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Our Story | Gorila Fitness

 

May 2012: Vincent & Martin’s garden shed in Carignan, Quebec, Canada.

 

Commited to Doing Things Differently.

Gorila Fitness was first created to provide Canadians with the fitness equipment they deserve. We will never beat prices at the expense of quality.

Gorila constantly strives to build the best equipment ever made. *The best product, in our opinion, is functional, durable, locally made and has a limited ecological impact. As of 2021, we are actively making plans for that 4th criteria, we want to use our business to inspire and implement solutions in to the environmental crisis in the fitness industry.

2012.

Looking to take their home workouts to the next level, brothers Vincent and Martin decided to build their own gym in the back shed of their parents' house in 2012. With a limited budget, they started with just an Olympic barbell and bumper plates, but soon realized they couldn't afford a squat rack, the centerpiece of any good home gym. That's when they tapped into Vincent's welding experience and decided to build one themselves.

Their early version of the now-famous Jungle 72 squat rack was made entirely by hand, from drilling and cutting to welding and painting. After a few in-house training sessions, their very first order came in from a friend who wanted a custom squat rack with a pull-up bar. From there, the demand for their homemade equipment grew rapidly.

Despite the challenges of working in a backyard shed, the brothers persevered and even invested $1,000 of their own money to convert the shed into a workshop, complete with a paint room that reached temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius in the summer. In the fall of 2012, a business partner offered the brothers access to a 5,000 square foot warehouse and professional tools, allowing them to expand their operation and improve their products and designs.

 

Gorila's headquarters in Saint-Pie, Quebec, Canada.

Today.

Fast forward to today, and Gorila Fitness has become a leader in the fitness equipment industry, still handcrafting the majority of their products and actively seeking ways to bring manufacturing back to Canada. Despite the challenges of the global pandemic, Gorila Fitness continues to thrive, expanding into a 25,000 square foot facility in Saint-Pie, QC.

And how did the name "Gorila" come about? Martin's marketing expertise led to the creation of the brand, originally called GORIL, a humorous Quebecois version of "gorille." After a year of developing a unique typography and logo, they settled on the name Gorila Fitness, with one "L," which has since become synonymous with quality, expertise, and exceptional customer service.

 

Vincent & Martin

Vincent & Martin Roy, founders & owners