It started in a shed...the origins of PHAROS.

Want to hear a tale of dirt, grind and passion? The story of how it all started. After 6 years in business this story can get lost in time and numbers, so I like to reconnect to the roots of what it meant to be a part of the PAC long before the luxuries.

If you read the last blog you will know where the fitness industry stood by 2016 when we came on the scene. With over a decade in the fitness industry training actors for movies and rehabbing athletes post injury, we had a big vision to take every great fitness + recovery practice, put it under one roof and create a new standard of excellence for the industry. One that would inspire action + foster community. A hybrid facility that offered a great fitness experience for every body.

The ambition was grand, but the original Pharos gym certainly was not. Delayed by several months of construction, permitting and bleeding money that we didn’t have in the first place, we decided to start Pharos in the 1000sqft shed in the lower parking lot. What it lacked in AC, bathrooms, windows or showers, it definitely made up for it with its endless layers of grime, splinters, and a “luxury flush portaloo”...

We ran out of money but still had bathroom buildout, so we charged $275/month (i still can’t believe we did that) and hoped that our passion, belief, programming, and bare bones equipment would be enough to attract people chomping at the bit for a new kind of experience. It was the school of “Clear eyes, full heart, can”t lose”. And it worked.

I often refer to the original crew in The Shed as the “300 Savages”. They weren't coming seeking comfort, luxury, eucalyptus-soaked towels or their own stations. It was hot, dirty, sweaty and rough. BUT it was smart – the programming offered a new style with equal parts functional bodybuilding, conditioning and mechanics. We as coaches delivered every session with wild enthusiasm and the ‘300 Savages’ were willing to work. Armed with a few sets of dumbbells, kettlebells, Bulgarian Bags and a ski erg, we all got to work and spent  roughly 6 months slinging fitness out of a shack. But people got results. 

The value of a gym is not in its comforts or luxuries but in delivering the results that you pay good money for. Luxuries of course should be there especially in todays industry, but they can’t be the reason or the roots. Ultimately, you join a gym to partake in movement, community, and the pursuit of learning new things and pushing yourself to new places. Training is a stress, not a comfort. One leads to change and transformation, the other to an expensive 6 months of going nowhere.

Now of course PHAROS is a gym packed with nice things because we value quality and want people to have the best experience possible. Quality tools are expensive, amenities are necessary, a clean environment is paramount and we pride ourselves on spaces that “let the light in.” In delivering the ultimate fitness experience to now thousands of people that have been through Pharos doors, we recognize the need to offer a nice and inviting space that you want to get out of bed for or go to after a hard day's work. But our commitment to the work itself and to the core elements that made “The Shed” legendary have not changed.

I think about those Shed days a lot; what it took, what it meant, why it mattered . Like any strong house, Pharos needed strong foundations, and the Shed days built that brick by brick. It didn’t matter that the environment was crap – people came for the quality programming, electric coaching, and that feeling like you were a part of a PAC. Without the distraction of comfort we ignite something in ourselves that takes us to a deeper and more meaningful place … one that forges greater presence, connection and ultimately transformation…both on and off the scale.