Things working out for Shaunavon business

It was a real work out for Justin Matyka to get his new business venture up and running.

Justin and his team – which included upwards of 20 family members and friends – put in some long days and nights setting up a new fitness centre in Shaunavon.

All that heavy work, however, paid off in a big way.

The new business, called Mainstreet Muscle Fitness (MMF), opened last week to some excellent reviews.

“We’ve put in a lot of hard work but I’m really happy with how things turned out,” said Justin Matyka, the  proprietor of MMF. “People really seem to like what they see and we’ve already gotten a good response.”

Justin has created a top-end training facility that would match up well with many big-city facilities, while also retaining that cozy and friendly atmosphere of a small-town environment. The new facility, located at 425 Centre Street at the former Min*sota store location, has approximately 1,600 feet of space.

The main room is filled with a wide variety of high-end commercial equipment items, featuring just about every type of apparatus imaginable and lots of free weights.

There is also two heavy-duty Free Motion treadmills and a pair of high quality ellipticals from the same company.

The entire package provides a nice choice of exercise options to fit almost every workout need.

The facility also has separate rooms for tanning beds – including one standing space-age unit – along with office space, change rooms and bathrooms, all of which were added during the renovation phase.

The project, which basically saw the entire building gutted and renovated, took about four months to complete.

The effort included the construction of a new floor, which was later topped by rubber covering. An upstairs office area was also removed – there is no second floor in the building now  – and most of the lighting and electrical systems were completely redone.

Still, that’s only a partial list of the work that was completed on the site.

“Once we started cracking into the renovations, we realized there was going to be a lot more work than we first thought,” smiled Justin. “But I couldn’t have done this without the help of my friends and family. They were great and the support I received has been incredible. I can’t say enough about how much they’ve helped me.”

“We definitely put a big push on to get it open before Christmas.” he added. “We still have a few things to finish – we still have to install mirrors for instance – but most of the big stuff is done now.”

Justin had been thinking about opening a gym in the community ever since Willow Fitness – one of his favourite haunts – closed about two years ago.

After that closure, a friend of Justin’s actually created a small gym in a garage, which was used by a group of former Willow members and newcomers.

“It was just too small,” explained Justin. “We had so many people who wanted to join, but we just didn’t have the space. And we didn’t really want to turn people away either.”

Ultimately Justin, an admitted fitness junkie, came up with the idea of launching a new fitness centre in Shaunavon.

“For me, its more about doing something for the community,” said Justin. “I have another job, so I don’t have to rely on this to make a living. As long as it breaks even and I can pay the bills, I’ll be happy.”

MMF does have a full time employee and the facility will offer a keyless entry and full 24 hour service sometime in the near future.

Security cameras, a new sound system, and large flat-screen televisions are also part of the MMF experience.

Justin plans to stage an official grand opening of the new business in the New Year.

“I think there is a real need for this type of service in the community,” said Justin. “Hopefully, it’s something people will enjoy and use.”

Mainstreet Muscle Fitness is now open. The local gym is offering drop-in, monthly and annual memberships. Tanning minutes are also being sold.

Area residents are invited to stop by and check out the new facility or phone 306-297-9166 for more information.

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