SPARBAR, Inc., the North American distributor and IP licensee of the U.K. created SPARBAR® boxing and fitness equipment, is proud to announce Professor Mark Watson-Gandy, British corporate lawyer and educationalist as Corporate Board Advisor.
SPARBAR® founder Jasvinder “Jazz” Gill on Watson-Gandy joining the Board Advisory: “The SPARBAR® team are delighted that Mark Watson-Gandy’s wealth of knowledge and experience will be available to us.“
Jazz educates on the benefits of combat sports for mental balance at British and global kids and youth institutions. The SPARBAR® equipment is designed to make boxing as a workout accessible to anyone from anywhere – intuitively and with fun.
Mark Watson-Gandy: “I think the SPARBAR® PRO is an incredible piece of equipment; it allows people from all walks of life to get ready access to and the chance to learn about a tremendous sport. Boxing has a very long history in England; it was first taught as a school sport over a century ago. Creating the chance to learn and practice boxing is so important; it gives kids the chance not only to get much fitter but also provides them with a controlled outlet to burn off some of the frustrations and pressures of everyday life.“
Professor Mark Watson-Gandy is a practising corporate barrister at Three Stone Chambers, a leading London chancery commercial barristers’ chambers. He is a Visiting Professor at the University of Westminster (where 20 years ago he founded its Corporate Finance Law LLM) and at the Université de Lorraine in France.
Mark was the founder of Kids MBA whose course teaches core business skills to 12-15-year-old children which is presently provided, through its partnership with ABE UK, in 30 countries. Forbes Magazine recently singled it out as one of the “five leading global programmes supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs”. “We all need core entrepreneurial skills, whether you’re an aspiring boxing star or looking for a career in sport. Business is all around us. Sports stars need to know about marketing, about trademarks, about channels to turn talent into cash, for example with merchandising. Athletes usually make their entire life earnings in a short amount of time, so they need to know about money management, budgeting and tax,“ Watson-Gandy explains.
Until September 2020, he was chair of Mental Health First Aid England, a community interest company spun out by the Department of Health as part of a national approach to improving public mental health literacy. “When I started this position, there was an incredible stigma associated with mental health. We offered training courses to empower people and to provide support to the workforce,“ he recalls.
Jazz concludes: “We are delighted not only to have a high calibre lawyer advising our corporate activities, but more importantly to have a great addition working to the same belief system, which is about change and impact.“
