ZeroW strength gym opens in Mackay, with professional athletes as coaches

A new strength and performance gym in Mackay is lifting its members to new fitness heights, with all of its staff qualified and nationally competitive.

Kahn Stephenson is a man who is not short on motivation.

He trains almost every day, he competes and wins national powerlifting competitions, and now he’s hoping to inform and inspire Mackay’s fitness enthusiasts at a new gym.

Mr Stephenson is the proud owner of ZeroW Mackay, a new strength and performance gym in North Mackay, which officially opened its doors earlier this month.

He said the trainers’ knowledge and experience was a major difference between ZeroW and other gyms in the area.

“We’re the only gym in Mackay that has Australian or internationally-recognised coaches in nutrition or coaching and training,” he said.

“We’re all national-level athletes, as well as one of us being an international athlete, and all of us have a form of tertiary education in the industry like exercise science, health science or nutrition.

“We like to back up exactly what we’re talking about with the education we have, and to be able to use personal experiences as athletes and bring that knowledge to our clients.”

Mr Stephenson has an abundance of wealth across his staff, with coach Dean Illguth the all-time Australian bench press record holder (242.5kg), Rebecca Stephenson is a three-time Miss Fitness Australia, and Mr Stephenson competes in national competitions.

“I competed this year at nationals, and I won the 125kg weight class,” he said.

(from left) Rebecca Stephenson (sports nutritionist, three-time Miss Fitness Australia, coach), Carly Illguth (administration manager), Dean Illguth (all-time Australian bench press record holder, powerlifting competition co-ordinator), and (front) Kahn Stephenson (founder, coach) at the new strength gym ZeroW in North Mackay, October 20, 2021. Picture: Matthew Forrest

“That’s what we compete in as a personal interest, powerlifting and bodybuilding are sports we all enjoy competing in.”

ZeroW is labelled as a strength gym, but members come from “all walks of life”, with each client receiving individual programs and training.

Mr Stephenson said the community reception had been “absolutely awesome”.

“We’re not a powerlifting gym, we’re a strength gym, and that allows people from all walks of life to be a part of that,” he said.

“Strength isn’t just for a person who wants to bench press or squat the most amount of weight, it’s for anyone trying to be the best version of themselves.

(from left) Rebecca Stephenson (sports nutritionist, three-time Miss Fitness Australia, coach), Carly Illguth (administration manager), Kahn Stephenson (founder, coach) and Dean Illguth (all-time Australian bench press record holder, powerlifting competition co-ordinator) at the new strength gym ZeroW in North Mackay, October 20, 2021. Picture: Matthew Forrest

“Our youngest member is 10 years old, and our oldest is 75 years old, we have a lot of different people who do a wide range of different types of workouts.”

Mr Stephenson said he wanted the gym to be a place for anyone wanting to improve their lives.

“One of my clients has lost 60kg since he started training consistently and eating right, that’s not just changing the quality of life but also the longevity of it,” he said.

“The key is consistency in action, and remaining as active as possible.

“Eating good food is also really important, and that’s why we supply our clients with nutrition plans to help them supplement their training schedule.

“Training schedules change every four to six weeks, which gives people continued motivation.”

The gym has a number of different membership options, with prices starting at $35 a week with no lock-in contracts or sign-up fees.