Watch NZH Local Focus: Gym funds social work in Stratford

Most gyms make money for their owners, but this Stratford gym makes money to pump back into the community.

"It started as a police project to get at-risk youth into boxing," says image and innovation leader Hayden Mattock.

The gym, called the Lion's Den, has over 200 members.

It brings in 38% of the revenue for Tutaki, a not for profit organisation that supports local young people to be their best.

"It's just constantly evolved to meet the need of the Stratford community and wider community. It's about making sure that each service that we provide, and the reason we try not to rely on contracts, is so that we are meeting the need of our community not meeting the need of a funder," says social worker Steph Walden.

With financial freedom, comes the ability to be flexible.

"Anything you can think of, we can put something in place. Whether it's a referral out to another agency, or whether we deal with it internally," says Miss Walden.

In 2015 Tutaki hired a social worker who specifically targets younger teens.

"Youth that are having problems with anger, youth that are having problems finding themselves and knowing what they want to do with their future, improving self-esteem, and I also do a lot of anti-bullying stuff," says youth worker Sam Haggart.

The team at Tutaki now have plans to expand the gym, so they can create an even larger revenue stream - to pour back into the community.