The contents of the Anytime Fitness gym were taken in a three-hour window overnight

CCTV footage has revealed the disappearance of the entire contents of a gym happened in less than three hours with the stunned owner finding only signage left behind.

CCTV footage has revealed the disappearance of the entire contents of a gym happened in less than three hours.

Initially it was believed more than 30 machines were taken in a 48-hour window between Monday July 19 and Wednesday July 21, just days before the equipment was meant to be taken from Mackay to Townsville.

Townsville Anytime Fitness franchisee Troy Cooper had purchased the machines in June for $144,000 from the building landlord after the Mackay Anytime Fitness permanently closed its doors in 2020.

Mr Cooper made the trip south on Wednesday to speak with Mackay police and had been told the incident had occurred in less than three hours, between 10.45pm Monday and 1.30am Tuesday.

Now all that remained in the barren gym were the oversized letters that once made out ‘Anytime Fitness’, which had been discarded in piles on the floor. Picture: Lillian Watkins

He took the opportunity to inspect the empty space on Victoria St.

“The last time I was here it was full of equipment,” Mr Cooper said.

Now all that remained in the barren gym were the oversized letters, that once made out ‘Anytime Fitness’, discarded in piles on the floor.

“These obviously meant nothing to them, but they’re really important to us,” he said gesturing to the letters.

The gyprock that had cladded the wall was now rubble on the ground leaving large patches of the building’s framework exposed. Picture: Lillian Watkins

Mr Cooper walked through the barren building pointing out what had been taken, including where a 500kg sun bed estimated to be valued up to $10,000 had been ripped from the wall.

The gyprock that had cladded the wall was now rubble on the ground leaving large patches of the building’s framework exposed.

Mr Cooper indicated a vacant spot in the ceiling.

Mr Cooper believes the culprits accessed the building through this removed ceiling panel. Picture: Lillian Watkins

“We think they’ve backed up the truck and taken the panels off the roof and then rolled up the roller door from the inside and loaded it from there,” he said.

“One of the worst things is that we dismantled everything.

“We had two guys come down for two days and totally dismantle the equipment so it was nice and easy to transport onto the truck for the removalists.

“We did half the work for them.”

Townsville Anytime Fitness franchisee Troy Cooper bought $144,000 worth of gym equipment from Mackay, only to have it disappear overnight, July 2021. Picture: Lillian Watkins

Mr Cooper said he was disheartened by some of the pushback he had received on social media since posting about the incident.

“A lot of people are commenting and saying it was an insurance job,” he said.

“But there is no insurance.

“This is it.”

He is encouraging anyone who may have dashcam footage of the area in those three hours to contact police.