Articles Nutrition/Training Miracle on 19th Street. . . The Evolution of a Bodybuilding Landmark!
"Opened in 1982 and sold in 1997, ‘Better Bodies' was a touchstone for many people for many reasons. It was the right gym at the right time for the right group of people. I still get e mails from former members waxing poetic about what a special time that was..."
--BRIAN MOSS
The above quote is taken from the tribute website recently established for the legendary bodybuilding gym ‘Better Bodies' (www.betterbodies1982.com). It says a lot about a gym when an actual website is set up in its memory rather than to solicit memberships!
‘Better Bodies' gym grew to become a legend, not only in Manhattan, but all around the world. Living in Scotland during its hey-day...even I knew about its existence!
Although the name ‘Better Bodies' may not rest above the door, I am happy to say that the gym is s
till thriving in downtown Manhattan under the name ‘19th Street Gym'...but more of that later, first let's take a journey back in time with Brian Moss and learn more about the evolution of this bodybuilding landmark...
The 1980's saw the emergence of many gyms in New York; however for one eager young man (aka Brian Moss) one thing was glaringly obvious...the gyms lacked the female element...
"Back in the early 80's all serious gyms were men's gyms. There was no such thing as a co-ed hardcore gym in Manhattan. Gyms that catered for women were mainly health clubs and that is where the whole concept of ‘Better Bodies' began to take shape. At the time, I was training in a men's gym with a group of like-minded guys and we got to thinking ‘why don't we open up a hard-core co-ed gym, one where we welcome women'...and that was the start.
"So we decided to open up a gym! Looking back, it is one of those cases where ignorance is bliss because I think if we had really known what it involved to open up a gym we probably never would have done it. However, I had about $20-30 000 in the bank and Mike (who became my partner) had the know-how since he was already managing a gym, so we just started looking around at real estate."
As it happens, the first location for ‘Better Bodies' was not 19th Street but 23rd Street and it was opened in September 1982 and the first female trainer hired was none other than Gladys Portugues.
However, when it came to actually equipping the gym, that is yet another interesting story, as Brian continues...
"To equip the gym we had about $10 000 left, so we went down to the gym, painted it and put in a couple of showers. We rented a truck and headed down to MacDonald Avenue in Brooklyn on a hot day and visited Lou Ferrigno's father who was making gym equipment at the time and we opened up our doors with $10 000 worth of equipment."
The gym quickly grew in popularity and that drove Brian to seek a larger space...
"I looked around the neighborhood (because I didn't want to lose my people) and I found an incredible basement on 19th Street but I needed some kind of mechanism to get down stairs because I didn't want people to just go down a dark staircase. So, because the real estate market wasn't exactly booming at that time, I was able to negotiate about 1000 feet on the ground floor. I then built a staircase down to the basement and that is exactly the way you see it today."
The gym certainly received a lot of magazine coverage back in the day and Brian made sure he never missed an opportunity to get the word out about his thriving gym...
"I was definitely ‘press hungry' and looking to get my name out there and I was also welcoming when magazines wanted to do a photo shoot there. In those days when photographers and magazines wanted to do a shoot gym owners considered it a hassle...they didn't want them and they felt they would get in the way. On the other hand, I knew how important it was and my members dug it. I mean I explained, that I did everything I could for them 365 days out of the year and the two or three days that I might slightly inconvenience them would actually be fun. So they actually enjoyed it. I mean, if you talk to a member today who was around in the early 80's they will still remember those moments because back then you never really saw a ‘live' bodybuilder, you just saw them in magazines. It was like a whole other thing to be confronted with them in the flesh!"
And then of course there was the added attraction of having Gladys Portugues on the staff...
"Gladys became very popular, she was an incredible draw. People came to see her and the magazines came to photograph her and who could have known that she would become really the sweetheart of the industry as far as I was concerned."
However, all good things must come to an end, and the time came for Brian to move on and sell ‘Better Bodies' in 1987...
"By '87 I just thought that the writing was on the wall and the industry had changed. There was very little room for independent gyms; all the big guys were getting into it. It just wasn't the industry that I grew up in and the industry that I fell in love with. I just started to fall out of love with it and I wanted to get out while I could still get out, without locking my doors, which is the way most gyms close."
As it happens though, not everything went smoothly during the first takeover...
"The first group of guys who bought the gym ultimately breached the contract and I had to negate the sale. Tommy Marinelli worked for them and grew up looking at ‘Better Bodies' and loving ‘Better Bodies'. Actually, I think he trained at my gym when he was a teenager. Anyway, he came up to me one day and asked me to sell him the gym and, after ironing out a few legal issues, Tommy took over the gym and re-named it ‘19th Street Gym...which is how you see it today."
So there you have it, a brief synopsis of the history of the 19th Street Gym...once known as ‘Better Bodies'.
Stepping in to 19th street gym today, the first thing that hits you is the atmosphere. This is no trendy/upscale health club where what you wear to workout is more important than the actual workout itself. This is a REAL gym! And, I'm telling you, no matter what kind of day you may have had; something magical happens when you begin to descend the stairs to the legendary basement gym. I have had days when I can barely function on an energetic level (trust me, it happens!) but when I walk down those stairs it is as if I have been fired up with intravenous ‘Red Bull'!
So just what is it that makes the place so magical?
To answer that one I had to turn to current owner Tommy Marinelli....
"I have a real love for the industry and the people in it and that comes through in the way I run the gym. This is not some faceless corporate gym where money is the only concern. I believe in treating people correctly and as individuals and that is what works and continues to work here..."
And future plans for the gym?
"Well I definitely want to make sure that the gym keeps growing, but at the same time I want to keep it family orientated. I want to pay attention to each one of my members; I don't want to be a stranger to them. I want to make sure that every person who trains here gets maximum assistance in achieving whatever goal they have when they walk through the door. This is what I believe we have that the big corporate gyms don't and this has been and always will be key to our success."
I have to agree with Tommy here. I have only been working out at the 19th Street Gym for a few 
weeks now and I already feel like one of the family and no matter what kind of business you are running that is a crucial factor when it comes to success. People like to feel that they are cared for (it is a fundamental human need) and that there needs are taken seriously and catered to. I have said it before but I will say it again...the 19th Street Gym is a truly magical place. Within its walls bodybuilding legends have been created and the history behind its evolution emanates a very special energy which hits you the minute you walk through the door. The Statue of Liberty may be the landmark for the promise of the American dream...but in downtown Manhattan, the 19th Street Gym is, and always will be, the landmark for transformation and achieving your ultimate physical goals!
Leigh Penman
N.B. For more about the 19th Street Gym visit their website at www.19streetgym.com or call them on 212 414 5800
Or better still, visit them in person, trust me you will be glad you did!
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