A shared calisthenics container for the Gray neighbourhood in Ixelles: borrow equipment, register online, train together.
The idea
Bsthenos ASBL promotes access to sport for everyone in Ixelles through calisthenics and street lifting. We run sessions in the city’s outdoor workout parks that are free or low-cost for under-24s and over+50s, with a focus on health, well-being and social inclusion.
For the 2026/2027 season we are adding a new goal: bringing generations together around the same practice.
A container that lends equipment
We want to place a secure, connected container on Petite Rue Malibran, in the Gray neighbourhood. It would hold calisthenics equipment that young people and residents can borrow.
- Online registration: members of the community register online, and the container’s software manages the loan of equipment.
- Guided sessions: our coaches run one session per week for young people and residents.
- Open to everyone: all ages and backgrounds, around a shared practice.
A mural with a message
The container will carry a graffiti mural symbolising the transformation of weapons into a calisthenics park. It is also a visual statement of working together: the Commune of Ixelles and Bsthenos ASBL, side by side, for the neighbourhood.
Why Petite Rue Malibran
The Gray neighbourhood faces safety challenges, and public authorities are already responding on that front. Our project adds a preventive and social side to that response: occupying public space in a positive way through sport.
- Turn the street into a place for sport, meeting and community life.
- Offer young people a healthy, supervised alternative in their own neighbourhood.
- Strengthen social ties between young people, residents and families.
Training all year round
In summer we train outdoors. In winter, sessions move to the Saint-Gilles municipal gymnasium at a fair price of €3 per session for under-24s and over+50s.
Who we work with
Bsthenos has already been supported by the Commune of Ixelles, including equipment for young people. We have also collaborated with Saint-Gilles Sport and Anderlecht.sport. This project builds on that experience in service of safety, social cohesion and reclaiming public space.
Where things stand
The project is in preparation. Installing the container on the public road depends on authorisation from the Commune of Ixelles, and we will share updates here as things move forward.