Non Charity Employer
About us
Who we are
The ethos of the Confidence Academy is very simple: Participants get their money back once they attend their selected fitness and wellbeing events. When you show up for your health, when you show up for yourself... your refund is your reward.
The Confidence Academy exists to make the tools of confidence-building — through improved nutrition, better mental and physical fitness, and community support — accessible to all, particularly to struggling and marginalised communities who often feel invisible or left behind. Health inequality is one of the biggest injustice of them all that we don't talk about yet our health is the sole foundation of our existence.
The Academy is founded by a 37 year old refugee from Bangladesh, Rayhana Sultan. She is an ex-prisoner. This social enterprise was created after she was able to rebuild her life after prison, hospital detention and recovery through psychotherapy and a supportive community. She is a finance manager working in the local government. Outside her day job, she is a model, a panel advisor for the charity Working Chance and now through the Confidence Academy, she wants other people to find the inspiration to turn their pain into power, stigma into strength.
The inception of this CIC is driven by the fact that nearly 60% of the UK population in 2023/24 were reported as obese or overweight. This is a national crisis in a context where our healthcare system is overstretched, support for mental health is not on par which can be exacerbated by health-related problems and an ageing population is awaiting us. Growing old or not being able to afford the regular gym in an era should not mean fitness services are inaccessible to you. So we are here to change it.
We will begin rolling out weekend fitness and wellbeing activities shortly after New Year 2026, supported by online seminars, podcast-style discussions, and community “vox pop” features that amplify real voices and lived experiences around health, confidence, and inclusion. These activities will include group exercise sessions, nutrition and wellness education, mindset and resilience workshops, and confidence-building programmes designed to enhance both physical and mental wellbeing.
Our culture and values
- We believe that no one should be deprived from accessing the resources and activities to reclaim their physical and mental fitness because they can't afford it. While we cannot offer a fully free service as we need to pay for overheads and growht of this Academy, attendees get their money back when they show up for themselves.
- So while we are developing our social enterprise, our founding values are: promoting self-accountability and fighting health inequality in Britain.
Equality, diversity and inclusion policy
The Confidence Academy is established to address the growing health inequality in Britain in a context of ageing population and declining productivity. All of these can be traced to a fact we don't talk much about: that our greatest wealth is our body, our health and it's time we reflect on how to improve it through better fitness, mindset training and nutrition.
Its unique operational model is based on a refundable deposit system, where participants pay a nominal booking fee (e.g. £10–£45) and receive a full refund upon attendance. This approach removes financial risk, encourages accountability, and ensures accessibility for all socioeconomic groups.
So we are here to make the tools of confidence-building — through improved nutrition, better mental and physical fitness, and community support — accessible to all, particularly to struggling and marginalised communities who often feel invisible or left behind.
