A self-employed fitness instructor has had his Christmas tarnished after thieves made off with around £1,500 in bespoke gym equipment that he uses to train his clients.
Nick Thwaits, 34, from Portobello, and who runs Sporting Enso - a fitness business that also teaches self-defence - said he was devastated when he discovered the equipment had been taken.
He says that the incident took place at around 3:45pm on Sunday 19 December at the back of Oscar’s ice cream on Portobello promenade.
A squat rack, a strongman yoke, a dip fork and a pull up rack which cumulatively cost around £1,500 was stolen from the site.
It is understood that a passerby had witnessed the theft but they thought that it was one of Nick’s friends being helpful and moving his equipment elsewhere.
Nick says that he believes the culprits made off in a pale blue saloon style hatchback and that there was a “tall white chap spotted loading equipment with another guy”, after getting information from the onlooker.
Unfortunately the CCTV images shared were unclear but Nick hopes that someone in the area may have seen something at the time or after the fact.
He is asking for people to get in touch so that he can track down the equipment that is vital to carrying out his job.
On the theft, he said: “It happened at the back of Oscar’s ice cream van on the Portobello promenade at about quarter to four on Sunday afternoon. Two people were spotted loading equipment into a vehicle.
“One person said they saw it happen but thought that it may have been a friend helping me move things. They noticed a pale blue saloon hatchback style vehicle and said one of those responsible was a tall white chap.
“I’m self-employed and it never crossed my mind to insure the equipment. I have a pass from the council in order to carry out PT sessions at that site on the promenade and the equipment has been there for weeks untouched. Not to mention the fact it is extremely heavy and requires knowledge of how to dismantle the various racks.
“I live locally and I’m known in the area from operating out of there so I really hope someone has seen something and can get in touch through our social media pages or website.
“I had the equipment hand made by a welder so it was really quite expensive and I’m not in a position to be able to replace it right before Christmas.
“It has knocked me right before Christmas, and has impacted the way I can train my clients now and of course it is a bit of a sad ending to the year - especially to have it stolen from right under the nose.”
If you have any further information relating to the theft of the gym equipment then please contact Sporting Enso through their website or Instagram.
