Local gym BKW CrossFit has taken up the fundraising mantle, with coaches and members tackling 12 hours of gruelling workouts to support the cause. They will also be racking up 100m on a rowing machine for every pound donated, in the hope that their sweaty efforts might encourage people to part with a little extra cash.

The idea for this collaboration came from trainee nurse Amber, who is a member of both communities. Emerge provided supported housing and invaluable services through her recovery journey from substance misuse, while BKW CrossFit helped her feel “healthier than ever”, both physically and mentally.

“I had drug and alcohol problems in my teens, then sorted it out and got some sense of control in my 20s,” the 30-year-old tells me. “Then I had a full crisis when I was 26.

”I left my healthcare course in 2021 off the back of a suicide attempt with drugs and alcohol – I never thought I would recover from addiction. I thought my life was over before I moved into Emerge; now I’m three years sober, I’m about to graduate and I’m stressing about starting my new job. When you compare that to the things I used to stress about when I didn’t even think I was going to live, it’s incredible.”

Emerge gave Amber the support and space she needed to “learn how to live again”, including daily recovery meetings, access to mental health support services and much more. Through this, she was able to rebuild relationships with family and friends, and even help other women at Emerge who were recovering from substance misuse.

“If I was having to work or go to uni full-time, I don’t know how I would have managed to get sober, get back into recovery and then do all of those things,” she says. “With Emerge, you’re not alone with any of it – there’s this real emphasis on community.

“I’d burned my life to the ground. At the start I was sitting there full of shame and guilt and it was horrific. When I was getting established in recovery, my head would think, ‘I want a drink’. Then I’d come downstairs and tell my housemate, and he’d say, ‘I was thinking that too, but it’s a terrible idea: I can see that it’s crazy for you, and you can see it’s crazy for me’. You really support each other – it’s lovely.”

Strong communities can be transformative, and Amber found another when she decided to join a gym during her recovery journey.

“Last year, my brother sadly died through the consequences of his addiction,” she says. “I would come to the gym in all sorts of emotional states, but [co-owner] Raquel would just love me back to life. All the coaches at BKW were incredible – every one of them would give me a cuddle at each class I went to during that time.”

Amber is now an integral part of the BKW CrossFit community, capable of running, jumping and lifting with the best of them. But, she admits, the prospect of joining a CrossFit gym was intimidating at first.

“When I first got into recovery, I felt like I just had to survive,” she says. “If chips were going to make me feel better, I was going to eat chips. But after a year I’d put on loads of weight, so I decided I wanted to try something new.

“I realised I wanted to go to the gym, but I didn’t know what to do. I had a trial CrossFit session where we went through some of the exercises, and the coach said, ‘Right, can you show me your deadlift?’. I couldn’t – I had no idea what he was talking about.”

The many acronyms and exercises synonymous with CrossFit took some time to learn, but that didn’t matter – it was fun. For that reason, Amber kept going back, first for two classes a week, then three, then four, then five.

“My body began to feel really different,” she says. “I had more energy, I started sleeping better, and I wanted to cut down on smoking to help me do better in the workouts. Then I got really into running again, which is a massive passion of mine – I loved it in my early 20s, and getting back into it felt like freedom.”

For context: Amber’s version of “getting back into” running involves completing ultramarathons. Several of them. Sometimes with her mum.

“CrossFit also gave me stuff to work towards; little goals like doing my box jumps or getting a PB,” she adds. “Suddenly I noticed I was fit – like, really fit – and I could do all this stuff that I couldn’t do before. Now I’m the healthiest I’ve ever been by a mile.”

It wasn’t just her physical health that benefitted either. At Emerge, staff said there was a “night and day difference” in Amber’s mental health after starting classes, and they weren’t the only ones to notice a transformation.

“When I first met Amber, she was insecure and every time she walked in the gym she looked like she was about to cry,” BKW CrossFit co-owner Raquel Sanjurjo says. “She wore a lot of layers and tended to stay at the back of the class – she was a different person.

“Then she did my classes, then we did nutrition together, and she kept coming, and coming. Then she started running – like, ultramarathons… for fun. Now she wears her big colourful clothes – it’s great. I think she comes across as this happy, low-key person, when actually she’s this strong, fit badass.”

And the cherry on top of the cake? “I know what a deadlift is now,” Amber says, grinning.

All money from this fundraiser will go to Emerge, supporting the work the charity does supporting people recovering from drug and alcohol addiction in Bristol. This includes bringing in extra support staff, refurbishing the accommodation and funding group activities.