NOW LUNENBURG COUNTY_MAGAZINE_56PGS_JUNE2018
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902 ATHLETICS<br />
nova scotia<br />
BRIDGEWATER, <strong>LUNENBURG</strong> <strong>COUNTY</strong><br />
health & fitness<br />
BY<br />
TINA HENNIGAR<br />
Tyla Carey photo<br />
COMMUNITY DISGUISED AS A GYM<br />
When Joel Holland moved back to Lunenburg County from<br />
Calgary, he joined a gym. It was fine, but he was looking for<br />
more. Joel was looking for a community who challenged him<br />
and who he could challenge too.<br />
CrossFit is a branded fitness regimen that is taking the health<br />
and fitness world by storm and Joel loved it. He believed there<br />
was a space for this regimen in Lunenburg County. Joel started<br />
CrossFit in his garage with a group of friends. When word<br />
caught on, he had to rent a space and soon even that wasn’t big<br />
enough for his growing community. And make no mistake; it is<br />
a community.<br />
902 Athletics is on 446 York Street in Bridgewater and Joel’s<br />
community is growing every day.<br />
“Our members are amazing. They inspire me,” Joel has an<br />
intensity when he speaks that just makes you believe him. Their<br />
membership is a mix, comprised of the super strong and those<br />
just getting started, kids and those who’ve long retired. There<br />
are mothers, and grandmothers, teenagers and athletes and<br />
people who just want to lose a few pounds. They workout right<br />
along-side one another; one lifting 200 pounds, while the other<br />
sticking with a 10lb bar. And at the end of the workout of the day<br />
they slap sweaty hands as the team they have become.<br />
“We have amazing people here in Lunenburg County,” Joel<br />
says of his staff, again with conviction. He talks of the team of<br />
coaches that make up the 902 staff as if they’re family. “Don’t<br />
for a second think that you have to compromise to live and<br />
work and start a business here.” Joel credits his team and his<br />
members for helping him create this space.<br />
18 <strong>NOW</strong><strong>LUNENBURG</strong><strong>COUNTY</strong>.COM<br />
The new space is comparable to any CrossFit Gym in the country,<br />
much different from his early days in the garage when people<br />
brought their own gear. Joel remembers bringing in Matt Van<br />
Waychen as a CrossFit Coach. “He was so knowledgeable, and I<br />
knew I needed him, and I knew I couldn’t pay him what he was<br />
worth,” Joel said of Matt. Eventually, as 902 grows, he hopes<br />
that will change. “Everyone here plays an important piece,” Joel<br />
said. “I’m really lucky to have them”
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