The Kickboxer

A GB kickboxer and a deserted factory - what’s not to love?

There is a deserted factory on the outskirts of Brighton and I had always wanted to go inside for a photoshoot. When an old friend started working with an ex GB kickboxer I thought it was the perfect setting for a photo shoot of her. Thankfully she was up for the challenge and happily helped us carry all the equipment, a punchbag and a mini trampoline over the barricades and into the factory.

The shoot itself was relatively straight forward, aside from the obvious health and safety risks that come with being inside an old derelict factory there were no other issues to deal with. I had visited the location the week before and checked in with the van dwellers living nearby to make sure it was ok to enter and guard dogs weren’t going to appear unexpectedly half way through the shoot.

My favourite shot of the day is actually the first one I took of her doing her gloves up - I just love the lighting on her muscles and the concentration on her face as she sits on an old cable wheel. That picture is still a favourite of mine all these years later.

I had gone into the day thinking that the key shot was going to be the flying kick over a gap (hence why we took a mini trampoline for an extra boost) but it just felt a little fake once I saw it on the screen so, despite the model doing a great job, I felt like that shot just didn’t work out as well as I had hoped.

We also shot a few portraits around the factory and even shot a bit of an interview with her, discussing her career and her achievements to get a bit of background.