Much of Campbell River doesn’t quite realize how lucky we are to have a gym the calibre of Heart & Soul Muay Thai Academy in our backyard. To the athlete who wants to develop to the point of competing internationally, Heart & Soul is one of the few gyms in BC who has the world-class, world-champion instruction and experience able help get them there. Yet to me, and to most other gym-goers, the magic at the gym lies in how the instructors and membership – quite literally a gym family – embody all of the beautiful values inherent in true martial arts: honour, respect, humility, teamwork, continuous self-improvement, etc. Those are the things that leave many of us feeling like the gym is a home-away-from-home and a place we can feel really good about bringing our children to. Anyone looking for a supportive, non-judgemental, positive fitness and skill-building experience could not ask for a better facility, instruction or classmates. And when you end up feeling like Heart & Soul might have captured a bit of both your heart and your soul, don’t say I didn’t warn you.