A night to remember!

Just over two weeks before any mention of a launch party made the topic of conversation, there was only the very stressful process of officially launching the True Form website on time. That was until, it was half joked about between True Form Owner Tyrone Herbert and his partner Tara, here’s his story;

“I tell you what would’ve been cool….a launch party” Tara said. 

**Tyrone nods in agreement** 

“A bit late now” I replied with a hint of regret.

For those of you who know me, you’d know I’m Mr. Last Minute himself, master of “fashionably late” and quite simply “I’m leaving now” could mean anything from just getting into the shower to being “there” anytime within the next 2 hours. Planning and organisation has never been my thing, way back since when I was a child, right through to university and even up until just a few months ago when tasked with pulling off this event!

Although it was joked about, it was something that I thought could really give the brand the perfect platform to kick-start the vision. I’m a very stubborn person and when I get an idea in my head, it takes a lot to stop me from getting things done, even when strapped for time! With the help of Tara and client turned advisor Carys Rees, the ball suddenly began to roll. Welsh TV Presenter Justine Jones was brought in to give the event a real professional feel to it. Props such as True Form Banners, balloons, the red carpet, branded goodie bags were all purchased insanely quick. The venue was decided by Tara, a huge stroke of luck being that her auntie and uncle (Anna and Bill) owned the beautiful Ridgeway Marquee Golf Club in Cardiff and was available for hire the day before the True Form website was due to launch - it was meant to be!

Suddenly, we had all the necessities in place to create a very last minute True Form Launch Party. It needed to be something a little different so I came up with the idea of doubling it up as a mini-networking event and invited a few local brands in and around Cardiff to also come up and display their business ventures. (All brands will be tagged in the article so make sure you go check them out!).

The vision behind the brand was to create gym wear that didn’t exclusively have size 6-8 models throughout its campaign. I want to show real people of a range shapes and sizes and create a brand that is inclusive. As I said on the night, there is nothing wrong with using smaller models but I do take issue with the fact there isn’t a big enough range of guys and girls when you’re scrolling through the sites of all these big name companies, particularly with gym brands. I want to create something real, honest and relatable and just let people know that True Form can be for the size 8 yoga-enthusiast right to the 40-something Momma doing the school run!

Anyway…back to the party; Models were contacted, some that we had worked with for photoshoots and some even stepped in last minute (on the day due to cancellations!). Our models ranged from size 8 to 16 and believe me, although they didn’t show it, they were all extremely nervous on that catwalk but of course rocked it all the same, each and every one of them coming out to a lovely reception from the crowd. 

Back to the rush…

If only you all could’ve seen the chaos that was going on behind the scenes! On the day of the Launch, we had emails to say that certain little bits we had ordered were now going to be delivered late so I was running around the whole of Cardiff looking for items such as tape for the red carpet to containers to go into the goodie bags. You couldn’t write it, almost everything that could go wrong was happening! The plan was to arrive at the venue at least 4 hours before launch so I would have plenty of time to go over the Q&A planned and just generally help out with friends and family to put the finishing touches to the venue.

Due to everything going pear-shaped I arrived at 5pm, to what looked like a bomb-site. Goodie bags were covering the floor waiting to be filled, balloons weren’t inflated and sample clothing was still being loaded onto the hangers. Of course, this meant I was doing a little bit of everything that meant absolutely minimal time to practice my lines as my fear of public-speaking worsened by the minute.

Our Compère Justine then came to the rescue, she was wonderful, you could tell she had really done her research on the brand and couldn’t have eased my nerves any more than she did. She was very calming, extremely reassuring and I’ve never seen someone so natural with their work, she was an absolute gem! The Q&A went better than I could’ve hoped for, the nerves settled after a few minutes and I was able to relax a little more as time went on.

The whole night from that point was a blur, everything happened so fast, from the catwalk show, the superb performance put on by Shekira and her Turn’d Up Fitness Instructors, to posing for pictures with all that attended. The whole event certainly took myself and a lot of us out of our comfort zone and there is no way I could’ve pulled all this off without my nearest and dearest. 

It was a first time in a long time that I realised so many people could just be “nice” for no gain of their own, just to see someone succeed and that will stay with me for a long time. It was such an overwhelming feeling and I can’t believe I was so lucky to have crossed paths with these people at the right time;

To Bill, Anna, Ryan and staff, thank you for letting me use the most stunning venue I could’ve asked for, thank you for putting on such a good night for our wonderful guests, I can’t thank you enough.

To Carys Rees, my client, friend, business advisor (I’m sure there will be more titles to add) thank you for everything that you did for me, you pulled out so many stops and made so much of the night come together.

To Justine Jones, you were the perfect person for the role, a true inspiration and made the night flow perfectly.

To my models, some who had never stepped foot behind a camera properly before, you were all truly amazing, even you William-Rhys-Davies, after all, what catwalk show would be complete without you performing the floss so flawlessly!?

To my friends and family, thank you for your unconditional support, good old Mumsy for her continuous encouragement, Dad for pushing me and my lovely Sister who filled in for one of the models just a couple of hours before the show started!

Last but by no means least, the strong, supportive lady in my life that inspires me to be the best version of myself everyday - Tara. The event was your idea and the belief you had in me from start to finish didn’t falter for a second. Because of you, we made this work and now I strive to take this vision to the next level. I wouldn’t want to share this journey with any other person. We’re just getting started, to us and the future!

Thank you to all those that attended and to all our customers who continue to support the brand. I promise to bring you a genuine brand that caters for as many people as possible as we expand and never waver from our goals. As I said, we’re only just getting started, watch this space!

Tyrone

Networking Instagram Handles:

@Ridgeway_Marquee

@_Koko_Rae

@BurgerAndCoNewport

@MissHolidays_

@DanielleBoylePhotography1

@CardiffSportsNutrition

@Haus_Of_Dolls

@EllesPrincessLife

@TurndUpFitness

@DWFitnessFirstCardiffExpress