Poutama is proud to support Māori owned businesses across Aotearoa. Recently, we had the opportunity to support fitness and wellbeing business – The HIIT Squad – owned by Matt Bateman (Ngāi Tahu) and Whitney Bateman. Based in Ōtautahi/Christchurch, the business has been operating since 2016.
The HIIT Squad’s mission is to provide the most unique group fitness experience out there. For people to move their bodies more and have a smile on their face while doing it.
Poutama had a chance to sit down with Matt to learn more about the business, it’s aspirations and how the support from Poutama will help sustain and grow the business further.
Tell us a little bit about yourself
Matt: I was born and raised in Ōtautahi. My iwi is Ngāi Tahu and our hapū is Awarua. Our marae is the Te Rau Aroha Marae in Bluff. We are ‘The HIIT Squad’ and we run a group fitness studio in Phillipstown (a small inner suburb of the city). We specialise in high intensity interval training. It is our sixth year in business and we’ve loved every minute of it.
What type of services do you offer to customers?
Matt: We provide group fitness classes to all fitness levels but not only do customers get a great exercise class, they also become part of our awesome whānau and community of likeminded people. We believe we have had great support from family and friends with how easy it is to travel. We are located on the outskirts of Fitzgerald Ave so it’s only a 10-15 minute drive for most people.
How has/will the funding received from Poutama help improve your business?
Matt: It will be used to purchase more equipment which will then mean we can offer more services and classes. This means we can employ more staff to help support our growing customer base.
Is being Māori important to what you do as a business?
Matt: Yes, 100% and values that my grandfather engrained in me from when I was young, that everyone is welcome. We do our best to uplift every single person who walks through our doors and fill them with mana and aroha.
What are a couple of key points about your business you would like to highlight?
Matt: Our mission statement ‘Building Better Humans’ is massive of what we believe in. Fitness is only a small part of what we do, our community and the culture is something that we pride ourselves on. We believe no matter what you are feeling that you will walk out of our four walls feeling 100x better than when you walked in. The HIIT Squad is and always will be about the people. Building better humans. It is the kind of place you want to sweat in, with a community you want to be a part of.
Learn more about The HIIT Squad, their services and schedule here.
