GoodLife Fitness off to good start

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This article was published 07/07/2017 (3268 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandon’s GoodLife Fitness is officially operational, with a grand opening ceremony held at the fitness centre’s 25,000-square-foot Shoppers Mall space to mark the occasion yesterday.

The centre was scheduled to open up to its membership for workouts today at 6 a.m.

The fitness facility will employ approximately 30 people once it has been fully-staffed, with a few group fitness facilitator positions currently open for job applicants, Manitoba divisional manager Sherri Romas said.

Group fitness manager Cindy Carmichael said that they would ramp up their “starter schedule” throughout the summer months as more people are brought on board, with eight of up to 15 positions filled thus far.

Aside from this and a small “turf zone” area that needs to be filled out with battle ropes, kettle bells, agility ladders and other such pieces of equipment, the fitness centre is fully operational, with new pieces of exercise equipment filling out the expansive space.

It was a long-awaited grand opening for centre manager Josh Palaniuk, who knew he’d secured the position approximately one year ago and has been employed as such since Sept. 6.

After the long wait, he said during yesterday’s grand opening that he was eager to finally begin working with members alongside the team he has assembled.

During the past year’s leadup to yesterday’s grand opening, Palaniuk has travelled across Canada visiting various GoodLife Fitness clubs to see how different managers run things and has assisted with the local buildup, which has seen more than 1,100 people sign up as members.

A lifelong resident of Brandon, Palaniuk, 33, said that he has been passionate about fitness since he was a kid.

He enjoyed playing sports during his younger days and found himself determined to make up for his small size by becoming more physically fit through lifting weights, which his father helped him out with.

Working a part-time job while attending Vincent Massey High School, he was finally able to afford a gym membership, which he purchased at the local YMCA.

Whereas he had a desire to excel at sports as his goal, he said that everyone has their own reasons for attending a fitness centre. Since high school, his goals have shifted toward maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Of the more than 1,100 people to sign up for memberships thus far, Palaniuk said that he personally knows many of them, adding that he looks forward to helping them meet whatever fitness goals they might have.

GoodLife Fitness is occupying a space that Safeway used to be situated in.

The building receiving an extensive renovation, with GoodLife Fitness utilizing local subcontractors that employed local people wherever possible, Romas said.

The fitness centre is the first big component of the “transformation” that Shoppers Mall’s ownership group, Morguard Real Estate Investment Trust, announced last summer.

GoodLife Fitness will join a 62,500-square-foot Sobeys Extra store currently under construction at the mall’s north end, which is expected to open in the near future. The Sobeys grocery store situated across 18th Street will shift operations to the new and expanded space.

A Dollarama is also expected to open within the next few days.

Site preparation for detached restaurants recently began at the Shoppers Mall property, with tenants expected to include a Harvey’s/Swiss Chalet combo, a Fionn McCool’s Irish Pub and an East Side Mario’s.

The next phase of development will find the mall expand into a 40,000-square-foot space left vacant after Target’s departure; a space located next to the upcoming Sobeys Extra store.

That project is expected to be completed in late 2018.

» tclarke@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB