Monster gym was born in June of 1992 and was originally known as “Arnold’s gym”.

It was the baby of Carmine Petrillo and his 4 business partners, their 5th gym enterprise.  Its empty shell measured 8000 square feet, and started out with 1500 members.  It had no air conditioning, no cardio equipment, and no fitness studio or classes.  The male to female member ratio was 90/10.  Membership cost $199 for the year.

In 1994 the partners split, leaving Carmine as the sole proprietor and he renamed it “Monster Gym” after his “Monster Wear ” clothing line.  The original dino logo was created.  Carm put in air conditioning, and bought a Stairmaster as the first piece of cardio equipment.  The fitness program was implemented and a studio built. 

Today Carm’s vision of the small 8000 square foot gym has expanded into 28,000 square feet, and has grown from its original 1500 members to over 4500 members.  The original $5000 of Cardio equipment has increased to $400,000. Membership costs are still the lowest in town, and the male to female member ratio is 65/35 with the average member age at 37.

Monster remains one of the only gyms in Canada open 24/7 365 days a year.

Carm likes to think of Monster as a small business that has undergone huge changes, and he prides himself on the fact that Monster has a reputation for being a leader, capable of staying on top and ahead of an every changing fitness industry.  Members have gotten used to seeing equipment constantly being upgraded.  “At Monster we don’t set the bar, we are the bar!”

“We cater to all the classes here” you’ll hear him say, “This is a gym for everyone. We watch the kids grow up and then they bring their kids to work out. We cater to the corporate, family, female, male, novice, professional athletes, old, and young alike.  You’ll find just about everyone training side by side at Monster.”

“We are better than a corporately owned gym.  We make changes fast.  We see the trend, we make the change.  No chain of command to approve it.  Things happen quickly here, that’s what makes us stand apart from the rest.”

“I intend on being in business for at least another 20 years.  And I’ll do that by maintaining our high level of professionalism and quality of the workout experience.”

Monster Gym is proud to support the Children’s Wish Foundation, The Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, and The Big Sister’s and Big Brother’s of the West Island.

Franchise inquiries welcome!