GREEN, Ohio — For James Anderson, the gym is a safe haven. A place to reset. It's been that way for a long time now.
"The gym, this is like my safe place, right? People are really confident and happy with what they're really great at. And so, for me, it's this," Anderson said.
More than 12 years ago, Anderson found recovery from substance abuse that began as a teenager. Drinking turned into pill and opioid use turned into a heroin addiction. Anderson faced arrests and incarceration, homelessness and helplessness. Until he found fitness, that is. Anderson channeled his energy into weight training and bodybuilding and over the years has remained sober, began a successful career as a personal trainer and each year on his sobriety anniversary has celebrated in major ways.
"Every year on my clean day, I do a physical challenge to remind myself of what I've overcome in my life, but also show people that there's another side to the addiction, there is the recovery side, we can get clean, stay clean, and then live an amazing full life, well beyond our imagination," Anderson said. "And so I've done mountains in Africa and Japan and Norway. I've done a 100-mile ultra marathon. I've done an Ironman triathlon and this fall, I go to Patagonia for the W Trek in Chile."
Over the years, News 5 has covered Anderson's story and many of the challenges he's set for himself.
After more than a decade of challenges and tests of endurance, Anderson was prepared to slow down this year. Instead, he created a new goal for himself.
"This was a new goal. We were in Europe in the fall and we went to this gym in Bruges and I was like, 'Wow, this place is really nice,' and that kind of like planted the seed. And then I think in January it kind of really took shape and I decided this is what I'm going to do," Anderson said. "The funny thing is that in December, I was like, 'This is going to be my do-nothing year. I'm going to do absolutely nothing and I'm just going to recenter and figure things out and focus on myself and then very quickly it became 'Nope, we're going to do everything. We're going to open a gym."
And just like that, Anderson Ambition came to life.
A modern space with a moody vibe, helped to fruition by Anderson's wife, Morgan, is set to greet gym-goers at the new location in Green. Free weights and machines, treadmills and battle ropes give guests a full range of workouts. Anderson wanted to create a space not only to work more closely with his clients, but to be able to provide resources to the community.
That's why Anderson is launching a free monthly fitness program for teens in his new gym.
"So a big part of why I used when I was younger was poor self-esteem and low confidence. And in high school, it's already tough for everyone. I think it's probably gotten worse since I was a kid. So I wanted to offer something to teens where they would have a place to come where I could coach them on their fitness, teach them their way around the gym, show them how to exercise correctly so that they're not injured, and make them feel strong and confident in the gym, hoping that they will then pursue that on their own. And fitness has just been such a huge part of my recovery process. I wanted to find a way to give back to the younger me.
"Discipline, dedication, all these character traits you develop in the gym, these things are going to help them in their lives and their jobs and their relationships with their families. They're critical skills," Anderson said.
On the fourth Sunday of each month, teens who register for the free program will be able to spend the day training at Anderson Ambition, with the goal of providing encouragement and guidance for their health and fitness, but also perhaps preventing the next generation from exposure to substance abuse by creating outlets for them to focus on, as Anderson did through his rehab and recovery.
"This is 10 years in the making, but this gym is, the last six months, he's worked non nonstop every day," said Morgan, Anderson's wife and general manager of Anderson Ambition. "I'm so proud of him. He's really fulfilled, but he's helped so many people and to see them and get to know them and watch them change, it's just really inspiring."
Anderson Ambition is set to hold a grand opening soon, but in the meantime, Anderson has hopes for his new gym.
As his clients and gym members lift weights, a weight might just be lifted for them.
"A lot of people are struggling with their bodies, and they're not happy with them, and they don't know what to do, and they carry that with them and it weighs heavily on many people. So if that's just one less thing that you have to worry about, you came in, you worked with me, we got that together, you didn't have to think about it, you don't have to figure it out, we were comfortable and you started getting the results you wanted, that was no longer an issue in your life, I think a lot would change for people," Anderson said. "It would free up a lot of mental space for people to focus on more important things. And so that's what I want to bring to people's lives like that confidence to go out there and do something else. You don't have to carry all that stuff with you. You can free up that mental space to do what you want."
Anderson Ambition is located at 3755 Boettler Oaks Dr, Suite A2, Uniontown, OH 44685. To learn more about the space and the resources that are set to be offered at the gym, click here.
