Blackout Evolution

💛 Then vs Now with / 💛

Jaiydeen’s cheer journey:

With a background in dance and gymnastics, I was so nervous about losing my fitness when I went to uni . I joined the UEA Angels as a way to stay active, make friends, and distract myself from the pressures of uni life. Inspired by Bring It On (obviously 💁🏾‍♀️), I decided to give cheer a go and I haven’t looked back since.

What started as a new hobby quickly became a huge part of my life. I fully immersed myself in the sport, progressing from Level 2 to Level 3, and even coaching Level 1 for two seasons. After graduating, nothing quite matched the thrill of stunting and I knew I wanted to keep pushing myself.

Making my first Worlds team was a dream come true, but I still felt there was another level I wanted to reach. This led me to Blackout and what a season it has been!🤩 I’ve had the opportunity to compete some of the hardest skills I’ve ever thrown and genuinely feel confident in my abilities as a Backspot.

A huge thank you to Stealth and Apex for such a whirlwind season. The coaches, teammates, and memories made this experience so special.

The season may be over, but I’m definitely not done yet. I hope to do it all again 👀🤞🏾🖤

💛 Then vs Now with Rohan Bhutta 💛

Rohan’s cheer journey:

Hi, I’m Rohan.

It all started in Freshers fair 2018. I made a trade deal where I would attend the taster session if the cheerleaders at their stall took a picture with a cardboard cut out of the pope. This got me into the taster session ; what made me stay in UCL Lightning was getting humbled by the warmup alone. We didn’t compete much in uni due to COVID and other disruptions, but this was where I started in L3 - even back then I loved doing dual base.

I spent one year in Unity All-stars Smoke before moving to be a reserve on Stealth in 2023. I also competed with power that year for the bants! Since then, I’ve been permanently in Stealth.

BE has been where I made the most developmental progress as a stunter and a cheerleader. The community here is extremely welcoming and supportive. We all understand that cheer isn’t the only thing going on in our lives, and you’ll meet so many people here balancing demanding work and life schedules with work with the intense training schedule. I work as a Project Manager and ironically, I’ve seen myself growing more into the world as I became more of an experienced voice on the mat.

Cheer is extremely rewarding and BE gives me a place to be myself and stunt within a real community.
I would highly recommend continuing your cheer journey here.

✨APEX - ICC SOUTHERN JAM✨

Apex brought the crowd to their feet last weekend! They impressed with their fantastic skills, excellent performance, and amazing ex*****on! We are so excited to continue to develop our Level 7 team next season!

✨RIVAL - ICC SOUTHERN JAM✨

Rival strutted down the runway last weekend and showed off the consistency, performance and ex*****on they have been training hard for all season! Another zero run for our all girl 5nt team, and a division champion banner to top it off! Come see Rival hit the mat one last time in Bournemouth next weekend!

✨SHOGUN - ICC SOUTHERN JAM✨

Sh**un showed up and showed off their skills last weekend at ICC Southern Jam! Their stunts were looking so clean and sharp, all the work they have been putting into ex*****on and performance definitely paid off! We can't wait to see their last performance of the season next weekend!

✨POWER - ICC SOUTHERN JAM✨

The ladies were looking POWERful last weekend at ICC Southern Jam! They have been working so hard to prepare and they absolutely smashed it, we loved watching the energy and skill they brought to the mat!

T-minus one week until we get to cheer them on again in Bournemouth!

💛 Then vs Now with .r 💛

Morgan’s cheer journey:

I’m Morgan, it’s my first season at Blackout and I’m currently on Rival (All-girl 5) and Apex (Level 7 development team).

Like most people I started cheer at uni, wanting to live out my dream of being Quinn Fabray (From Glee- if you know you know🫶🏼) I competed at level 1 for the Bath Spa Rapids for two years. I then sadly had a few years off after graduating during Covid. I couldn’t stay away so restarted cheer in London a couple of years ago starting as a level 1 back and then getting thrust into being a level 5 base. A terrifying but exciting experience😅 That now brings me to this season where I feel like I’ve progressed so much in such a short period of time. I’ve been able to hit skills I didn’t think would be possible for at least and few years. I feel so lucky to be a part of Blackout and I’m beyond excited for next season.

Cheerleading really is the best sport in the world and I feel really blessed to have been able to continue cheering as an adult. I couldn’t recommend more- you’ll be obsessed and stay obsessed🖤

💛 THEN vs NOW with Martina Sp 💛

Martina’s cheer journey:

2013 ➡️ 2026

I joined KCL Lions in my first year at uni thinking it would be a fun hobby alongside medical school. I had no idea it would end up shaping such a big part of my life. Lions introduced me to cheerleading and I’ve had great fun during my three seasons with them. I then joined Blackout as a L2/3 athlete, which has probably been one of the best decisions of my life; I gained some of my closest friends, countless memories, dream skills and opportunities I never could have imagined - including competing at worlds thrice and achieving a top 10 finish in the IOCNT6 category... all while training as a surgeon!

BE has been incredibly supportive in helping navigate complex schedules on placement and during surgical training, allowing me to thrive on and off the mat. Much of what I’ve learned through cheer—teamwork, resilience, handling pressure—has carried over into other aspects of my life. If you want to read about this in some more detail, check my article out. https://www.urologynews.uk.com/features/features/post/scalpels-and-stunts-reflections-from-an-academic-trainee-and-international-level-athlete.

If you’re on the fence about continuing cheer after uni or worried about being too busy to manage, this is your sign to go for it!!

⭐️ SEASON 11 ATHLETE PACK IS HERE! ⭐️

Fancy joining one of the biggest and best adult cheerleading clubs in London with a huge range of levels, an amazing culture and awesome inclusive and social environment? To make lifelong friends and develop yourself physically and mentally?

Whether you’re a recent uni grad or worlds level athlete, we might be the perfect fit for you!!

Click the link to ‘Season 11 Athlete Pack’ in our bio to find out everything you need to know and hopefully we’ll see you in a few weeks time at tryouts 👀🤩