, but is probably 3-5km.

I went to Harrison’s College and then gained a scholarship for the University of Southampton in England.

I returned to Barbados in 1994, and pretty soon after that, I got into fitness as an entrepreneur.

What were your initial career plans?

I studied electrical engineering but there weren’t many engineering jobs on the island so when I came back I started teaching maths and physics.

I used fitness as a way to supplement my income but, before I knew it, my fitness income had overtaken my teaching income.

The opportunity to run Surfside came up in 1997, so I decided to take the plunge and try out fitness as a business.

How did the Surfside opportunity come about?

Well, there was a lady named Maureen who had kind of served as a mentor to me. She had a fitness club on the island, and whenever I’d come back home, she would give me little jobs, like tidying up the gym.

I was teaching at a few fitness places when Maureen said she wanted to get out of the business and asked me if I’d be interested in buying her out.

I went to the bank and got the largest unsecured loan that I could get, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Before that chance did you ever consider being an entrepreneur?

I guess I always was an entrepreneur in a way because even when I was a student in England, I would be running my own personal training business during the day, and then DJing and hosting parties and events at night. So, even before I came back to Barbados, just out of necessity, I was an entrepreneur.

I hadn’t planned to be an entrepreneur in Barbados, or even in fitness this long, because I expected to find an engineering job and progress from there. But you never know where life will take you.

When did you gain your personal training qualifications?

In England I was responsible for sports and fitness at the university. One day, when the aerobics instructor didn’t turn up, I had to teach a class, and it was the worst class ever taught in the history of fitness! So, after that, I decided to do the RSA Exercise to Music certification which was my first ever training qualification.

Subsequently, I’ve done qualifications with the American Council on Exercise and I’m currently a certified exercise physiologist with the American College of Sports Medicine. I actually teach a course for personal trainers through the college.

Along with Surfside, you now have a new fitness venture called the Barbados Adventure Race (BAR) – tell us about that.

In 2018, I wanted to create a functional, outdoor fitness event that would attract all types of fitness enthusiasts while showcasing the rugged and natural east coast of Barbados.

I wanted it to be for anyone who was even moderately in shape, but without any special skills, to give them a chance to improve their cardio vascular fitness and general strength.

I had an idea which I thought might work but, rather than approach sponsors or potential partners, I decided to execute the event on my own to provide proof of concept. In December 2018, we held the first BAR, and the response was very enthusiastic, so in 2019 we did two more events in June and November before the coronavirus slowed us down.

BAR is now cemented on the fitness landscape of Barbados with a fairly dedicated following and we’re looking forward to continuing.

What is the BAR all about?

BAR is an obstacle course race. Our goal is to use this event to raise awareness about the importance of physical activity in managing chronic disease and as part of a healthy lifestyle. We also want to create opportunities for potential athletes to represent their country in the sport of obstacle course racing in Barbados and beyond.

This race is for anyone between your weekend warrior, who just wants to go out and do something interesting and exciting a couple of times a year, to those athletes who are considered amongst the best in the world in obstacle course racing.

In fact, I currently have two hats. I am the race director and organiser for the BAR brand and I’m also president of the Barbados Obstacle Racing Federation. In the long term, my plan would be to step down as president to let someone else take over the governance of the sport, while I then concentrate on making my event bigger and better.

Who is a ‘typical’ BAR athlete?

The typical BAR athlete is someone who has a strong interest in fitness. They may be already training at a gym doing some functional fitness whether that is CrossFit or something else. A lot of former competitive athletes take part as well.

What we’re trying to do is make it a sport for the next generation of athletes so that they see BAR, or obstacle course racing, as their preferred sport. We’d really like young persons to use this event as a chance to represent their countries and go on to be an elite athlete.

But the majority of our participants right now are racing with their companies or organisation, or are fun runners who might be running for charity and just not taking it too seriously. So, it encompasses a full range of abilities.

What can people expect when they come to a BAR training session?

During the training sessions we’re trying to train individuals as specifically as possible for the actual Barbados Adventure Race or any obstacle course anywhere in the world.

Each session is a combination of skills, strengthening and conditioning exercises, as well as cardio vascular fitness exercises.

So, in a typical session, based on the day, you might see some rope climbing, monkey bars, functional strength movement with kettle bells, and then every session will involve some sort of running because the events take place over distances ranging from 3km to 10km.

Most sessions will involve technique drills, teaching and instruction on the obstacles, and some exercises, to get you fitter and stronger in preparation for the race.

And each training session usually lasts for four weeks called a ‘block’?

Yes, we programme in four-week increments, which we call a ‘block’.

The idea is that we gradually and progressively increase the challenge over the first three weeks, and then in week four, we test it with competition, so the athletes can push themselves close to their threshold.

