and Richard Burns.

Kym and Richard Burns met for the first time in 1987. They married the following year. Together they own The Athletic Club, which Kym runs on a daily basis. Richard is president of Telecheck, which he started in 1985. He now has two partners in that business. He also has an interest in Prime Construction.

Kym: I came to Bermuda to work as a dental hygienist in July, 1987. I was working in Toronto before that. I asked the dentist I was working for where the local gym was. He was a member of The Athletic Club so he took me along.

that's where I met Richard. He was the first man I dated in Bermuda. that was within the first two weeks after arriving in Bermuda.

He found out who I was and where I worked and called me up to ask em out. We had lunch at the Little Venice and it lasted there and a half hours.

We had so many things in common. We both worked out. I said I love Meryl Streep as an actress and he couldn't believe it because she was his favourite actress. too. We like going to movies. and we both knew a bit about the bodybuilding world. It was really funny. then after lunch, he asked me out for dinner that night too. I didn't know anyone in Bermuda so I said, `Sure'.

We started dating. In October, 1987, an option came up on the gym, and Richard decided to purchase it. My job became redundant in December that year. In a short period of time I went through so many changes, a change of country, of job, of boyfriend -- I had a boyfriend in Canada for two years before coming here.

Richard and I were engaged in February, six months to the day of our first date. I started managing the gym in April, 1988, and we were married in June.

Richard: When I first saw Kym at the gym, I tried to chat to her, but she didn't want any part of it. I found out who she was and called her. We think alike and our characters are very, very similar. We're both strong-minded, hard-working, aggressive. I found it easy to talk to her. We even went out that night -- I couldn't get enough of her, I guess.

I had been a member of the gym since it opened. It was great when it opened, but then it went downhill. I heard that the original owners wanted to sell. I think I had talked to Kym about buying it with he idea that she could run it.

but I really bought it because it was a business opportunity. I think Kym has don a great job.

We're both busy, we're hardly ever home. We usually try to come home together but I's never before 6 p.m. -- the gym is open 15 hours a day. When we get home, we spend a couple of hours together with our `kids' -- we have two dogs! It was love at first sight, for me it was anyway. I don't know if it was for her. It's funny. I had always said that I'd never get married. I just didn't see a need for it. And I never dated anyone I wanted to marry. It's strange isn't it? It all changed so quickly. There was a group of guys and all of us were like that. In fact two of them still aren't married. I was sure they would have gotten married first. they were shocked when I told them. It just happened so quickly, I think everyone was shocked.

Kym and Richard Burns: "We're both strong minded, hard working aggressive.'' NOVEMBER 1993 RG MAGAZINE