WHAT IS MANZ?

With the organisation of the first fitness conventions, and later in 1998, with the introduction, in Portugal, of the Les Mills programs, whose official and exclusive representation belongs to Manz until today. More than just group classes, Les Mills translates a way of being in life, a concept of union and teamwork oriented towards a greater mission: to make more and more people enjoy exercising, have fun doing it and actually get results. And this is a goal which has become ours from the very first moment. And for this very reason, it quickly gave rise to a training method and system which we knew had to go beyond group classes. Before we could get there, we needed to train capable, competent professionals with the desire to help change lives.

Manz Formação was born in 1995, with small training courses all over the country, teaching aerobics choreographed by the current administrator of Manz, André Manz! Today, Manz is a school oriented towards professionals and future professionals, with a varied offer of modern solutions that allow all those interested in the Fitness market to progress in it. From Intensive Training Courses to Post-Graduations of the Sports Faculty of the Lusófona University of Humanities and Technologies, in partnership with Manz, it is possible to find curricular programmes in several formats, from face-to-face to e-learning, in areas such as Functional Training, Personal Training and Cross-training, but also Nutrition, Gym Management or Coaching. Find out more here.

We started 25 years ago with the Manz International Physical Activity Convention, a fitness event dedicated to the professional market, with a long tradition of editions held in the north of the country. The weekend of its realisation, always at the end of the year, stopped everything else. After all it was - and is - the largest national convention in the area. As time went by, and with the continued democratisation of physical exercise, its increasingly easy access and even the offer of faster and more practical content with the digital universe, the general public also became active consumers of this market and the phenomenon happened: more and more teachers brought their students to the Convention, eager to do the group classes with more than 1000 participants, get to know the workshops and live the whole experience of these 2 days. 2015 was the turning point year.

The Convention, huge and with its place conquered, became just part of an even bigger Fitness event, dedicated to the whole population. A little before this move to Lisbon, still in Aveiro, Manz creates the Manz Cross Games sports competition, given the growing demand for this type of competition opportunities from cross-training fans. Still with them, the organisation of races, Bodybuilding championships in partnership with the IFBB and much more.

The Grupo Manz events team was ready for any challenge, and it didn't take long to arise. With two children always paying attention to the latest animes (Japanese cartoons) and Japanese pop culture in general, and a growing curiosity about it all, André Manz's first investigations into the area began, with the aim of promoting more quality family moments - when children are not yet interested in their parents' topics, the opposite path is taken! IBERANIME was born shortly afterwards, following trips which also gave the organisation's CEO a taste of all this dimension and the popularity of the events associated with it. We started with a community of Portuguese fans still shy. Today, more than seven years later, we have sold out the Altice Arena and we organise international Cosplay competitions, which are also events in themselves.

Still within the scope of Pop Culture, and realising in IBERANIME itself the fascination for gaming and the increasing notoriety also of the e-sports area around the world, the gaming area that was associated with the Japanese event gained its own dimension in 2017, with the organisation of the first two editions of 4Gamers. Consolidation was not long in coming, as well as recognition by its peers: 2018 is the year in which 4Gamers gives way to EUROGAMER, in partnership with the largest independent video game website in Europe.

Manzwine is one of the most recent chapters in the history of Manz. If we can be more active and healthy and encourage all the other Portuguese to do the same, and if we can have fun and quality family events to enjoy with those we love, right in our country, why not also make our products known, those that are traditional and very much our own? This particular story began with the unexpected discovery of an almost extinct white grape variety - Jampal - with which the only single grape variety wine in the world is now produced, and which has won several international awards: Manzwine Dona Fátima. And it is inevitable to talk about it without telling everything else, without talking about the people of Cheleiros and the recovery of its heritage. But we don't want to be spoilers. Here, you really need to watch this video, and come visit us in Cheleiros!

And the desire to enter the world of surfing was consolidated with the new brand O'SUS, which stands out for the creation and offer of innovative surfboards, with unique design, created for all types of surfers looking to find their best wave. Available in various models - longboard, mid-length, funboard and shortboard - O'SUS promises to guarantee all the comfort to compete, or simply to enjoy the waves. Find out all about it at www.osus.surf