Go ahead, break the rules about talking about Fight Club. At ZHOOSH Fitness Garage’s drop-in sessions, you’ll find people training with “old school” equipment such as jump ropes, punching bags, barbells and even a monster truck tire.
The New Westminster gym offers a stripped-down, industrial space in which to work up a sweat. With mats covering the floor, high ceilings and a garage door open in good weather, it’s neither the shiny gym full of workout machines nor the smoky basement boxing den of yesteryear.
Owner Robyn Murrell opened ZHOOSH Fitness Garage in 2014 after years of renting spaces to teach classes and work with personal training clients. On the unusual name, she said, “Zhoosh is from the Polari language that was made up in the 16th century by European circus workers so they could talk amongst themselves. It means ‘to tweak or finesse, or to make hot, stylish or cool.’ It popped up in Google searches, and I fell in love with it because it’s so unique and describes what I do, which is transforming people.”
