You'll have heard that before no doubt
BUT
We actually back it up.
It's probably offensive to actual Gyms that we call ourselves a Gym...
We are more like a Pub that does exercise.
We play hard.
We work hard.
(In that order)
We have fun.
And we get epic results.
Let us tell you how it all began:
SHARKS DONT SWIM BACKWARDS
#SDSB
SHARKS DON'T SWIM BACKWARDS
That's our gym motto.
The fire that comes from our mantra is built in to the origins of Platform and it is that foundation that has created what is here today.
It all began in a McDonalds early one morning in December 2016...
In December 2016 coaches Mark and Ste took on an old building that had lay dormant for decades on Park Road in Dukinfield.
They had felt the power that health and exercise had had on their lives and watched as friends and family attempted to get their health in order only to be put off by the industry.
Either from poorly educated PTs, Gyms that did a better job of intimidating people than helping them or from the stress that life throws dragging you down and no support for it.
So after picking those keys up late at night in December 2016 Mark and Ste scratched out exactly how they wanted that vision to come to life.
That vision was to make health and exercise welcoming, simple and rewarding.
To empower normal everyday folk to make health and fitness a natural part of their life and to re-write what a fitness facility was capable of.
With it scratched out on paper they set to work... only along the way things got tough.
At the time both were doing further education at University in Strength and Conditioning and Nutrition respectively, both were working unrelated full time jobs to pay the bills and they were operating a small Personal Training unit in Ashton where they trained a handful of people.
Throw on top of managing all that renovating and preparing our new space with a very small (non-existent) budget and you can see why things got tough.
At times the pair were really low, hands and bodies were physically broken from endless work and long days of 6am-12am (some nights 3am finishes and back up at 6am) were taking there toll.
Somewhere along the way Mark watched a documentary about Sharks.
It explained that Sharks were the top predators in the ocean and as part of that they couldn't swim backwards, they could only ever go forwards.
If something got in the way of a Shark it would either keep going forwards around it or attack it.
So to get through the rest of the build Mark and Ste adopted this philosophy..
Whenever things got tough they would remind each other
SHARKS DONT SWIM BACKWARDS
A reminder that if they want to get on top and stay on top they must always go forwards.
Fast forward to April 8th 2017 and Platform first opened it's doors.
The Sharks Dont Swim Backwards story was shared amongst the first members.
It captured the imagination.
To this day members are known as Sharks.
They will often remind each other that Sharks Dont Swim Backwards, send each other Shark Emoji's and when things get tough and remind each other to constantly keep swimming forwards.
Since then Platform has gone from strength to strength.
From 2 people with a dream to a full coaching team and team of admin staff to support our incredible Sharks.
We are here to support you and make health, fitness and well-being a part of a life you enjoy.
Attending your personal training sessions, sitting down with our coaching team one to one to review your nutrition, following along with our 4 week online nutrition course and taking part in everything else we have going on.. our events, challenges and workshops.
When you feel the true power of how the gym SHOULD be you'll never look back.
+Small Group Personal Training
The individual coaching of 1-2-1 PT with the energy of group training and a lower cost.
+Team Training
A variety of lively and fast paced group sessions including boxing, strong and HIIT.
+Social Area
We are always here to welcome all members into the gym and be on hand before and after sessions to offer support and provide a well earned beer.
We also have a variety of shakes, protein bars and supplements available to buy to support your training and nutrition.
+Goal tracking and Coach Check Ins
We don't leave it to chance. We track your body composition on our state of the art scanner and we track your exercise progress with your own Personal Development Program
Our check ins are a valuable way of setting goals, monitoring your progress and making sure none of your questions are left unasked.