“NO BULL SHIT, NO EXCUSES, JUST HARD WORK.” Great motto, right? Yeah, we agree. That is just one of the many reasons we want to introduce you to our gym affiliate, The Garage Gym.

The Garage Gym is based out of Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada, and was built by a community of like-minded individuals from the ground up.

Tony and Dani Smith, founders of The Garage Gym as well as husband and wife, share many years of experience training individuals in and out of the gym. Tony, a self proclaimed gym rat was hooked from the moment a friend’s father taught him basic weightlifting movements and allowed him to use his basement gym. “You could find me in the Villanova weight room, various “Globo style” gyms throughout the city, or in the dingy weight room of the old Ako Fratmen clubhouse, where I played football for the ’99 National Champs.  I quickly realized that the stronger and faster I got the better I was performing, and that training with a small group of goal orientated people pushed me so much farther than I could ever go on my own.”

Tony has also spent the last 10 years of his life as a SWAT team member. “In that line of work, fitness has to be part of your life, failure simply can never happen,” said Tony.  In 2008, Tony was honored by his peers to be selected as their Team Leader.  It was his responsibility to ensure that these men were always in peak condition in order to execute their duties and get home safely to their families.  “The only way to lead  is by constantly being the example.  I made sure that I always put forth maximum effort in the gym, and was constantly coming up with new ways to keep them motivated, fit and unified.”

Dani’s fitness and nutrition knowledge comes from real life experience and trial and error.  She is certified in group fitness training, is a certified GYM JONES instructor and is set to complete her certification as a weight loss and nutrition specialist. Dani and Tony are also the parents of two young sons - a heck of a job in itself. Tony and Dani’s passion is contagious.  They are always searching to become more knowledgeable, are highly motivated and most of all, have real life experience.

Tony, Dani and the crew at The Garage Gym were trained and taught by one of the most hardcore gyms in the world, managed by our very own Bobby Maximus; Gym Jones, in Salt Lake City, Utah. They train functional fitness for real life strength, with programs custom suited to fitness levels and goals. Their focus is entirely on the clients, no one gets lost in group classes.

An important aspect that makes The Garage Gym different, is their belief that the mind can push the body well past perceived limits, just as our Special Operation and NSW operators believe. Individuals with this mindset don’t understand the word, “quit”. We at LALO couldn’t be happier to have an affiliate with this likeminded mantra. Take a deeper look into the Garage Gym’s operation below. 

LALO: What is the most inspirational thing you have seen in your gym?
Garage Gym: We have a member that trains privately with us three times a week, her name is Trish. She is a perfectionist and is extremely self-motivated. She came to us after suffering two very difficult loses in her life that caused her to put herself aside to care for others. In only 6 months, she has managed to dramatically increase her stamina and endurance as well as lose nearly 50 pounds. Through changing her eating habits and throwing herself into a fit way of life, she has made leaps and bounds already. Best of all, she has a huge heart and cares greatly for others. In November, we challenged the members of The Garage Gym to accumulate as many row meters as possible for the month, whether they rowed in warm up, during their workout or on their own time. Members were divided into teams and the winning team was promised a prize. Trish was placed onto a team and completed her row meters at the gym and at home on a Concept Two rowing machine that she received from her neighbor who never used it. At the end of the month, Trish’s total was 450,000m! That works out to be 15,000m per day! She made a promise to herself and never made excuses, sometimes rowing at 10pm in the evening after a long day working. Trish continues to impress us with her dedication, improvement and most of all her friendly and kind nature, we are very fortunate to have Trish in our lives.

LALO: Do you have someone who meets or exceeds your standard on a consistent basis?
Garage Gym: Our only standard is consistent effort coupled with a good positive attitude. Almost all our clients bring it daily, and support the people next to them. We do have a few stand out members that are always competing with themselves and expect the most out of their efforts day in and day out but we are very proud of our members and their constant kindness and dedication.

LALO: What is your favorite thing about being a trainer or gym owner?
Garage Gym: We are so proud watching how a person transforms themselves into someone who walks with confidence, changes their mindset to demonstrate the no quit mentality and their new-found ability to attack obstacles rather than fear them. It is so amazing to see a group of individuals that come from all walks of life interact with each other with kindness and support.

LALO: Is there anything that you do for your town or community that you are exceptionally proud of?
Garage Gym: We are very proud to be very involved with first responders, providing them with not only the physical tools to tackle their demanding jobs, but the mental toughness necessary to care for themselves and the people they serve. We also love to host leadership camps to mentor kids in the community to be better people in all aspects of their lives and to really consider being healthy as being a very important component of being successful as they mature.

LALO: What can we do collectively to motivate youth?
Garage Gym: We find the best way to motivate youth is to put them in groups/teams and to give them individual responsibility, pointing out what each must offer. Every player on the team has an important role and teaching the young members of society how to best participate collectively seems to make their confidence and personal abilities shine through, in turn motivating them to give their best effort.

LALO: If you could give one piece of advice to other gym owners or someone looking to open their own gym, what would it be?
Garage Gym: Give everything. Put yourself out there every day, struggle beside them, lead from within.

LALO: Showing up to a gym is intimidating for a lot of people. How do you like to break down that barrier?
Garage Gym: We like to immediately pair them with another member that was the same way when they first started. Seeing someone who reminds them of themselves and how they would like to see themselves is very motivating. Hearing another member say, “Don’t worry, I couldn’t do that either” or “I felt like that too” makes the barrier seem not quite as tall.

LALO: Do you have anything else you would like to share with us?
Garage Gym: We feel so fortunate to be able to share our passion with so many great people in our community and we love helping others to obtain goals that they never thought possible. There is only positivity within our walls and we expect nothing less.

Learn more about The Garage Gym >>>

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