Owner Chris said the gym takes a holistic approach towards health and fitness
A former shop in North Belfast has been transformed into a small community gym to help bring life back to the area.
Chris McKinney opened Apex Performance NI on the Serpentine Road last September, completely renovating the site himself. Growing up in the area, after 16 years working within the fitness industry around Northern Ireland, he wanted to give back to the place it all began.
The unit had previously been a Mace shop, and was derelict for around seven years after its closure. Wanting to open his own space after previously working from commercial gyms, one of Chris’ clients pointed out the site to him, and the rest was history.
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Speaking to Belfast Live this week, Chris shared his story, as well as what the ethos behind Apex is. He said: “I’ve been working in the fitness industry in Northern Ireland for 16 years now. I’ve opened up gyms, managed them, done studio events, and then I started working as a PT and it was the first time I felt I was actually helping people and not businesses.
“After Covid, I’d moved out from the gym I worked in and saw this unit. One of my clients who lives down the road suggested it to me, it had been empty for about seven years and it was a Mace shop before then.
“I grew up around here. My first house was on the Whitewell Road 37 years ago, so I thought this was a good spot to come back to and continue what I was doing helping people.
“I got the keys in May and it took a good five months until the end of September before I had it open and ready. I did everything myself, the renovating, painting, plastering, and flooring, so it took quite a while.”
Chris intended for the gym to be a space just for men, but his view changed after he became a dad shortly after opening. The 37-year-old said: “I initially wanted to just create a space men could not only work in their body, but a comfortable space to create a brotherhood with other like-minded men.
“But when I opened and my ex-girlfriend gave birth, I would bring the baby around a bit, and had a lot of interest from others with kids. When I became a father my mindset to just training guys switched, and I wanted to help women too, and those who have kids and maybe don’t feel they can go to a commercial gym and have their kid running about. I put specific classes on for females in the morning, then specific ones for males in the evening, and a couple of mixed classes.”
One of the members of Apex, Rebecca, began bringing her daughter along with her to the gym, with others doing the same. They created a space for the children to play within the gym, even bringing in toy dumbells so the kids can exercise along.
Chris said the gym has a big community focus, and they want to create a safe and welcoming space. He said: “Connections with other people are so important. Health is more than just healthy eating and moving; it’s keeping your mental health right. You can be looking after your diet and body, but if your head’s in the wrong space, none of it really accounts for anything.
“It’s a private gym, there’s only so many people that can come to the sessions in one go. It allows it to be small enough that people can connect and have a bit of a laugh before the training, in between sets, and afterwards, and it’s been working quite well.
“Everything I do comes from my experience in fitness and what it’s done for me. I feel better, younger, and fitter now at 37 than I did at 27, and that’s the feeling I want to give other people.”
Chris said his years working in commercial gyms helped him form the idea of the gym atmosphere he wanted to create.
He explained: “When I worked as a sales manager in a commercial gym, we had what were called sleepers, members who hadn’t been to the gym in months. We weren’t allowed to contact them in case they cancelled their membership. That went against everything for me, and I moved from manager to PT that year.
“I wanted to create a space where you’re not just left to your own accord to guess what you need to do. Some people don’t want to go to a full gym with 100-odd people and get pushed by a PT on the spot with other people watching on. It can be quite daunting. Here, you’re with a small group of people.”
In the year since opening, Apex members have had impressive results. Andrew Brown said he has lost 20kg and has gained a sense of camaraderie and community from attending the gym each week.
Chris said, “My aim is that after six months, members are able to look after their diet and training themselves. A lot of people do that, but I’ve found a lot of my members have surpassed that. They enjoy the atmosphere so much they stay on regardless of me encouraging them to be able to do it by themselves. The big thing for me is teaching people how to look after themselves and not just make them dependent on me.”
To find out more about Apex Performance NI, click here.
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