James Snell – reporter@thefreepress.ca
The Body Garage gym has officially opened in Fernie. The 24-hour facility, located at 1502 9th Avenue, specializes in strength training with cardio. Owners Brandon and Dalton Garlock have been busy in their first few days of operation, with many people eager to sign up.
Brandon said the business has a specific goal.
“This is mostly oriented towards weight training supplemented by cardio,” he explained. “Basically Fernie already has a bunch of classes in yoga and spin. We saw there was a market for weight training and a different access system.”
Brandon used to go to the Sparwood gym during his years working for Teck, but found the facility lacking.
“They have a limited area and limited gear,” he explained. “The other gyms in town are pretty scheduled with the hours they are opening. Our niche is that we run 24 hours a day in a well rounded facility. We want to accommodate a lot of shift work people.”
The brothers faced and overcame obstacles on the path to opening Body Garage. The idea hatched while Brandon was recovering from a broken leg.
“I started putting some numbers together, and did the market research and it had a snowball effect,” he said. “The biggest challenge was finances, there a lot of overhead capital to come up with. Obviously getting the right equipment was critical. Most of it is manufactured in the States. It took a long time for it to get from Chicago to here. It had to go through our vendor in Vancouver. The biggest hurdle was getting everything here on time.”
Dalton, who still works for Teck, is thrilled to offer Valley residents a one-of-a-kind gym.
“This all started as an idea between us when we were on a sled trip,” the 26-year-old said. “We talked about a supplement store and figured Fernie wouldn’t be big enough. Then we talked about how sweet it would be to open a gym. Then Brandon really took the initiative. He left his job after ten years and was going to take a seven-on seven-off job up north. We put a business plan together and really cracked down. It was a struggle coming from there to where we are now.”
Dalton has been going to gyms for eight years. His experience has informed the Body Garage business model.
“So I saw where I’d like to improve them, and spoke with other people,” he said. “We are mostly strength training and weight lifting and we also have cardio.”
For more information, contact the Body Garage at 778-745-3105
