A couple of weeks ago, we had the opportunity to visit 3 amazing PRIME customers. Our travels took us to St. Louis, MO to visit House Of Pain, Lincoln, NE where we spent the day at Good Life Fitness, and lastly, Pickerington, OH, where we hung out with the gang at American Barbell.
Beyond being amazing facilities in their own right and amazing PRIME customers, we chose these facilities to see first-hand the value PRIME can offer to a variety of facility types. From a hardcore/iron sport gym like House Of Pain, decorated with amazing artistic renderings of the who’s-who of bodybuilding, to the jaw dropping 40,000+ sq. ft. Good Life Fitness that puts big gym chains to shame. We wanted to highlight how the scientific advantages of PRIME equipment offers value to every type of gym and gym-goer.
Our trip started in St. Louis, a city that offered us perhaps the best BBQ Ribs we’ve ever eaten (shout out SugarFire) and one of the coolest gym atmospheres we’ve ever seen (see pictures below). While the gym wasn’t open to the public yet (the grand opening is April 7th if you’re in the area – check it out), we were able to spend some time with their staff and trainers to showcase the power of SmartStrength. It was humbling to see how engaged and truly excited the staff was to learn about the technology. It’s always a pleasure to share the value of PRIME equipment, so a huge “Thank You” to Joe and his team! Be sure to check out their clothing line too, visit www.houseofpain.com and show them some love.
Once we left the gym, we had a few hours before our flight to check out the city. We followed a local recommendation to a restaurant called SugarFire – supposedly the best ribs in the city… and they must be. They were unbelievable. If you are in St. Louis, it’s a must. After we ate, we did the tourist thing and got our tickets to the top of the Gateway Arch. After a super uncomfortable 4-minute ride up, a beautiful view, and another 4 mins down, we were off to the airport. Next stop… Lincoln, Nebraska.
Outside of a terrifying 2-hour drive from Omaha to Lincoln in a blizzard, Nebraska was awesome. Great people, great food, and a seriously impressive gym. Good Life Fitness is a privately-owned gym with 2 locations in the Lincoln area. Their newest location showcases a 40,000+ sq. ft. facility featuring hundreds of pieces of equipment from cardio, machines and free-weights. Good Life features over 20 pieces of PRIME selectorized equipment from our Hybrid line. We were able to spend some time with their members to showcase a variety of techniques and tips on harnessing the power of SmartStrength for their individual fitness goals. It was great hearing how PRIME has helped so many different people in so many different ways. Before we headed out of town, we were able to have lunch with the Auxier brothers (Jason & Steve), the owners of Good Life Fitness. Hearing their story and the vision they’ve executed in Lincoln was inspiring. Like we said, great people…
The last leg of the trip took us to Pickerington, OH, a neighboring town to one of the most famous bodybuilding cities in America – Columbus – home of the Arnold Classic (this weekend actually). Only 20 mins from the Columbus Convention Center sits a seriously impressive gym – American Barbell. As the name implies, this place is a utopia for serious lifters. Decked out with some of the best equipment in the world, the gym also features areas dedicated to powerlifting and functional training. Regardless of your training style or objective, American Barbell is equipped with top of the line tools.
When we arrived to the gym, you instantly got the feeling that serious work was underway. People were there with a singular purpose. The vibe was awesome. During our session, we were able to meet and train with professional MMA Fighter, Lance Palmer. The 4-time All-American Ohio State wrestler turned UFC star couldn’t have been a nicer guy. He shared that he drives 40 minutes one way to train at American Barbell (if that tells you anything about the quality of gym we are talking about) and really loves the PRIME equipment. It was awesome to spend time sharing ideas and techniques to take his SmartStrength training to an even higher level. A huge “Thank You” to Lance!
Our second day at American Barbell was the cherry on top of an already amazing trip. We were able to spend some time with one of the true legends of Bodybuilding, John Meadows (AKA Mountain Dog). John actually lives in the area and frequently trains at American Barbell. Our time was spent shooting a workout with the co-owner of American Barbell, Courtney Allar. Stay tuned for some amazing video content of the workout on our YouTube channel.
All in all, what a great trip. We can’t thank all of the gym owners, staff, and members enough for their time, hospitality, and most importantly, support of PRIME! We are already planning our next PRIME ON THE ROAD trip. We’ll be heading out west, visiting some of the most elite training facilities in the world. So stay tuned! Until then, Find Your PRIME.
[Check out the video and a few of the pics from the trip below]
– Team PRIME
