Pat Fordham, Clarence Valley Independent
Ex-Professional bodybuilder Lee Priest, will make his way to BodyRock Fitness in Townsend next week where he plans to hold a meet and greet with fellow bodybuilders and gym enthusiasts.
Tom Griffiths, owner of Bodyrock Fitness in Townsend has been an admirer of the 48-year-old bodybuilder for decades, following his journey every step of the way.
“He’s always been, as far as I’m concerned the best bodybuilder Australia has ever produced”, the Bodyrock owner says.
This is the only event in the area Mr Priest is set to do, with the appearance arising in a very unorthodox way.
‘I simply asked him what it would take for him to come do a training session in the gym and he replied, “Where’s Townsend?”’, Mr Griffiths says.
Tom and his wife Regina have owned Bodyrock Fitness for over 14 years and have two gyms in Townsend and Iluka. The pair have always been heavily invested in the fitness industry, with Regina and Tom competing in body building and sprinting events through their youth, respectively.
By bringing Mr Priest to Townsend, they believe it will help raise the profile of the gym and hopefully showcase the long list of professional bodybuilders and athletes that have been raised through Bodyrock.
“We’ve had one world champion out of our Townsend gym, we’ve had two ladies that have made it into the top five in the world. We’ve crowdfunded two athletes to Vegas, one who won the world title and one who came fifth in the world…not too bad for a little gym out of Townsend”, the proud gym owner says.
Tom believes the visit from former Mr Universe will not only inspire others in the gym but believes it would mean so much to a gym which has struggled enormously through the pandemic.
‘It’s been a tough year and I asked him to come along as it would mean so much in terms of raising the profile of the gym’, Tom says.
The former world champion will be making his way to Bodyrock Fitness in Townsend next Wednesday February 17 for a meet and greet between 11-3pm, before a seminar at 6pm the same day at the Sanctus Brewery Function Centre. Ahead of the event, Tom has one message which he wants everyone to hear.
“Love him or hate him, you can’t afford to miss him!”
This article appeared in the Clarence Valley Independent, 10 February 2021.