Then, to make sure that they don’t adapt to the training, we change the training and exercises every four weeks. So, you get the variety, and over time you also get exposed to all the different obstacles and skills that you’ll need going into the actual BAR event in November.

Participants can take part in the entire four-week block of training with all the classes. So, that is one class of skills and drills; a class in the country side which is running in the hills and doing carries; one specific running session where we look to help people improve their form and fitness; and then one session on Sunday, which is a combination of live in-studio training from Surfside or through Zoom, to help you improve flexibility and mobility specifically for obstacle course racing.

But if you can’t make all four sessions you can try and drop in on a session that suits you which is usually the one with skills and drills. You can pay a drop-in fee and as long as there is availability you can come.

What other BAR activities are coming up before the main event in November?

We have a 5km trail run which is a cross country event on 25 September. So, you have plenty of time to get ready!

And for the first time we’re also introducing a Youth Cross Country Challenge involving teams of five, with at least one female, and that’s for under-20s, under-18s and under-16s. That event is free for one youth team per club or organisation registered under one coach. The winning team in each age group will get $1500 in supplies or equipment and the winning coach will get $500.

We also have the open adult event which is a straight 5km run for all the cross country runners, hikers, and fitness enthusiasts.

Then in October and early November we’ll have our pop-up workouts. The pop-ups are mini obstacle courses which we set up in central locations to give individuals a chance to try them out. All the information on those can be found on our website – https://www.barbadosadventurerace.org/.

What are your plans to develop BAR in the future?

Our goal is to continue to develop the sport of obstacle racing in Barbados and to continue to develop BAR as an integral part of the sports calendar locally and internationally.

We think that this is potentially one of the best sports tourism events in Barbados and the Caribbean. As far as infrastructure and race management it is one of the best developed, and once COVID is under control, we’d like to invite obstacle course racers from all over the world to compete.

In fact, the upcoming race in November will be the host event for the World Obstacle Race Caribbean championships and will serve as a qualifier for the Pan American Championships which takes place in Jamaica in October 2022.

What makes obstacle course racing different to other types of exercise?

It’s just so much more fun. It’s less structured and regimental. Every race is different, so if you take the exact same obstacle course race on two separate weekends it can feel like a completely different event, especially if it rains.

There’s also a certain camaraderie and community amongst the athletes which you don’t see at other events because it’s almost like we’re all competing against this same course. So, once you get past the hyper competitive and elite level, you’ll find individuals helping, pushing, and encouraging each other.

It also doesn’t even really feel like fitness because it’s functional.

How does Surfside Wellness Centre fit in with the Barbados Adventure Race?

Surfside is still the anchor for everything I do. The pandemic changed a lot of things dramatically but we’re managing to stay afloat probably because we already had very high hygiene standards before COVID.

The only thing that we’ve had to do is put up Perspex screens at reception, thermometers at the entrance, and our trainers all wear masks. Outside of that the clubs look the same and our members feel like it’s a safe environment.

The gym also helps people to prepare for BAR so I feel like we have the full complement of traditional fitness, combined with a functional event, and they can be used alongside each other.

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What is your own fitness regime like?

My week typically consists of four runs, two BAR circuits, and two lifting sessions. Most of those sessions last 40 minutes.

The idea is to work as efficiently as possible and to devise a training programme which helps you to do as much as you need to, to get fitter and stronger, but also recover well and not cause you to get injuries and niggles.

Training the guys for BAR keeps me in shape as well, because a lot of that is outdoors and I run along with them. We’re running, moving, carrying, and doing body weight exercises. I also do some of the obstacle course training as well.

What do you love about Barbados?

Barbados has a good mix of typography and geography. Most Barbadians aren’t even aware of the island’s variety because they never venture to the east.

We also have good schools, infrastructure, and services to maintain a comfortable standard of living. All things considered we are the gem of the Caribbean!

What do you do to relax and recharge?

I used to be one of those people who used physical activity to relax but now I’m learning how to sit still, read a book or something online, or watch TV. I’m really trying to take time to switch off and let my mind completely disconnect from fitness.

What is your philosophy / approach to life?

Focus on the things you can control and treat everybody with the same amount of respect.

If you could have one superpower what would it be? Why?

The power to read people’s minds. Often, especially in modern society, people find it hard to say exactly what they’re thinking out of fear of reprisal, so we’ve ended up at this stage where everyone has a shared and safe opinion.

But the ability to actually know what people around you are thinking would be cool. You may not hear what you want to hear, but at least you’d know the truth!

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Learn more about the Barbados Adventure Race via Instagram and the website – https://www.barbadosadventurerace.org/

Check out Surfside’s schedule of group exercise classes via its website – https://surfsidebarbados.com/