Peter and gym

Peter is a big man and he can put on a lot more weight than he wants. When he used to swim he could keep his weight down. But he found it hard to keep this exercise going on his own.

Through Grapevine's 'Access to Sport' programme Peter met Anthony who also wanted to get fit and manage his weight. A few months on, the two are gym regulars and firm friends - and they're both looking a lot trimmer.

Grapevine's Gordon Lowe describes how he put up posters in a local gym inviting members to buddy with people who use Grapevine's support. Anthony emailed the next day.

Gordon introduced Anthony to Peter and arranged a meeting over coffee. 'It was incredible how they got on. In the time it took me to get the drinks, they were off. I was a pig in the middle - surplus to requirements - which was great.' Straightaway, the pair were discussing diet and fitness. A trip to the gym was the natural next step.

The first session followed a similar pattern to the café meeting. Gordon went along with Peter but could soon see he wasn't needed: 'They were on the bikes chatting like they'd known each other forever. For them, it's not just about managing their weights, they're both Man United fans and they've got a similar sense of humour. This is friendship.'

Access to Sport now has several established buddy arrangements and more people are being introduced to each other. Posters along with visits to colleges and sports centres have produced a steady flow of people who want to buddy with people from Grapevine.