Ian Harrison beams with pride when he opens up the February edition of national magazine Flex to an article titled ?Teen Titans: The 15 Best Teenage of All Time.?



The article features greats like Arnold Schwarzenegger and eight-time Mr. Olympia winner Lee Haney.

It also features Harrison, a native of Britain who owns and operates City Fitness in downtown Bradenton.

?It's kind of like a hall of fame for teenage bodybuilders,? says the 40-year-old in a thick British accent. ?To be even ranked with people like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lee Haney, all those bodybuilders are . And it's of all time, it's not just of our era. This is from the beginning of bodybuilding to present day. So it made me feel really good, actually.?

The magazine also made mention of how Harrison was doing these days and referenced his gym.

Harrison, who was 16 when he won the under-17 division of the 1985 Mr. Yorkshire in England, opened City Fitness, 821 12th St. W., in May of last year after working as a fitness expert and personal trainer at other gyms in the area.

?I worked at three or four local gyms and I just didn't like the way they did business,? he says. ?I didn't like the way clients were treated.?

In opening City Fitness, Harrison says he wanted to go back to the roots of the old-fashioned gym ? like those he trained in for the Mr. Olympia contest in 1995, where he placed 14th. The kind of gym where he once put 620 pounds across his shoulders and did 12 squats.

?I wanted to do a gym my own way and try to keep the social environment away from the gym environment,? Harrison says. ?Because a lot of the bigger gyms, the gym floor, it's like a big nightclub. And I don't like that. To me, if you're in a gym you should train.?

But Harrison did include a cafe at his gym where people can socialize or grab a bite before heading off to work after a workout. And the gym is not merely for hard-core bodybuilders. It tries to cater to all fitness enthusiasts, young and old.

Contrary to some large fitness chains, Harrison also tries to keep the atmosphere low-pressure.

He doesn't have contracts. People pay a $50 fee on a month-to-month basis, which includes one session of personal training per month. Staff are also prohibited from approaching customers in the cafe to talk them into memberships, although they will gladly provide tours of the 7,000-square-foot facility if someone asks, he says.

The gym also offers a free workout to anyone who merely wants to try it out.

Harrison has focused on creating a clean, but serious, environment.

He also added some nice touches like individualized shower stalls with sinks that have locking doors and a place to hang your clothes.

?Who wants to get changed with 10 other guys?? Harrison says. ?I don't.?

The author of this article is:

medoutlet[dot]net

fitnessmed[dot]net

pharmasport[dot]org