Blok London Sign Up Information

• Our revenue reached ?2.4m in 2019 - 300% growth since first round. 
• We opened BLOK Manchester with a record first 4 months of trading thanks to our engaged community of loyal customers.
• And since the start of lockdown, we've accelerated our plans, launching BLOKtv. In just three months, we've grown BLOKtv rapidly. To date we have had 30,000 plays of our video on demand classes and over 35,000 users have joined live classes.

TIME FOR A LITTLE
PLAYTIME.

Our Clapton, Shoreditch and Manchester studios are all set to reopen. Needless to say, we're in the mood to play. 

Issue #05 invites you to a virtual playdate with dance guru and cover star Kage, GIF queen Natalia Stuyk, multidisciplinary Creative Director Olivier Geraghty, our Black Card partner Farfetch and a selection of your favourite BLOK instructors. 

We hope our fifth edition inspires you to join us in the realm of work hard, play hard.

SLOMINSKI PROJECTS x BLOK: NATALIA STUYK

For our latest instalment of Slominski Projects x BLOK, we''re excited to introduce the queen of GIFs, Natalia Stuyk. The British Granada-based artist uses video and animation to create hyper-saturated, hallucinogenic digital worlds that reshuffle the normal and the expected, giving you a dose of pure mischief and escapism.

Recently, she joined us to share her thoughts on what 2020 looks like in GIF form, the debate around viewing art on Instagram and why computers just aren''t bourgeois enough yet.

READ >>

BLOK SOUNDS x OLIVIER GERAGHTY

As the founder of O.G Studios and a contributing creative director of Wave Magazine, multidisciplinarian Olivier Geraghty knows a thing or two about getting a party started.

At the forefront of contemporary culture, the BLOK ambassador's work has been championed by Vogue Italia, Hunger Magazine, Hypebeast, Complex, Notion and Champ. With his approach strongly linked to the music scene, you'll also have witnessed his creativity in collaborations with artists such as Bipolar Sunshine, Darq E Freaker and D Double E, Ghetts, Poppy Adjudha, Kasai, Skinny Living, Piers James, and many more.

Here, he shares his playtime themed playlist and the inspiration behind his chosen tracks. 

"We've all been stuck in lockdown during a pandemic, and more recently there has been a larger surge in awareness in regards to the BLM movement. There hasn't been a lot of playfulness in the world right now, but it was my birthday over the weekend and I had an amazing time with some friends and family. Here are some of the tracks that allowed us to let go and express ourselves through music."


LISTEN >>

FARFETCH: FEELING PLAYFUL 

We recently announced that with our studios reopening, those of you with flexible and annual BLOK memberships will now enjoy all the benefits of the Black Card, including exclusive offers from our Black Card Partners.

To celebrate, here's a colourful playtime edit from our luxe partners Farfetch. 

SHOP FARFETCH >>

• A new customer dashboard, making it easier for you to join live classes
• A more sophisticated filtration system, allowing you to search by class duration, instructor, goal, difficulty, target area, equipment, category and discipline
• Personalised training recommendations based on your training history, as well as the newest and most popular videos

• 60 live classes every week, accessible to all members
• 67 new on demand classes, bringing the total of on demand videos up to 132
• Up to 10 new on demand classes added every week
• 'Introduction to discipline' videos, helping you to understand what each discipline has to offer

• The introduction of 'Series,' specially designed training programs for every level to meet specific goals and progress your skills. These include series on boxing, barre, arm balances and many more.

• A new design with improved functionality.
• New on demand classes with access to 60 live classes a week.
• New ways of training via 'Series.' These are specially designed training programs for every level to meet specific goals and progress your skills.

MOVING
TOGETHER. 

The past few months have been a testament to the strength of BLOK''s community. Whether joining our transition to the online world or moving for anti-racism, the unity we''ve felt from our members, instructors, brand partners and collaborators has been incredible. 
 

