Five Years. Still Building.

Our gym just turned five years old.

For a small independent gym in New York City, that’s something I’m proud of.

Mainly because it is truly ours. No investors. No chain backing us. Just a bunch of guys in shorts with a dream, trying to make it in the most competitive city on the planet.

It started with an idea, a lot of work, and a pretty run-down room on 57th Street.

But when I look back at the last five years, the growth of the business isn’t really what stands out.

It’s the people

I never wanted this to be my gym. I wanted it to become our gym.

Not because I’m such a great humanitarian, but because I’d watched plenty of “me” gyms fail over the years.

If everything depended on me, eventually I would become the bottleneck, and ultimately the albatross.

So, to the best of my sometimes limited abilities, I tried to make it about the people. Clients and trainers alike.

I never wanted this to be my gym. I wanted it to become our gym.

Maik Wiedenbach

The growth

We’ve helped people lose 20, 30, 50 pounds. We’ve helped people come back from injuries, become stronger, and look better than they ever thought they could.

Some trained with us for a few months. Others for years. Some have been here almost from the beginning.

A few clients became close friends.

And the gym grew with them.

We added trainers. We added equipment. We built systems, realized they weren’t very good, and rebuilt them.

I made plenty of mistakes. We learned from them and kept trying to raise the standard.

I’ve watched young trainers walk through our doors unsure whether they could make a career out of this industry and develop into excellent coaches, educators, leaders, and good humans.

The culture

What I’m probably most proud of, though, is the culture.

People genuinely like coming here, even on leg day!

They feel safe, seen and appreciated.

And when I think about five years, that’s what matters to me.

Not simply that we made it five years.

But that five years later, we’re a lot better than when we started.

The gym is busier, the team is stronger and the equipment is better.

(I do have my eye on another upgrade, though…)

And we’re still learning.

There were certainly easier businesses I could have chosen to build in New York City.

I’m glad I didn’t.

Thank you to everyone who trained here, worked here, referred someone, supported us, or simply believed in what we were building.

You helped build it too.

Here’s to the next five

Maik Wiedenbach