Powering on!
New owner, new name – but ‘absolute legend’ Phil’s legacy lives on as gym he ran is open again
THE new owner of a gym hopes the relaunch and rebranding will be a fitting tribute to the ‘absolute legend’ who used to run it.
Powerhouse Gym in Sandyford has reopened as NG2 Fitness, two years after the death of previous owner Phil Simic.
Now personal trainer Nick Goodwin has acquired the premises, and hopes to honour the legacy of
Phil, right, who ran Powerhouse Gym for
35 years. Financial problems led to its closure a month before he died in March 2019
Nick said: “I used to go to Powerhouse. I just got the opportunity after Phil unfortunately passed away to carry on that business, to carry it on in memory of him. There are a lot of gyms around in the area, and it was probably one of the first.
“So I just thought, just carry it on as it is, don’t change too much about it, just put my own stamp on it. I thought it was just the right thing to do. It’s quite a raw thing.”
Nick also hopes to add his personal touch to the premises.
He said: “It’s been a bodybuilding gym since 1984. I’ve put my own stamp on it with the classes and everything. I’m helping people to get fit. I’ve just progressed it a little bit from having the gym on one side to classes on the other.”
And with lockdown beginning to ease and gyms finally allowed to reopen, Nick hopes to welcome back many gymgoers who were forced to turn to home exercise regimes to keep up their routines.
Nick said: “I think people are interested in coming back to the gym. It’s a funny time because everyone’s been doing their home fitness stuff, and you get into that groove of doing that kind of thing.
“I just want people to come up and go, wow this is amazing.”
For Nick, the gym, and this gym in particular, is more than just a place to exercise, but a community centre. He said: “It’s a friendly place to be, everyone helps each other, no one’s looking at you. There are a lot of gyms where that’s what it’s like – it’s not like that here.
“That’s what I want people to see. I’m hoping that in the future people are just going to come and have that vibe feeling like it was in the 80s and 90s when it was buzzing. It was fantastic.”
Nick has also put up a memorial tribute to Phil at NG2. Following his death in March 2019, Phil, who ran the North Staffordshire Open – a renowned bodybuilding show at Kidsgrove Town Hall – was described by gym-goers as an ‘absolute legend’ and an ‘icon of the industry.’