New gym for the mind and body
GBMS Sports Complex owner Jermichael Wright with his daughter, Braylee Wright. PHOTO BY DAWSON JORDAN
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“We basically study the kid,” says Jermichael Wright, who runs the new GBMS Sport Complex gym in Florence.
Wright says he and his staff will evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the youths who work out at the gym. A lot of kids work out by themselves, Wright says, and while that helps them build their bodies, it tends to miss their hearts and minds.
Not so at GBMS Sports Complex.
“You’re going to get somebody to show you attention,” says Wright. “It’s like passing the torch down to the next generation…We want to be able to build relationships with these kids and their parents.” The gym is family-oriented.
It also reflects the importance of grades and faith, Wright says. GBMS stands for God Bless My Success. “Talent without faith is going to get you but so far,” Wright says.
The same is true for academics, he says. “I want to be able to help give back to these kids, and let them know it’s not all about sports, it’s also about grades.”
Wright sees the gym as a “pipeline” toward becoming something more.
“This building is just a chance,” he says. “This gym really came about because, when we were coming up, we didn’t have stuff like this…We grew up playing in the backyard.” He wanted a “year-round” option where kids could go to work out, train and practice.
Wright also has a tattoo shop, and some of the revenue from it helped him to start the gym.
Wright comes from a sports-oriented family, so this comes naturally to him. “I had to watch over my brothers and sisters. I was the one that kind of trained them” in sports, he says. The gym “is for my brothers and sisters, really.”
The gym features VertiMax equipment, weightlifting, treadmills and bikes. “We just got the recipe, at the end of the day,” Wright says. “It’s something new in town.”