Fed-up with travelling almost 70km every day and spending more than R1000 every week on diesel just to get to a gym in Mthatha, a Libode businessman has invested more than R600000 into a state-of-the-art gym in his hometown.
The Mnya Explosive Fitness House in the civic centre of rural Libode officially opened its doors on February 17 and already has more than 250 paid up members.
Its founder is former Unitra Community Radio station manager Mnyamezeli Madolo, who left in 2016 after he was controversially sacked by the station’s board of directors, which itself had been dissolved.
The 36-year-old married father of three told the Saturday Dispatch that he had conceived the idea of running his own gymnasium around May last year.
“For years I saw a lot of people from around here who were putting their lives at risk by jogging alongside the dangerous R61 route. Some of them were women, and with the level of crime against women, I decided to do something about it.”
And so he spent around R600000 from his own pocket to lease a building which he had to modify into a gym. The money also went into purchasing state-of-the-art equipment, including several treadmills.
“I have just spent another R200000 on purchasing more equipment.”
His gym is the first proper gym to be opened in Libode.
Apart from the gym, Madolo also operates a security company.
He said part of the reason he also wanted to open his gym was because of his tight work schedules, as sometimes he would find himself attending business meetings in Lusikisiki only to return home late in the evenings.
“I had to fill my car with R300 worth of diesel every day just to drive 60 kilometres to and from gym in Mthatha. But when I started seeing results in my own body, I felt that it’s possible to operate a gym around a place like Libode as well,” he said.
When he joined the Mthatha Fitness Club in January last year, he weighed 97kg but by the time he left to start his own gym, he had dropped to 83.4kg.
He charges R250 a month, with the gym opening from 5am to 9pm on weekdays and from 5am to 3pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
“The response has been overwhelming as even taxi drivers have joined the gym.”
He said he hoped it could also help fight crime in Libode as a lot of young people end up in taverns or hooked on drugs as they had a lot of free time on their hands.
He said even local primary schools had shown interest in joining his gym.
So far the gym employs three female and four male instructors, a manager, two cleaners, two security guards and three receptionists.
When the Saturday Dispatch visited the gym yesterday 24-year-old Lukhanyo Makasi was sweating away on a treadmill.
“Eish bra, I am now confident that this mkhaba will be gone in no time,” he said. — sikhon@dispatch
Battling that bulge at heart of new Libode gym
The Mnya Explosive Fitness House in the civic centre of rural Libode officially opened its doors on February 17 and already has more than 250 paid up members.
Its founder is former Unitra Community Radio station manager Mnyamezeli Madolo, who left in 2016 after he was controversially sacked by the station’s board of directors, which itself had been dissolved.
The 36-year-old married father of three told the Saturday Dispatch that he had conceived the idea of running his own gymnasium around May last year.
“For years I saw a lot of people from around here who were putting their lives at risk by jogging alongside the dangerous R61 route. Some of them were women, and with the level of crime against women, I decided to do something about it.”
And so he spent around R600000 from his own pocket to lease a building which he had to modify into a gym. The money also went into purchasing state-of-the-art equipment, including several treadmills.
“I have just spent another R200000 on purchasing more equipment.”
His gym is the first proper gym to be opened in Libode.
Apart from the gym, Madolo also operates a security company.
He said part of the reason he also wanted to open his gym was because of his tight work schedules, as sometimes he would find himself attending business meetings in Lusikisiki only to return home late in the evenings.
“I had to fill my car with R300 worth of diesel every day just to drive 60 kilometres to and from gym in Mthatha. But when I started seeing results in my own body, I felt that it’s possible to operate a gym around a place like Libode as well,” he said.
When he joined the Mthatha Fitness Club in January last year, he weighed 97kg but by the time he left to start his own gym, he had dropped to 83.4kg.
He charges R250 a month, with the gym opening from 5am to 9pm on weekdays and from 5am to 3pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
“The response has been overwhelming as even taxi drivers have joined the gym.”
He said he hoped it could also help fight crime in Libode as a lot of young people end up in taverns or hooked on drugs as they had a lot of free time on their hands.
He said even local primary schools had shown interest in joining his gym.
So far the gym employs three female and four male instructors, a manager, two cleaners, two security guards and three receptionists.
When the Saturday Dispatch visited the gym yesterday 24-year-old Lukhanyo Makasi was sweating away on a treadmill.
“Eish bra, I am now confident that this mkhaba will be gone in no time,” he said. — sikhon@dispatch
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