Today we’d like to introduce you to Benjamin Duval.
Benjamin, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Hello, I am Benjamin Duval, a 29-year-old French man who founded Panthéon – Boxing & Fitness in January 2019. I studied finance back in my home country (France) and spent the first years of my career working for startup companies mainly as a business controller. After 2 years in Boston working full time for a start up called Withings, I set out on a mission to fulfill my vision to open a French-inspired boxing gym which would feel like home, a gym where anyone could come to train and be part of a community.
One of my main personal mentors is my dad, who is a respected French entrepreneur with strong intuition for business intuition and a great work ethic. He has helped me grown a lot on a lot of personal levels and had a major influence on how I envision my career, how I look at risks and how you should work hard without taking yourself too seriously, by staying humble.
I never tried to be known as a professional athlete, but I have always been involved in sport and fitness in general. I originally began with traditional Japanese martial arts, but also played a lot of team sports throughout my teenage years. I only took up boxing later in my life mostly as a new challenge and to find a way to relieve all stress and anxiety from my daily life in Paris. Sports have always helped me finding the right balance in my personal life, both through its physicality by pushing my own limits but also by constantly being around other people who inspire you to get better.
Has it been a smooth road?
Opening my own business has been one of the top most defining moment of my life. Starting a business isn’t an easy thing, but starting a business in a different country is a journey that will come with one or two hiccups along the way. Among them was when I had to apply for a US Visa, which on top of all its uncertainty, is a very painful and time-consuming process for someone who absolutely hates paperwork to get into…
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Panthéon – Boxing & Fitness is a fitness studio based in Buckhead, Atlanta. Panthéon is directly inspired by the white-collar boxing gym phenomenon which started 30 years ago. We offer semi-private (6-8 per class) and private training classes for an incredibly versatile, full body and complete workout experience centered around boxing.
Before I even opened Panthéon – Boxing & Fitness, back when I started picturing what I wanted my business to offer, I would spend a lot of time looking at the current fitness scene in the US put myself in the shoes of a gym member to ask myself what I would like my dream gym to look like, stand for and offer. One of my best personal experience was with a boxing gym back home called “Temple Noble Art”, and the reason why I enjoyed it so much was because it made me feel part of a community, a second family. Panthéon is pretty much me trying to create a similar fitness experience that I could simply not find after I left my country to start a new life in the US three and a half years ago.
Pricing:
- Most popular membership: $149/month (unlimited)
Contact Info:
- Address: 325 E Paces Ferry Road NE
- Website: https://www.pantheon-boxingandfitness.com/
- Phone: (404) 343-4693
- Email: pantheon.buckhead@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pantheon.atlanta/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Panth%C3%A9on-Boxing-and-Fitness-602785780169470/
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