Ascendancy Fitness chooses Watson, becomes Warrington’s Largest Independent Gym
Ascendancy Fitness Gym is an independent gym and fitness destination located in Great Sankey, Warrington. Founded in 2018 by Clayton Leah who has lived locally all his life, following years of planning and saving as a personal trainer, Ascendancy Fitness has consistently reinvested profits since, culminating in its latest expansion known as V3. With a focus on experience and community, Ascendancy Fitness offers a wide range of equipment and amenities designed to help members reach their fitness goals, all within an unmistakable vibrant purple and neon electric atmosphere.
With the V3 expansion, Ascendancy Fitness is now the largest independent gym in Warrington, UK. This milestone underscores its dedication to constant re-investment & providing a spacious and dynamic fitness environment where members can thrive and achieve their goals no matter what their previous experience.
V3 includes an additional floor of 5000 square feet at its existing location in Penketh Business Park. Transforming it into a 10,000 square foot facility. This significant expansion allows it to introduce some of the World’s best equipment, a larger team of staff and personal trainers, technology, and extra space for its members to enjoy.
As part of V3, the gym wanted to introduce cutting-edge gym equipment from renowned brands. To achieve this, they travelled to many gyms, visited manufacturers and flew to trade shows such as FIBO. As part of this selection process Ascendancy Fitness chose Watson as a key partner to building the next phase of its business.
How does it feel to finally transform your aspirations into reality with Ascendancy V3?
V3 has been in the Pipeline for around 2 years, but our willingness to continually reinvest in Ascendancy has been a focal point since day one. Ascendancy has been open for 6 years and we are now on our third expansion. The main thing for us is seeing everyone enjoying the facility and the equipment, that gives us the most self-gratification above all else!
What made you choose Watson for the majority of your strength training equipment?
Watson has always been a brand that’s stood out to us since before we even opened the doors of Ascendancy 6 years ago. At the time however, we couldn’t afford to buy even a single piece of Watson despite us wanting to. We have always been in open lines of communication with them, and we believe their business as a whole provides excellent customer-service relations and amazing attention to detail on their kit, but most importantly they’re willing to work with you to create what you want and bring your vision and dream to life.
What’s it like to finally see the Custom Functional Rig come to life in the center of the gym?
Having a functional rig was an integral part of building our Athletic Performance Centre. It brings a completely different dynamic to our facility that we wanted to integrate with V3 to allow the people who train in a more functional and athletic way to utilise an amazing piece of kit. Again, what is so important is working with someone to build what you envision. There was a lot of planning that went into the rig from ensuring it had enough different parts to it, to making sure the dimensions fit in between the rafters of the gym. It’s amazing to see it upstairs and it is certainly a focal point impressing a lot of people when they see it for the first time.
What is Ascendancy Fitness’ mission to set yourselves apart from the rest of the fitness industry?
At Ascendancy, we have a single mission, to deliver the Ultimate Membership Experience. It is a journey. Our tagline is:
“Sharing our knowledge and putting you first. Creating a community for you to succeed”
This starts from the moment you drive up to the outside of the facility and see the 10M long LED sign. To when you walk through the front doors to see our second illuminated sign next to our chalk wall filled with names and quotes that have all used the facility. To being welcomed by friendly and knowledgeable staff. All of this before you even enter the gym, then with our App developed and designed entirely by one of our owners, by the touch of a button on your smart phone, you unlock the speed-gates to enter Paradise.
It goes without saying we have amazing equipment hand-selected by working with some of the best brands all around the world, but having a successful gym is like any other business, it’s all about building a brand that people believe in and buy into. They’re not buying a gym membership, they’re buying an experience. We can’t lie, having a purple gym does help! With the combination of both industry-specific as well as modern tech-based knowledge, we as owners have been able to develop an incredible experience for anyone that wants to train at Ascendancy Fitness.
Which specific Watson equipment do you personally favour?
My (Clayton’s) favourite piece of Watson that we have in the facility is definitely the Adjustable Hack Squat. I truly believe it is arguably the best Hack Squat on the market right now, even rivalling the likes of the legendary Atlantis Hack Squat, and it is amazing for a British engineered company to start bringing out pieces that rival those types of companies overseas. Watson is always improving.
If you had to give one tip to an aspiring gym owner, looking to set-up their own gym what would it be?
Seriously, do not expect to make any money for a very long time. The nature of this business with;
– Low Monthly Membership Prices
– Long opening hours, including always being open on bank holidays
– Expensive equipment requiring consistent reinvestment
– Chains / national competitors
What’s been your biggest learning curve in owning the gym?
My (Clayton’s) biggest learning curve is understanding that to scale your business to a level you want, you have to grow your team. I tried doing things on my own for just over two years, and although I gave us a solid foundation, the growth of the business accelerated to a level I would never have got to without the addition of Jack, and then subsequently hiring staff, which of course comes at a cost, both in terms of shareholdings as well as a commitment of financial outlay to pay wages, but it has allowed us to grow to a level that we wouldn’t have otherwise been able to whilst also giving me more of a work-life balance which I never had before. Find the right people, allow them to be a part of your business and it will grow to a level you could have only dreamed of if you tried to do things on your own.
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