The Booty Parlour returns in Newport after Balgowlah demolition disaster

A building demolition went horribly wrong on Sydney’s northern beaches leaving a women-only strength gym destroyed — but now The Booty Parlour is back.

Jess Zukowski (second from left), the owner of The Booty Parlour, a boutique strength studio for women, at her new premises at Newport. Picture: Supplied

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It took only minutes for Jess Zukowski’s dream fitness business to come crashing down.

In September last year the demolition of a neighbouring bottle shop, to make way for apartments on Sydney Rd, Balgowlah, went horribly wrong.

Traffic is in chaos on the northern beaches after a demolition accident in Balgowlah. Picture: Jim O'Rourke.

The demolition crew was using an excavator to remove steel girders at the former Porter’s Liquor store when they struck the wall of the building next door housing The Booty Parlour, a popular strength gym for women.

It was so badly damaged and in danger of collapse that engineers ordered that the building, which also accommodated a therapeutic massage clinic, be torn down.

A pile of rubble in the front window of The Booty Parlour gym in Balgowlah that was damaged by a demolition accident. The building had to torn down. Picture: Jim O'Rourke

In an instant, Ms Zukowski had lost her livelihood.

Now, nine months later, she has reopened her boutique weight training gym for women in new premises at Newport — and she couldn’t be more thrilled.

“The booty is back,” she told The Manly Daily.

Jess Zukowski (centre, bottom row), the owner of The Booty Parlour, a boutique strength studio for women in her new premises at Newport. Picture: Supplied

Ms Zukowski has been coaching strength training for women full time since 2015. She is also a well known competitor in the sport of women’s powerlifting.

She said her mission is to help women feel their strongest while developing positive habits and mindsets for life.

“We suffered quite a blow last year.

Jess Zukowski, the owner of The Booty Parlour, a boutique strength studio for women, with a client at her new premises. Picture: Supplied

“It’s been a wild ride side the first studio was knocked down, made a little more complicated with COVID-19 also holding us back.”

Ms Zukowski, who lives in Avalon, was planning to re-open the business on April 1, but was stymied by the NSW Government’s restrictions on people returning to gymnasiums until June 13.

“Unfortunately we just had to wait till the COVID-19 restrictions were eased,” she said.

“But we officially reopened our doors on Saturday and we’ve had a lot of our regular clients make the journey to Newport to train with us in our studio on Barrenjoey Rd.

New premises for The Booty Parlour on Barrenjoey Rd, Newport. Picture: Supplied

“We are all pretty glad that people can get back into real gym environments instead of having to work out using online sources.

“And social distancing will be a priority here, but boutique gyms have always head plenty of space for clients to work out in.”