The Petrenko family are coaches and co-founders of the gym “Petrenko Top Gym”. After the start of the full-scale invasion the family lost the ability to work in Kherson. Their gym remained under occupation, and some of the equipment was looted. They were able to restore the business only after the deoccupation — in Kyiv.
“The familiar equipment still gives us a feeling of home, even though we have long been working in a new place,” says Anastasia Petrenko, adding that she did not choose sport, sport chose her.
Anastasia says that from childhood she was closely connected to sport thanks to her parents who were coaches and her own training from an early age. Until the age of 20 she practiced karate professionally, winning titles as champion of Ukraine, Europe and the world. The dreamed path to professional sport matched reality, however starting her own family put her career on pause for a while.
Later, not only the stage of her life but also the city and professional direction changed for Anastasia. From Mykolaiv, for the sake of starting a family she moved to Kherson, where together with her husband Serhii she started their own business in the sports industry. It was there that she switched from karate to boxing.
“The initiative to start the business came more from my husband. He is more of an entrepreneur. But I supported him with great enthusiasm, so that’s how it all began,” says Anastasia.
She notes that founding a gym in Kherson was easier: when they opened in 2019 the family felt strong support from friends and acquaintances, and the first clients came to train at their gym by recommendation.
In 2022 with the start of the full-scale invasion the family moved to Kyiv. Before fully relocating the business Anastasia and Serhii worked for a time as trainers in other gyms, gradually preparing the foundation for their own venture.
“The business was built gradually, in small steps, but with the understanding that it was ours. There was no need to work ‘for someone’, because in Kherson we started our own business right away. In hired positions in our industry it’s hard to develop further; you have to slow down your growth,” adds Anastasia.
The majority of the equipment that is now in Kyiv’s “Petrenko Top Gym” the family transported from Kherson after its deoccupation. According to the Petrenkos, it was the help of volunteers in transporting the equipment that was decisive for opening the gym in the capital.
“We knew that during the occupation the gym was robbed several times, some of the equipment disappeared. But that was not as critical as the ability to transport our equipment to Kyiv. The only thing that’s new here is the ring. But if it had been possible, we would have transported that too. It’s much nicer to work with what you’re used to at home,” Anastasia adds with a smile.
Among the biggest difficulties during the move she names the emotional state. The hardest thing, she says, was to accept the necessity to move on and rebuild life.
The Petrenkos also talk about the gym’s visitors. “Petrenko Top Gym” today is international, however most of the clients are Ukrainians from different regions who also moved to Kyiv. Among them are Kherson residents who knew about the gym before the war, as well as new visitors who learned about it already in the capital.
Anastasia notes that Kyiv opened new opportunities for their family, although it requires adapting to a more competitive environment. At the moment the family plans to gradually develop the business and their own sporting careers, combining this with entrepreneurial development of their gym.
Karina Stryzhak