Guelph Family Martial Arts is a safe, inclusive, and fun martial arts and fitness studio for all ages and abilities located at 340 Woodlawn Road West. They offer recreational and competitive programs for toddler, youth, teenage and adult martial arts. They also offer teen and adult fitness kickboxing. Guelph Family Martial Arts has been operating since 2013.
Meet Nathan Skoufis, owner of Guelph Family Martial Arts
Nathan Skoufis is a 23-time World Champion, fifth degree Blackbelt, member of Team Canada and is also a University of Guelph alumni. He has competed in and claimed world titles in many major martial arts sanctioning bodies, including North American Sport Karate Association (NASKA), National Blackbelt League (NBL), International Federation of Martial Arts (IFMA) and North American Federation of Martial Arts (NAFMA). Nathan’s love for martial arts began at the age of four and has only grown since.
Outside of the business, Nathan is very active in the community, participating in many initiatives organized by Guelph General Hospital, Children’s Foundation of Guelph & Wellington, HOPE House, Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada, among many others. Nathan’s goal through the business and his personal life is to help as many people as possible reach their personal goals.
Nathan alongside his mother Sophie Skoufis, began operating the business during his first year of university at the age of 19.
Business background
Guelph Family Martial Arts opened in 2013. Nathan and his mother Sophie wanted to start the studio because they thought it would have a positive impact on the community. They wanted to utilize martial arts training as a vehicle for personal growth and development for students of all ages.
Nathan speaks very highly of martial arts and really enjoys running the business. “Martial arts changed my life. I have the best job in the world to be able to work with students to overcome fear, anxiety, and depression to reach their goals. The studio has given me purpose, to positively impact everyone I meet and to leave this world in a better place. To serve the community is so special for me.”
Nathan started the studio while attending university and competing internationally, which many people thought would be something impossible to balance. Nathan’s response was “it definitely challenged my time management skills but is something I would do all over again.”
When asked why it is important to support local, Nathan responded “We all need to support local more than ever, as these local businesses represent a dream for someone. These local businesses make this community beautiful and are the backbone of our community, it is what makes us unique. These local businesses need more help than ever, as the pandemic has presented many obstacles and challenges in the past year.”
We also asked what makes Guelph Family Martial Arts unique, and Nathan responded with “I believe what makes our business unique is that we are family owned and operated with an emphasis on helping children thrive to their full potential in a safe and inclusive environment. We get to know each child as an individual and work towards their individual goals and we do not view our business as a business, we view it as a community or family. That is why we chose the name Guelph FAMILY Martial Arts, as we want to make a difference in families throughout the community any way, we can.”
Guelph Family Martial Arts plans to continue to have an impact as much as possible with every student they can and develop champions in life. They also plan to continue getting out as much as possible into the community and meet as many people as they can.
Visit Guelph Family Martial Arts website to learn more about the great programs they offer. Please follow local public health guidelines when visiting.
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All information within has been verified by Guelph Family Martial Arts.