I compete here in Aus, and really enjoy muscle tv when I catch it.
Amazing adversity you've overcome. Really interesting where you've come from and how you came about.
If your ever in Darwin again or I'm in the same venue as you, ill be sure to say hello.
David Potae
Originally Posted by TonyDoherty
OK here is my story, thanks for asking.
I started out in the gym business in about 1985, I had been working at a fitness centre in my home town for a year or two and saw an opportunity to buy it. I thought I knew everything and I paid way too much for it. At the time there was two gyms in a town of 100,000 people. Within three years there were nine gyms and the market share had shrunk. I still thought I knew it all and pushed ahead, losing money every month. I had gone into it with my parents backing and after the first few years just about lost the lot, including the family home. Being a cocky ****er, I just didn't get it and continued to think I knew it all, as young men do.
By 1994 things had become really bad, the town was over saturated by gyms, two more had opened up in my street and the wolves were circling. By then I was becoming well established as a bodybuilding promoter in Melbourne and knew that I needed to move quickly or lose the lot. I just could not see a way out. Then it hit me. I went to see the guy that had opened across the road, I knew his lease was coming up and he wanted to grow. I offered him my lease, all of my members and some equipment. I would walk away and he would get a better building and double his membership overnight. My only condition was that he would honour the members that had paid upfront, after all my folks still had to live int he town and I had to walk away with some dignity.
My dad has always been a partner in the business and we have become very close over the years, he still does all the bookwork and accounts which allows me to forge ahead.
I opened up in Brunswick, Melbourne in a small warehouse (400m2) with a truckload of worn out equipment, zero members and a dream. I had learned a lot but still thought I knew it all, there would be some more hard medicine ahead, all I had going for me was that I was too driven, stubborn or stupid to quit. At that time all I wanted was somewhere to train, somewhere to live and a Harley Davison motorcycle (one day).
The first year I lost everything to keep the doors open, house, cars, furniture, you name it I lost it. The phone or power got cut every month for the first year, at least. I had no where to live and no car, all I had was a vertical grill and a rice cooker. I slept on the couch at the gym most nights for that first 9 months, I would get up in the morning and walk up to the main road to get a paper and a coffee. This way it looked like I had come from somewhere when I would walk to the gym to open up at 6AM. I would work through to 9PM, most days on my own until everyone had left, once again I would lock up and pretend to head home until everyone had gone, then sneak back and let myself back in.
I stayed with Sonny Schmidt's family a couple of nights a week and his brother Pale stated working at the gym. They were very kind to me and that Samoan food kept me going. When Sonny moved back to Australia we managed to get a little rental across from the gym, it was a dump but worked great at the time. I started training like crazy with Sonny for the Olympia's and the gym started to get a following. People would come to watch us train and I started to get a few clients.
I still had nothing to show, but the gym was starting to go better and I had paid back most of the bills that I had bought with me. Once I started to get on top, I would buy a piece of equipment every time that I had some money in the bank. It was 6 years before started to get a regular wage but I managed to hustle up enough to survive between contests, personal training and a bit of debt collecting.
It was about this time that I started to wise up and realise that I didn't know everything at all. By now I had met Amanda (my wife to be) and we were starting to live a bit better. I managed to put food on the table, but still no car or flash living. At least I had killed my ego and learned a lot about myself and people from all walks of life. Looking back, going hungry and losing just about everything was the best thing that happened to me, no easy ride and looking down the barrel every day was probably what I needed to wake me up.
By 1998 we had kind of out grown the small building and the landlord wanted to turn it into apartments. So after finally getting ahead, (still no wage) but I owned all my equipment and had started to get our name out there. It was then that I found our current building, it was three times the size and the rent was also three times the size. However I have always thought that you have to risk something that matters. So with that we moved into Weston Street and it was like starting all over again. We went 24:7 immediately and things got really bad again. It was a good gym but with the overheads going up so much, it was impossible to make a buck. For the next three years I fought every day, worked twelve hour days and did everything myself, cleaning, maintenance, graphics, mail-outs, contests and day to day management. Things slowly started to turn around. I kept my policy of buying equipment every time I could, I would scour the internet and auction sites to find the best stuff I could at the right price. I kept pushing myself and by the time my first child was born in 2002, I was earning wages every week and business was looking better than before.
