Latest news
Ripped Gym to open club in Cyprus
Privately-owned health club Ripped Gym in Harlow, Essex, will gain a sister site in Famagusa, Cyprus later this year.
Ripped Gym employee Mehmet Pasha, a finalist for the personal trainer category at the National Fitness Awards in 2010, is returning home to his native Cyprus and is taking the brand with him.
Pasha has acquired a 5,000 sq ft (465sq m) industrial unit for the club - as well as the equipment and fittings. He is expected to open the doors on Ripped Gym Cyprus in September 2011.
He said: "I'm originally from Northern Cyprus and its always been my dream to one day go back and live there.
"Having discussed the options with my wife we decided to make the move and open our own gym in Cyprus so that I could carry on working in the industry that I love and has ultimately become my life.
"I am absolutely blown away that I am able to take this brand to Cyprus. I'm both excited and stressed, as you can imagine, all at the same time. I'm confident that using the Ripped template will bring to Cyprus nothing it has seen before in terms of the ultimate gym experience".
Michelle Meade, owner of Ripped Harlow, said: "We're delighted Mehmet is taking us global and there would be no other person we would trust more with protecting our brand.
"While we wish him every success, we are going to miss him sorely, he's going to leave a gap in our team that's going to be pretty impossible to fill."