“It’s going to be a ‘no nonsense’ gym!” says James Whyte who recently bought out the gym at Delfs' Martial Arts & Health Club on Bridge Street.
Just three days before COVID-19 closures began back in March, Whyte acquired the gym portion of the club from original owner Charles Delfs. Delfs will still operate the martial arts portion of the business.
The gym is currently undergoing renovations and will re-open under the new name, 'Savage Iron'.
Whyte, who used to own and operate Newmarket gym, 'New Generation', had been looking for a new location for years and was ecstatic when he found Delfs' was available.
“This gym will be unique… like no other gym!” said Whyte. “I want to build a community where people can come and just work out… no frills”.
Whyte notes there will be some changes to the gym. For one, it will no longer operate as a 24-hour open gym. It will now be a private gym with a maximum of 200 members, and set hours.
With a military background, Whyte has experience in rigorous training exercises. He has been lifting weights for 27 years. He describes his workouts as an “aggressive style of training."
“People get too comfortable," explains Whyte. “I want to teach people to push through being comfortable”.
Whyte says he wants to get to know the members and build a relationship, and teach them motivation and discipline.
“We are bringing in new equipment and will be offering seminars on nutrition, weight loss, meal prepping, proper weightlifting… all free!” he said.
Dave Yake, one of Whyte’s personal trainers will be offering one-on-one sessions to new members where the “focus is on you”.
“You got to embrace the suck!” states Whyte, referencing a common military term. “There’s no shortcuts. You got to eat less and train hard!”.
Whyte’s motivation for training comes from a difficult battle with his weight after experiencing severe head trauma from a military exercise years prior.
“The surgeon told me not to work out anymore. That it could put pressure on my brain,” Whyte remembers. “I gained all this weight. It was awful."
Whyte has a photo of himself on Instagram from 2010 at his heaviest, that serves as an inspiration for himself and others.
“If I can go from this, to where I am today, ANYONE CAN," Whyte wrote on his Instagram account.
Although there is no date set as to when gyms will be allowed to open in the province, Whyte asserts that once he gets the green light, they will have a soft opening and perform rigorous cleaning between workouts.
For more details on Savage Iron, follow them on Instagram @savage_iron_gym.
