Former Scots professional footballer launches new wellbeing and exercise campaign for Edinburgh Parkinson's communities
A former Scottish professional footballer has launched a new national fitness and wellbeing initiative to help more people with Parkinson’s get active online from the comfort of their own homes.
Craig Comrie, from national fitness provider, Boost, has created an adapted version of his popular in-person boxing programme which first launched for people living with Parkinson’s in Scotland back in 2024.
The new online programme launches in November 2026, with the aim of helping more people living with Parkinson’s to feel supported, confident, secure and capable.
Craig, who used to play for Falkirk Football Club became inspired to support more people living with Parkinson’s once he hung up his boots and chose a new career path as a personal trainer and amateur boxing coach.
Since training as a specialist Parkinson’s exercise coach, Craig has gone on to support more people to create happier and healthier lives for people living with the condition in Scotland and is now launching the programme as a national online offer.
Speaking about the launch of the new online sessions, Craig said:
“Boost has been a labour of love over the past two years. We have built up a great community of people with Parkinson’s and their partners that connect regularly, and our online boxing aims to replicate the success we have achieved together in-person.”
“For every member of Boost and I, our boxing classes are an amazing path towards forgetting about Parkinson’s for an hour, becoming fitter, and relieving the stress of daily life and living with Parkinson’s.”
“Young, fit, or old. It doesn’t matter. Boxing is so adaptable that anyone can experience the uplifting and positive feeling you achieve after a class.”
The online workouts involve a range of adaptable and accessible exercises and movements which aim to help improve balance, speed and power, coordination and unlock the positive energy that resides in every person with Parkinson’s.
No previous experience of boxing or being active is required and the sessions are designed to be followed at the individual's own pace.
Being active is shown to be one of the best ways for people to live well with Parkinson’s, with recent research showing that exercise and physical activity can help people to manage symptoms more effectively when carried out on a regular basis.
Current guidelines suggest that UK adults should engage in at least 150 minutes of physical activity each week to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and for people living with Parkinson’s it can be important to find regular activities which challenge both body and mind.
The new online boxing programme is designed to be a flexible and accessible way for anyone with parkinson’s to feel uplifted, accomplished and re-energised for life.
To find out more about the new programme, visit www.boostparkinsons.co.uk, call 07301 174 729