A trainer who’s been there

In September 2003 I suffered a knee injury that required reconstructive surgery and months of rehab. In the months following the surgery, I became very sedentary and developed poor eating habits. I gained over 70 lbs. For the next four years, I remained overweight and continued to eat all the wrong foods. I struggled with self-confidence and a sense of worth.

I was determined to change.

November 16th, 2008, the day I decided to join Gold's Gym. I wanted to change the way I lived. I wanted to make this something that would last a lifetime. Step by step I changed my eating and exercise habits, and I watched my body transform. Being in a positive atmosphere every day encouraged me to pursue a healthy lifestyle.

The rest is history.

Over the next few years, I continued to learn as much as I could about fitness from every source possible. I came to understand that I wanted to help people as i had helped myself. In the spring of 2013, I completed the ISSA program and became a Certified Personal Trainer and finished my studies in the spring of 2014 at the University of South Florida to obtain my Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education.

A recap of the last few years.

The last few years have been a crazy ride. After obtaining my certification, I immediately started training since the moment I was able to in 2013 and given the opportunity that I am forever grateful for at the local Gold's Gym in Brooksville, Florida to eventually re-branding itself in the last part of 2016 to Fitness Live 24 I was able to hone in on my craft and continue to learn and helped many people of all different ages and walks of life learn about fitness and grow to reach their individual goals.

What’s next– December 2019.

As many learned as I did as well our gym for many years was going to close the doors at the end of 2019 leaving me thinking what's next? It's hard to put 10+ years (Gold's Gym & Fitness Live 24) of memories into words other than being super thankful, to Ben, Natasha, Marc, & Ronelle for the opportunity to grow the love for health & fitness as I did & all the friendships that will now last a lifetime. The first thought was a strange feeling. Not only will I have to find a new home to train my clients but for myself. A place that I started my fitness journey 10+ years ago, training 5 days a week, not missing a day in that time span. The next feeling was excitement for a change.

A new change– 2020.

As the new year begun and it’s always a refreshing feeling to start off with new goals but this year was different being at different gyms and for a slight period of time not training any clients because I had no home gym nor was, I looking to get hired by one facility because I knew I wanted to do something special. Something I could create and being a different energy. 

The entitiy.

Within days of being informed the gym was closing, the name came to me. Downtown Athletics. I knew I wanted to be in Downtown Brooksville. It wasn’t even a question. I created the entity not having anything in place. I had tons of ideas but nothing in stone but loved the name and knew I would be downtown. 

The Possibilities.

Early 2020, my wife and I would go on walks often living right in the heart of downtown, and look at potential spots to put downtown athletics, personal training studio. I didn’t want a gym or an open job for that matter. I want something more unique, and a studio was that. There were a few different locations and made a few attempts to reach out to prospective sellers or landlords on their locations.

The Garage.

There was always the garage. The little garage/warehouse is located on the corner of S. Brooksville Ave and E. Liberty St right next to the City’s Water Tower. A few city departments used the building as storage. We viewed it as the lost potential of what it could be. We knew that would be the best spot. Being that the building was owned by the City I figured out who was the best contact to even see if it was a possibility. 

The pursuit.

January 2020: I inquired and showed interest in the building. The city thought my ideas were worth seeing if this is something the city could legally do. 

February 2020: COVID-19 arrived and put things on the back burner. At this point, the city had bigger issues at hand as we all did, and this was put on the shelf for months. 

August 2020: I was consistent in following up with the city and eventually we were able to get the ball rolling. There were a few conditions that needed to be addressed. The separation or splitting of the lot from the city’s tower (queue laugh) lol and we needed to come to an agreement on a potential sale price. The city set out to get a survey done and also a certified commercial appraisal on the building to determine its as-is value. 

January 2021: Things were finally progressing and getting closer to finalizing what could be something special that downtown Brooksville has never had before.

March 2021: The survey was done, and the proposed lot lines were drawn, the appraisal was in and the price was agreed upon. 

April 2021: The last hurdle was bringing the agreed-upon price in front of the city council for their final approval. The city council approved, moving forward with the sale and we then went under contract from there. 

May 2021: We officially closed on the property and renovations begin!