South Shields gym 24-hour challenge successfully raises over £9,000 for Chloe and Liam Together Forever Trust in memory of Allan Stone

Over the weekend, around 80 people took part in a gruelling 24-hour fitness challenge.

Gym members and coaches from Black Sheep Fitness Academy in South Shields took part in the challenge named ‘Burpees for Stoney’ in order to raise money for the Chloe and Liam Together Forever Trust, in memory of their friend and former gym member, Allan Stone.

The challenge involved teams of four heading to the gym, which is located on Shaftesbury Avenue, to perform burpees in a dedicated hour slot. However, some members of the gym took part in more than one slot, in order to fill the full 24 hours.

A special slot between 2am and 3am was named The Allan Stone Hour in memory of former gym member and friend Allan Stone, who had previously taken part in the challenge in that hour.

Allan Stone, a popular barber from South Shields was a member and friend of Black Sheep Fitness Academy until his passing in 2021.

Members from the gym came together for the special slot, to complete as many burpees as possible in memory of Allan.

Black Sheep Academy celebrated the success of the challenge on Sunday. They wrote on their Facebook page: “The BURPEES FOR STONEY challenge was a HUGE success and if possible, has brought our gym even closer together. We did this to remember our mate Allan Stone and raise as much money as possible in his name for the Chloe and Liam Together Forever Trust.”

They continued: “There have been certain times at Black Sheep where I've taken a step back, soaked it all up and realised what a special place we have, and what a community of exceptional people we have who attend our gym. This was certainly one of them. We are so very lucky.”

In the post, the gym revealed that an incredibly impressive 43,196 burpees were completed and they had raised over £9,000 for the Chloe and Liam Together Forever Trust.

The trust helps young people in the performing arts and sports industry to achieve their goals and dreams - in the name of Chloe Rutherford and Liam Curry, a talented young couple who tragically lost their lives in the Manchester Arena terror attack in 2017.

Chloe’s father Mark and Liam’s brother Zack also took part in the challenge, and had a special team named Together 4 Forever.

The parents of Chloe and Liam said: “Thank you so much for the amazing support. We are overwhelmed and thank each and everyone of those who took part. A special thanks to all of the coaches.”There is still time to donate, to do so please visit Black Sheep Fitness Academy’s JustGiving page.