Bringing a community gym to downtown Somersworth!

Hi there!

My name is Mark and my wife Lisa and I are planning on bringing a community fitness center to downtown Somersworth, NH! Our vision is to create an affordable, high-quality community gym that not only focuses on offering a clean, functional space for everyone to train but provides an anchor business to help revitalize the downtown Somersworth Plaza and surrounding community. The photo above is what our space in the plaza mostly looks like now but not after we are done!

For many years I have been a certified personal trainer and strength and conditioning specialist working first at Wildcat Fitness in Durham before the gym closed due to the COVID pandemic and then on my own under my company, Discover Your Strength Athletics, LLC. I truly believe in everyone having their own version of "strength" and have been privileged to help many people discover theirs! I have been fortunate to train with many awesome people over the years who have achieved major goals and I have been honored to train with a Special Olympics athlete who brought home the gold this past summer!

Now my wife and I are embarking on an even bigger journey: Bringing a fitness and athletic training center to 1 Somersworth Plaza, an area of town both of us spent a great amount of time around in our youth. We currently live about 10 minutes away in Rochester and know the area inside and out!

After looking at places in Durham and surrounding areas, we discovered this place and it spoke to our hearts. Opening a gym here not only helps revitalize an area in need, but creates a local business providing a quailty, family-owned service not found in the big box gyms nearby. This is our heartfelt goal and one we are extremely passionate about!

This place will have a lot to offer including a full line of strength and cardio equipment, athletic turf with a great selection of functional training tools and, of course, a great community atmosphere!

We have secured a long-term lease on the building and now are looking to raise up to $20,000 to assist us in covering the startup capital on our loan to get this project off the ground. We've been working with Primary Bank and have a contractor ready to roll so this is the last hurdle! Securing this loan will let us build out the locker rooms, gym and turf flooring, equipment delivery and installation, and working capital to support the initial start-up months of our business. We plan on hiring at least two local employees and a couple of coaches to assist in group/personal training.

This place truly has the potential to be an amazing piece of downtown Somersworth! We will get a chance to deliver a real training experience here and, as we grow, add services and jobs. Our goal is to offer affordable membership options, youth group sports training, hosting Special Olympics powerlifting meets and run charity events that will make a positive impact on a community close to home.

Would you consider being part of this journey? We will be posting continuous weekly updates and photos so you can see how every dollar is being spent to make this dream a reality! This is more than about bringing a gym to the area for us. We want to be a big part of revitalizing the community!

Any amount helps! We both thank you so much and look forward to keeping you posted every step of the way!