From Eating Disorder Recovery to World Champion — Helen Redhead Opens the South East's Only Powerlifting Gym

Helen Redhead battled chronic eating disorders for thirty years, hospitalised and given little hope — now she opens the South East's only powerlifting gym.

TONBRIDGE, KENT, UNITED KINGDOM, May 5, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Iron Raven Powerlifting Gym & Strength Club, the South East's only facility dedicated exclusively to powerlifting, opens its doors on 9 May 2026 at 3 Drayton Road, Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 2BE.

Founded by British and World Champion powerlifters Jason Swalwell and Helen Redhead, Iron Raven is unlike anything else in the region. While other strength gyms cater for multiple disciplines — strongman, weightlifting, general fitness — Iron Raven exists for one sport and one sport only. Every piece of equipment, every coaching session, every programme has been built around powerlifting.

But it is the story behind the gym that makes it truly extraordinary.

For over thirty years, Helen Redhead battled chronic anorexia and bulimia. At her lowest, she weighed just five stone — 32 kilograms — and spent considerable periods hospitalised, with medical professionals offering little hope of recovery. By any conventional measure, the system had run out of answers for her.

Then she found powerlifting.

What began as a tentative step into weight training became a lifeline. Under the coaching of Jason Swalwell — himself no stranger to battling personal demons, as a recovering alcoholic who understands the ongoing nature of that fight — Helen's health, strength and self-belief began to rebuild. The transformation was profound. In July 2023, Helen won her class at the British Powerlifting Championships. Four months later, she stood on the world stage at the WPC World Powerlifting Championship in Manchester, representing the United Kingdom.

From being written off, to British Champion, to World Championship competitor — and now, co-founder of her own gym.

Iron Raven is not a commercial venture built on business opportunity. It is built on lived experience — of suffering, recovery, sport, and what the right environment can do for a person.

The gym operates on a deliberately intimate model, offering 1-2-1 coaching tailored to the individual, group training sessions within a supportive community, memberships to suit different needs and commitments, and a welcoming environment open to all abilities — from complete beginners to competitive lifters.

Helen Redhead said: "For most of my adult life, I was told — directly or indirectly — that this was just how things were going to be for me. I spent years in hospital, years fighting a battle that felt unwinnable, and there were times I genuinely believed I had no future. Powerlifting didn't just give me a sport — it gave me a reason to fight for my own life. Opening Iron Raven feels like the final piece of that journey. If there is one person out there reading this who is where I was ten years ago, I want them to know that there is a way through. I am living proof of that."

Jason Swalwell added: "Strength training teaches you something that is very hard to learn when you are in the grip of addiction, an eating disorder, or any destructive pattern — that your actions can directly affect an outcome. You lift, you recover, you get stronger. That feedback loop is incredibly powerful for people who feel they have lost control of their lives. Helen's story is a testament to exactly that. It is why we built Iron Raven."

Iron Raven opens on 9 May 2026 at 3 Drayton Road, Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 2BE. The gym offers 1-2-1 coaching, group sessions and memberships, and is open to lifters of all abilities and backgrounds. For more information, visit www.ironraven.club

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