Our story

Why we do it

We love watching people transform right before our eyes, opening up and moving into what they’re really capable of. Most of all, we love the way the most unassuming person can walk up to a boxing bag and let a grin spread across their face.

A fire is lit, frustrations are pounded out, and the heart starts pounding. That’s what our team lives for, and that’s the opportunity we provide. Walk in with Parkinson’s and walk out standing tall, knowing you’re doing everything in your power to show Parkinson’s who’s boss.

How it all started

Lisa Gombinsky Roach built Counterpunch Parkinson’s from inspiration and experience. The more research she read, the clearer the benefits of exercise for people with Parkinson’s became, yet no one was putting that research into practice in New Zealand. So Lisa took her years of experience working with people with neurological conditions and got to work.

She gathered a small group of keen participants in a little room at the local YMCA, and New Zealand’s first boxing-based Parkinson’s exercise group was born. The participants felt the benefits straight away and told their friends. Soon the group outgrew the room, and Lisa gave Shane Cameron a call.

Now look at us

Within a few months, calls were coming in from around the country: health professionals, Parkinson’s community educators and fitness facilities all wanting to offer the same thing. So we developed the Counterpunch Parkinson’s Coach Certification Program to teach everything we know about running a boxing-based exercise group for people with Parkinson’s. Our national network keeps growing.

What I walked into was a room of enthusiasm and potential. I saw people transforming in an instant and couldn’t help but grab a pair of pads and jump in!

Shane Cameron