Jersey boy buys Gym in Paradise
A guy who’s been coming to St. John for ten years, who loves the island, who’s a fitness freak and who’s looking to relocate to the island and buy a business. If a Realtor couldn’t close this sale, they should be waiting tables.
Mark Dallas, a South Jersey guy who was married on Cinnamon Bay last year (wedding picture), and wife Michelle are the new owners of Gym in Paradise at The Marketplace, and they want your arse - fat or skinny - to stick to your routine while you’re down here. Look for this brochure in your villa. The gym’s rates are reasonable (for both tourists and locals) and Mark and Michelle have some expansion plans, which include muscling in (like that?) on some vacant space next door to add room for personal trainers. They’ll also start carrying a line of nutritional supplements, add small lockers, TV screens to the cardio machines, and gradually upgrade all the equipment. And there’s an employee discount for companies that sign up.
So if sticking to it is your New Year’s resolution, no excuses. Just stay away from the bike with the Red Stripe in the cupholder. That one’s mine.
January 2nd, 2008 07:28
Oh Thank God someone bought this! We joined here 2 years ago and thought it needed a little TLC! Last year instead of joining there we just walked our butts off all over the island! Good Luck to a fellow New Jerseyan!!
January 2nd, 2008 13:52
When on island I got to America’s Paradise Gym near Home Depot on St. Thomas. The reason why I go to all that trouble is not because of the size of St. John’s Gym In Paradise, it’s b/c Gym In P’s equipment is so outdated it really is not safe to use. It would be great if they expanded and got more equipment as well. A hip curl machine would be hugely popular!
January 2nd, 2008 14:21
Excellent! I wish them the very best. I am one of those nuts that does exercise on vacation (need to to offset the painkillers). I either run the neighborhoods or go to this gym. I hope they keep the spin bikes
January 2nd, 2008 17:14
thanks for the well wishes. trust me, jd, all equipment is safe. BTW - APG in St. Thomas is closed. Apparently they took annual memberships and then claimed bankrupcy. Bad form. I’ll look into the hip curl machine just for you. Nancy B, the spin bikes stay! Any other ideas/suggestions, very welcome.
January 2nd, 2008 17:45
jerseyboy- thanks for the personal response- I’m impressed already! If you eventully do phase out some old equipment, I hope you can consult a professional space planner (designer or architect) to get the most out of the space you are working with. About the equpment: I did not mean unsafe unsafe. I meant that some of the equipment is no longer ergonomically correct. It might have been kosher 10 or 20 years ago but equipment has since evolved. Take for instance the back hyper and dips device (can’t think of the name of it right now). When you do leg or knee raises on the dip device, your back is flat against the back support- no newer device has a flat back- they are all tilted now and it is a night and day difference b/w the two. Little things like that. I would pay double or trip the annual if you could get another room full of machines and update everything. Am moving to St. John and was planning on making the daily pilgrimmage to St. Thomas for weights. Now I’ve got to learn to love Gym in Paradise. Have you looked into buying any equipment from the bankruptcy? I could help advise you which pieces are worth buying. They have a hip curl machine from their downtown location (former Gold’s location) that would cost big $ new and is in excellent condition. This machine is popular and doesn’t take up much space and many, many exercises can be performed with this one machine. Let me know if you do or don’t buy equipment from the bankruptcy sale- I’d like to buy a piece or two to use for home b4 I come to Gym in Paradise in the afternoons. I could help you store some equipment from the bankruptcy until you figure everyhting out. Thanks!
January 2nd, 2008 18:11
thanks for the thoughts. Good to have a convert. let’s not bore everyone else with shop talk. E-mail me. mdallas@comcast.net
January 2nd, 2008 18:49
Congrats Jersey boy…….hope you can get Grapevine next door. could put yoga or pilates in there. I teach pilates and when I lived on island, it was always mentioned that people wished more space for yoga and pilates.
You have some great trainers there Val and Jude. Who knows Bear may come back to
I did not know what went down at America’s paradise…….WOW!!! I thought someone else had bought the one at Nisky and was reopened.
Rosi
January 2nd, 2008 20:46
Thanks Rosi. Your reputation precedes you. The extra space we’re leasing is actually inside between us and the salon and will allow for various training classes. The trainers are very excited. All of them are GREAT. I think Bear is committed to his new life in Co. But if YOU come back, we’ll find you time in the new room to do some training!
January 3rd, 2008 11:15
Sounds great! I can get a good workout in while I wait for my sandwhich order at Baked in the Sun. Not that the sandwhiches aren’t worth the wait.
January 12th, 2008 12:46
[…] Looking at the numbers and doing a little bit of research, I realized that it wasn’t a good idea for me. But for the new owner – a middle-aged guy from New Jersey – it could be perfect. I can easily see how this would be the perfect project/investment for someone who has some money and wants an excuse to spend more time in the Islands. With the equipment upgrade required, this gym will not make the owner a lot of money. But with good management, it could provide a reasonable return. The best part though, is that the owner could go to St. John as often as he/she wanted and write off the entire thing as a business expense! Ultimately, this is how I would like to structure my life: have businesses in a few places where I like to spend my time. This would go a long way towards creating a tax advantaged life, not to mention the stimulation and challenge of running a few small businesses. […]
January 29th, 2008 09:00
hi
will be vac. on st. john in a couple months.
was wondering if there is a heavy bag in the gym ?
what about personal training ? how much for an hour ?
do your trainers know how to box ? (you are near the starfish market, right ?)
thanks,
dino
dinosemilia@mac.com
February 4th, 2008 15:10
47a770e973…
47a770e973…