Rugby club entrepreneurs bid to kick old working habits into touch

Two senior figures at one of Scotland’s top community rugby clubs have launched a new remote office venture, transforming under-utilised clubhouse facilities and offering some help to home-workers.

“Breakout” has re-imagined the vast top floor of Currie Chieftains’ Malleny Park clubhouse, creating a stylish, safe and comfortable workspace, able to be used by anyone working outside the office.

The idea emerged during lockdown, with Mark Cairns, Head Coach of the Balerno-based club realising that the long-term future of work was changing, with many homes unsuited to home working, with many put off by the stress and environmental impact of daily commutes.

At the same time, the club had been hit by the pandemic, with the clubhouse – like thousands across the country – sitting dormant.

Edinburgh-based Mark, CEO of Breakout, is also the founder of Coach Logic, a sports analysis and communication platform, and like millions of others has worked from home for much of the pandemic.

The 37-year-old said: “In all honesty I was getting fed up with my home slowly becoming my office. I was finding it difficult to switch off from work, when I realised the club could be a great working space.

“We hope to inspire more spaces like this. There are a lot of sports clubs with underused spaces, which are normally utilised in the evenings but almost never during office hours.

“Many are in semi-rural and suburban locations, surrounded by families but requiring a sizeable commute to city centre workplaces.

“Hopefully these clubs can see Currie leading by example. We think we can slowly but surely, make a positive change for a lot of communities.”

“Our values and mission are very clear – we want to impact people’s work life and environment one space at a time and we think introducing the Breakout idea to the world is a step in the right direction.”

Fergus Scott, current captain of Currie Chieftains first team and general manager of Breakout, said: “Mark and I have put in a lot of hard work to make the co-working space a reality. We have received a lot of support from the local community as well, as more people are having to work remotely from outside the office, so the idea of having a space like Breakout is massive for them.”

The Breakout co-working hub has also partnered with coffee specialists, Forth Roasters, to offer quality sit-in and takeaway coffee and snacks on site.

Andy Russell, managing director of Bureau, which has provided contemporary furnishings and is primed to work with Breakout at future sites, said: “People have always seen co-working spaces as a city centre-based business.

“But the pandemic has enforced a new trend of remote work environment, which made the opportunity for suburban co-working spaces to emerge, and there isn’t better space than your local sports club.”

The Breakout team are now on the lookout for the next sports venue which they can transform into the next remote co-working centre.

For more information on Breakout, visit: https://breakout.club/