The popular Sea View Gym located on North Shore is under new ownership. Percy Paynter, Melanie De Rosa and Aprille Choudhury-DeShield are the new co-owners of the facility and plan to introduce a wider range of fitness classes in addition to the existing personal training programme.

?This is very exciting for all of us,? said Ms De Rosa. ?It?s going to be great to put our experience as trainers into this venture.?

?We have a wealth of experience in fitness training between us,? said Mr. Paynter. ?And having this opportunity is a dream come true, because I always wanted to own a gym and so did Mel.?

Mr. Paynter has worked as a personal trainer at Sea View for the last five years, but has trained individuals in fitness and bodybuilding in Bermuda for decades. Ms De Rosa competed successfully in Bermuda Bodybuilding Federation events for many years, and won numerous awards representing the Island in regional competitions all over Central America and the Caribbean. Currently Ms Choudhury-DeShield is Bermuda?s only professional fitness competitor, most recently placing third in the AAA Sports and Aerobics Competition, and 14th in the Miss Fitness World contest last September. Both women have used Sea View for their own training ever since it opened.

?When I heard that (previous owners) Mr. and Mrs. Darrell were looking to sell the gym, I approached Percy and we talked about the opportunity,? said Ms. De Rosa.

They subsequently brought together Ms. Choudhury-DeShield and another partner to make a successful offer to the Darrells.

?They wanted to sell the gym to people they felt comfortable with and who had a genuine interest in fitness and running the business with care,? said Mr Paynter.

?And they were very helpful in assisting us with pursuing the venture, as we are new entrepreneurs in this context,? added Ms De Rosa.

Mr. and Mrs. Darrell opened the gym in 1997 and it has attracted a wide cross-section of local clientele, from politicians to construction workers. Even British Prime Minister Tony Blair reportedly trained there on his recent visit to Bermuda. The Darrells said that after running the business as a ?friendly operation, knowing all our members names? they were looking for buyers who would maintain the tone they had set.

?We didn?t just want to sell to anybody, and we also had our members in mind,? said Mrs. Darrell. ?We wanted to make sure members would be as comfortable as we were with the new owners. And the feedback about the new team has been wonderful.?

?We?re about to retire and we can do so knowing that the business is in good hands,? said Mr. Darrell. ?We thank the members for their support over the last six-and-a-half years and hope they?ll continue to be supportive to the new owners.?

The new owners plan future upgrades to both the fitness programmes and the physical environment at the gym, and there will also be a slight name change for the facility.

?We want to make the gym the ultimate in training ? that?s why we?re changing the name soon to ?Sea View Ultimate Fitness Club?,? said Mr. Paynter. ?We?ll be expanding our in-house programmes to include more new classes, such as kick-boxing, in addition to the spinning recently started.?

?Eventually there will be some improvements to the gym itself, and we plan to use the waterfront as part of the facility as well,? said Ms Choudhury-DeShield.

As passionate, long-standing advocates for healthy living, they see their new business venture as an opportunity to use their passion for fitness to help people.

?We want people to come here and feel they can get a high level of support for achieving their fitness goals, whatever they may be, so personal attention will always be a priority,? said Mr. Paynter.