Gym opens at home of notorious nightclub
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From the remains of Hamilton’s most notorious nightclub, a gym that aims to do better has grown.
Beast Style Fitness is the business child of Simon Bowman and Harmony Marino and another addition to Hamilton central’s community-focused businesses.
After signing the lease for 7 Alexandra St - where The Hood nightclub used to be - they spent five months renovating and replacing bar stools with bikes, boxing bags, and dumbbells.
They kept one thing - the DJ booth for future live-house workout nights.
Two years ago, then living in Taupō as a youth worker, Marino saw a photo of Bowman when her brother trained with him. She decided to drive to Hamilton to help her brother return his books to Bowman, and their story began.
They knew they were right for each other when they both wanted to help others grow.
Their logo is an ensemble of everything the couple wanted to help others achieve.
A silverback gorilla, the king of jungle, signifying strength and confidence, and circling it is a broken chain, signifying breaking away from unhealthy lifestyles and mindsets.
After running their business from other corporate gyms, the couple grew tired of not being able to do what they wanted, namely help other personal trainers grow and run a youth program, so they decided to go out on their own.
Community sits at the heart of their business goal for very personal reasons.
When Marino was in a toxic relationship, it was her younger sister Te Atapo who encouraged her to start her health and fitness journey.
But Te Atapo didn’t live to watch her big sister blossom - she took her own life at 16.
Marino felt the reason Te Atapo left them was because the younger sister didn’t have a community outside of the family to talk to. So Marino dedicated herself to building one for other young people who may be in a position similar to Te Atapo.
“I feel like I'm now other people's reasons. I think some of them wanted someone outside of their homes to talk to and I’m that person.”
Growing up, Bowman had to learn fast from the real world and didn’t have much time to waste.
In the current tough economic environment, he knew starting a business from a bank loan would be hard so he turned to his community.
“If you network correctly, then other businesses in different fields that you need to get help with will give you a helping hand at the start. Just because you don't have 50k upfront, doesn't mean the dream has to stop.”
Not only has the couple secured a helping hand for themselves, they’re aiming to help their members in other ways.
Perks to the membership include discounts on Subway sandwiches and print shops.
“Sometimes even 20 bucks can be a lot to someone, so we want to make membership more bang for the buck. When they sign up with us, they don't just pay for a gym, we also want to set up a system to the outside world,” Bowman said.
The 710sqm gym isn’t big, which made the community tighter.
The couple has a bigger vision for their fitness empire and, while not revealing much, they say their next move could be in Warkworth.