Ensuring our community always feel supported and seen, we''ve introduced our new committee - 12 members of the BLOK team, some of which you''ll meet here in Issue #04. Dedicated to making sure our online and studio spaces serve everyone, the committee will ensure diverse experiences, voices and bodies are always at the core of what we do at BLOK.  
 

Our fourth issue lineup looks at how we can be better together and includes yoga instructor Letty, BLOK ambassador Piers James, artist Seth Pimlott and recent collaborators Deadbeat, who''ll be giving us a sneak preview of their BLM protest documentary.

BLOKSOUNDS x PIERS JAMES

Shaped by the sounds of J Dilla, Kanye West, A Tribe Called Quest, Andre 3000 and Pharrell, Piers James is bringing his unique flavour to the UK music scene by mixing an authentic 90s boom-bap feel with a new school vibe. 
 

Fresh off the release of his new single CAN''T BE MY GIRL, the producer, singer, rapper and BLOK ambassador shares his unity-inspired playlist.
 

"During these isolation times there obviously hasn't been a lot of physical togetherness but with that being said I think this emphasises the importance of taking the time to really emotionally connect with yourself, your family and the people who you hold close to you. I've picked a few of my favourite tracks that I resonate with and remind me of the times that have inspired me to celebrate life and enjoy the good times."

LISTEN >>

SLOMINSKI PROJECTS x BLOK

Seth Pimlott is a London-based artist making experimental narrative films. Interested in collaborative history and community engagement, his practice often involves workshops as an integral part of developing a film. These workshops collectively examine themes connected to the history of ideas and circumstance, leading to an exploration of the identity of its participants. 
 

At a time when we're experiencing both isolation and the power of mass protest at the same time, we invited Seth to explore the concept of together. Find his full interview, head to the Slominski Projects x BLOK site here. 

SPOTLIGHT ON: DEADBEAT

Meet Deadbeat Films, an award-winning team of humanitarian filmmakers, founded by identical twin brothers, Boris & Jack Thompson-Roylance. Having collaborated with the duo, we recently discovered they were creating a documentary that follows grassroots movement Reclaim Black Power at London''s BLM march. 
 
Taking a break from the editing process, Boris joined us to answer a few behind-the-scenes questions about the team''s new film also titled Reclaim Black Power. 

How has the process of collaborating with Reclaim Black Power worked? 

We wanted to offer our skills as filmmakers to help any charity, organisation or individual involved in the protest at the U.S Embassy on 7th June. Reclaim Black Lives reached out via Instagram, looking for a videographer to document their movement.

It was essential that we respected their cause and acted as subsidiary creative support; to always be respectful of what the movement wanted, not what we wanted.
 

Can you describe what it was like filming during the protests? 

The atmosphere was peaceful yet powerful. Unlike the Bristol protest, no statues were torn down, and there were even moments of great silence and stillness. For example, when all several thousand protestors sat on one knee for nine minutes in respect of George Floyd. That was very moving. As they say, ''silence is the most powerful scream''.  

BLOK Issue #04 centres around the theme ''together''. How does Reclaim Black Power explore this topic?  

One of the main messages of Reclaim Black Power is equality. How can equality be achieved without togetherness? Reclaim Black Power is an inclusive group of all races, empowering and achieving equality through focused support on more 'struggling' groups. They believe all races suffer different forms of oppression; however, it is in all of their best interests to help those who are struggling the most. 

What messages do you want people to take away from the documentary? 

As long as the film tells the key messages of the movement in an engaging, honest manner, then I''m happy, and my contribution is complete.

• A new customer dashboard, making it easier for you to join live classes
• A more sophisticated filtration system, allowing you to search by class duration, instructor, goal, difficulty, target area, equipment, category and discipline
• Personalised training recommendations based on your training history, as well as the newest and most popular videos

• 60 live classes every week, accessible to all members
• 67 new on demand classes, bringing the total of on demand videos up to 132
• Up to 10 new on demand classes added every week
• 'Introduction to discipline' videos, helping you to understand what each discipline has to offer

• The introduction of 'Series,' specially designed training programs for every level to meet specific goals and progress your skills. These include series on boxing, barre, arm balances and many more.