In 2001 I held our first pro show and the brand started to get known worldwide. We started to attract all types of athletes form Olympians to AFL footballers and power athletes from everywhere. Around 2004 we launched Muscle TV and I had started to work as a strength and conditioning coach at the Carlton Football Club, which gave us more credibility and a bigger following. Over the next 5 years it started to work, I kept buying equipment and expanding the gym. To this day I own every piece in every gym and don't lease any equipment at all. It keeps your overheads down and takes away most of the stress.
Three years ago I had a opportunity to buy an old hardcore gym that was rundown and going broke, it was in a great location and just need some love. I had to risk everything all over again. With the encouragement of my wife and family I went for it. We fixed it up nice and it is now very busy day and night. A couple of years ago I had the same opportunity in the middle of the City, it was in worse shape and provided the biggest challenge of all. It is also flying now and to have Tiger Woods train there for the last two weeks was the icing on the cake. We have done the same again North of where we are and also in my original home town. The last two are still to break even but heading in the right direction and getting busier every week.
The expos and shows have taken over a lot of my time now but have huge potential. I now have 62 staff and 4 of the gyms run 24:7, every day of the year. We have four healthy kids and live pretty well. I have never forgotten where I have come from and love to see others reach their potential. I still spend every day in the gym and wouldn't change it for the world. I am still working on the gym to make it better and will never stop trying to improve the product and the brand.
"It's a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll"
tony have you checked out the arnold's competitor list?
here it is:
Fouad Abiad
Darrem Charles
Toney Freeman
Marcus Haley
Dexter Jackson
Johnnie Jackson
Michael Kefalianos
Cedric McMillan
Ben Pakulski
Edward Nunn
Ronny Rockel
Fred Smalls
Hidetada Yamagishi
are you gonna try to get some of these guys to do your show?
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tony have you checked out the arnold's competitor list?
here it is:
Fouad Abiad
Darrem Charles
Toney Freeman
Marcus Haley
Dexter Jackson
Johnnie Jackson
Michael Kefalianos
Cedric McMillan
Ben Pakulski
Edward Nunn
Ronny Rockel
Fred Smalls
Hidetada Yamagishi
are you gonna try to get some of these guys to do your show?
We pick them up at the airport, drive them immediately to my gym where we have mountains of clean food for them to eat, after traveling and having Oz customs take their foods away.
We accommodate them in apartments where they each have a full kitchen, to do their prep right.
I pay almost most everyone's accommodation, especially the new guys that can afford it least.
I have drivers available for them around the clock, gyms that never close, lots of free stuff.
Hold the show in one of the best venues in the world.
Provide the best fans in the world that buy tons of their merchandise.
Get them safely back to the airport.
That's about the most of it. Not rocket science, just treating others how you would like to be treated.
That's why FitX and the Aus Grand Prix are getting bigger and better every year. Got the right people managing it the right way. Congrats to you Tony and i'm sure it'll be a massive one this year. Would love to get there one day soon.... It's on my MUST-DO list!!
Tony, can you try get down Antoine Vaillant to Melbourne in the near future?
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No Fap October 2012 COMPLETED!
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-->>MMC<<--
Dorian Yates training = The only way to train!
M4L Krew Representing!~
RIP - Az "Zyzz" Sergeyevich :( , The god has fallen, but the legend lives on! <3
Hi Tony - I noticed aussiedave talking about Muscle TV - I'm in Tasmania, where can I see this on TV? I got a few episodes of it once starring big Luke Wood (RIP) with some copies of Australian Ironman Magazine, and I loved it.
