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World Gym buckles Former 1993 state bodybuilding champion Shane Morioka dreamed of opening a gym geared toward serious weightlifting trainers. In June 1999 his vision came true when he opened World Gym Honolulu as a franchise holder at Auahi and Keawe streets.
under money woes
Owner Shane Morioka cites low
membership for the gym's closureBy Rosemarie Bernardo
rbernardo@starbulletin.comBut low membership and financial problems led to Morioka's decision to shut the gym's doors to the public Friday night.
"I wanted to keep the serious fitness niche market, but that's too small in Hawaii," Morioka said. "This is my dream and this is my dream gym. I couldn't make it doing it my way. I don't want to open up any other type of gym."
Morioka made his decision to close World Gym Honolulu three weeks ago. Gym members, who were notified of the closure soon after he made his decision, are expected to receive refunds throughout the month of March.
"We had people come all the way from Waimanalo and all the way as far as Waianae," he added.
Since its inception, about 700 members joined World Gym. A majority of the members paid $40 on a monthly basis, while a small group of members paid up to $400 for a year.
However, Morioka said that based on size, the 11,000-square-foot gym could handle 3,000 members. The low volume of members made it difficult to make rent payments, said Morioka, who declined to release any financial figures.
"We had more weights under one gym than anyone in the world, but that doesn't pay my rent," he said.
Morioka said he could have added programs such as aerobics, cardio-kickboxing and spinning classes.
"I could've changed like my theme or my concept and go after a more mainstream market. I didn't want to," he said. "I'd rather close than go after a different market, because that's not my dream."
Kevin Lee, manager of Gold's Gym on South Street, said he supported Morioka's vision of running a gym limited to serious weightlifters and empathized with Morioka's decision to shut down the gym.
"It doesn't help me that it goes out of business. ... There's room enough for everybody," Lee said.
In August 2000, World Gym temporarily closed for eight months after a fire caused $1.6 million in damage.
Former gym member Ken Gordon was disappointed to hear the news.
"It's really depressing it's closing," said Gordon, an exercise therapist of Exercise Therapy & Conditioning in Honolulu.
"The equipment selection and the environment are really, I thought, kind of separated themselves from everything else," Gordon said.