Building Good Nick Personal Training

The term fitness industry say's alot, there's fitness involved and it's an industry. The latter part of that is what resulted in the birth of my little baby, Good Nick Personal Training. From the outside the fitness industry is a vibe, full of fun, lycra and a lot of rather fit looking people to aspire to become. Inside however, there are real people, dedicated to health and fitness and wellbeing. The industrial part is where things sometimes don't work out where you have the business of the industry battling to, well, work. Like apples in an orchard you have a range of business models that thrive and some that well, don't.

Having "bitten" a few apples in my time (many rather nice), long story short one "apple" I took a bite out of was not to my liking! Suffice to say, I was back shopping for a new apple to take a bite out of.

Like many people in the "business" I found myself at a fork in the road having met some wonderful clients and colleagues but pondering to myself "where to next".

The issue was largely unforseen so unemployed and slightly overwhelmed I needed a plan. Should I give up PT and get a regular job? Maybe. But despite the fact that PT's are rarely spotted in the forbes rich list, I chose to crack on. I knew I loved PT and health and fitness so expanding my own business made sense to me.

After many nights talking to my live in mechanic, handy man and counsellor, we thought it would be a great idea to give it a go and establish a small PT style business. And at the heart of it, my clients. There were many tears of anxiety, how will I pay my bills, will this work, what the actual....? My live in mechanic reminded me of one thing that remains true to me. "Make everything about your customer and everything will work out".

So with a vision in the bag the "doing" was the next mission.

Location, Location, Location

So I had the vision and now I needed the place. Did you know that renting a commercial place in Hamilton, New Zealand averages around $40k per year? Neither did I. And don't even ask about buying a gym. Ka-ray-zee!

Did I have a lazy 40k lying around? I gasp leaving the supermarket with half a bag of groceries costing $40, let alone having 40k so no, I didn't have 40k.

Did I have half a mil lying around to buy someone's gym business, ah, nope.

But, did I have great clients that stuck with me, yes I did.

And did I have a double garage that hadn't seen a car inside of it due to boxes of crap my live in mechanic and I have been collecting. Well yes, yes I did.

After much negotiation with Mr, we sold the living day lights out of our old crap and gained some space and some much needed seed money. And once we did that I had a place for the gym to call home. And it was just a few steps from the house.

Building

Hi, I'm Mr. I'm happily married to Nick and even more happy to help wherever its needed. Once Nick decided on using our new found free space in the garage I set to work getting things ready for equipment and clients.

Before

Step One - Clear out

As at early July 2025 we still have crap all over the show but we managed to move approximately 9 cubic meters of crap through tip runs and selling. Still a ways to go but getting there.

Step two - Floor Layout

We have a skyline type garage for two cars and a space for a work bench. I decided to split the garage into two and dedicated two thirds to gym space and reserved one third for tools and storage space. This was achieved by building a dividing wall that helps define the gym space and separates the tool and storage area.

The gym space now measures six meters by five meters and provides a compact but well utilised floor area for training.

Step three - Flooring

I installed commercial grade rubber tiles across the entire surface to provide a durable and comfortable place for Nick and her clients alike. Like Nick, I'm also keen on lifting and we were both keen to understand what Nick's clients usually liked to work on. Leg focussed workouts are quite common amongst Nicks clientele so I designed a lifting platform in front of Nicks Smith Machine to facilitate a good solid platform to stand on to assist powerlifting categories like barbell deadlift and barbell squats.

Lifting Platform

The ceiling height limits the ability to complete overhead barbell squats but you can talk to Nick about a range of alternative lifting options. Trust me, don't think the low height will get you out of a good workout. Now back to Nick.

No sooner did we complete the space did an opportunity to work with Snap Fitness in Hamilton East come up so I thought, why not. Having trained at this club a number of times it was an easy decision. It's a great club with a wide range of equipment and a fantastic gym community. So if you're interested in joining come out east and take a look.

What goes in a Gym?

Thankfully I didn't start from scratch and as most people know, you don't need much to move your body. As long as you can move your body you can workout. I had done what many do over time and collected a variety of resistance bands, dumbbells and kettlebells. I also had a decent treadmill and cross trainer.

For me, second hand gym gear is a first option so there were many long and continuous visits to Facebook Market Place and Trade Me. It was amazing to see how much gear is out there at any one time some at very moronic prices and many great bargains to be had. We got a lot of ex-commercial gear at very good prices. Thanks to a guy named Mervin at a rather eclectic and awesome gym on Cook Street in Auckland, and to a guy named Tai from West Auckland. Despite the occasional issues with scammers on market place both of these guys listed on there, were excellent to deal with and I would recommend them. Another great place we worked with is Lee Warehouse in Auckland. A business run by a group of amazing chinese women who easily loaded over one metric tonne of equipment onto our trailer during one of many runs to Auckland from our base in Hamilton.

We secured a wide range of equipment from free weights to commercial grade pin loaded machine. We have a range of high quality Matrix weight machines, Life Fitness Cardio equipment and a respectable range of steel and bumper plates. Whether your focus is upper or lower body, I've got you covered.

After

What have you learnt?

1. The Gull service station on Fifth Ave in Hamilton have trailer hire for about $50 for the whole day (and you get $10 back on return)

2. That having a car with a tow bar is very useful

3. Caltex Chartwell have the creme de la creme of trailers and drop down tail gates are fantastic at getting heavy pin loaded machines on and off a trailer

4. Ordering bumper plates is fun, paying for shipping for them is not fun. We got good at planning purchases and self-shipping and collecting

5. Garages are cold in Winter

6. Assembling a smith machine with your husband and still being married afterwards is a good sign you're with the right person

Good Nick Personal Training - The name

My husband asked me if I get people into shape and I do. He said I help people get into "good nick", a saying to describe improving something. My name is Nicole but I only get called that if I get pulled over or if my mum calls, otherwise my main is Nick.

And so became Good Nick Personal Training

Thank you to those who helped me get this thing off the ground.

To my suppliers - Lee Warehouse, Tai from West Auckland, Mervin from Auckland CBD and Elite Fitness. To my awesome clients - thank you!

Char - for your guidance

Erika - for your friendship

Renika - for everything

Brendon - for welcoming me to East

And to my hubby for building a rather nice wall.