Thanks mate.
Don't let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner.
ALWAYS PICK 4 CREW
COLD SHOWERS TO INCREASE TEST CREW
Result: Nutsack froze and fell off - no more test
NO SOAP/TOOTHPASTE/SHAMPOO CREW
Result: 7000% increase in test, bishes think I'm disgusting now
NO PILLOW CREW
Result: Fuked neck, can't move to utilise test
Bring it to Brisbane mate... It's got such a name even for us Qlders and we're crying out for more 'Real Gyms'. There are a few hardcore gyms around but i'd love to see a Doherty's 24:7 up here. I've been thinking a long time about that exact expansion and I'm certain it would be a success.
Hi Tony - I noticed aussiedave talking about Muscle TV - I'm in Tasmania, where can I see this on TV? I got a few episodes of it once starring big Luke Wood (RIP) with some copies of Australian Ironman Magazine, and I loved it.
Thanks mate.
Max's MuscleTV series 6 will be start screening in Feb.
It will be on Foxtel Aurora and 7's TV4ME
I will post times and dates here when I have them. Hope you enjoy it.
Tony does it bother you that bodybuilders are getting really big these last decades,
or is it just really cool? I mean I live in Sweden and here its really hard to be really
big without someone wanting to get you into troubles. I remember one year Jay Cutler
canceled his show to our city. They had arrested a famous bodybuilder the same year
when he was eventmarketing.
Last edited by RamovicSefket; 01-12-2013 at 12:25 PM.
Tony Do the finals tickets include entry to fit x this year aswell?
If you buy an all day ticket to the Proshow it includes a Free Saturday ticket to FitX bro!
Prejudging only $40
Finals only $100
All day $135 (includes Saturday entry to FitX)
VIP $299 (includes a lot of extras including fitX tickets all weekend and entry to Dohertys Gyms all weekend)
The last 2 years entry to the expo was included. I find it hard to believe it isn't happening this year as it becomes an expensive weekend with interstate flights and accomodation on top of the price of tickets
Great to hear you have done well Tony.
I trained at your gym as a 16 year old (1990) and as you said "you thought you knew it all"
I have a struggling business of my own in Adelaide, and looking to get back into the fitness in dustry.
When I was at your gym you were training Matt Mcclean, did he stay bodybuilding.
Again well done on your success as a businessman and and individual.
Great to hear you have done well Tony.
I trained at your gym as a 16 year old (1990) and as you said "you thought you knew it all"
I have a struggling business of my own in Adelaide, and looking to get back into the fitness in dustry.
When I was at your gym you were training Matt Mcclean, did he stay bodybuilding.
Again well done on your success as a businessman and and individual.
Thanks mate, yes Matt still trains with me to this day. He is a trainer at Brunswick and still in great nick.
Good to see some more Aussies on this site. First time iv noticed this thread.
Inspirational story, just goes to show it doesn't matter how much some one struggles, or life gets them down, etc, that if you have the passion and belief you can make it if you want to and strive to make it work/happen.
I have trained in your Dandenong gym before, great gym, currently at another gym near my work, but see a few of the big guys from time to time strolling in in Doherty's gear. Was surprised when i went passed the Dandenong one tonight (Saturday) at about 9:30pm how packed it was.
Top effort and keep up the good work.
Good to see some more Aussies on this site. First time iv noticed this thread.
Inspirational story, just goes to show it doesn't matter how much some one struggles, or life gets them down, etc, that if you have the passion and belief you can make it if you want to and strive to make it work/happen.
I have trained in your Dandenong gym before, great gym, currently at another gym near my work, but see a few of the big guys from time to time strolling in in Doherty's gear. Was surprised when i went passed the Dandenong one tonight (Saturday) at about 9:30pm how packed it was.
Top effort and keep up the good work.
Thanks for the nice comments.
Dandenong has become a machine, awesome gym with great members.
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