ARCHER HEIGHTS — Back in April, on his 55th birthday, Don Staszak dead-lifted 600 pounds from his gym's battered floor.
Bending down and using raw power to pull the weight off the ground was a big deal for Staszak, the hulking owner of Handle Bars Gym, a throwback sanctuary for strength training on the South Side.
It wasn't his best performance. When he was 28, he dead-lifted 700 pounds, but at his age, Staszak is satisfied knowing he still has a lot of power.
"I'm kind of proud of that," Staszak said.
Located next to a flower shop at 4881 S. Archer Ave., Handle Bars has been in Staszak's hands for 15 years. He took the over the gym from a retired Chicago police officer in 2000.
Since purchasing Handle Bars, Staszak has seen gyms like his slowly disappear all over the city, replaced by big box gyms like Planet Fitness and LA Fitness.
His run as owner and resident power lifter hasn't been easy.
Last year, Staszak made $7,500 running the gym full-time. The reality of strength-training's decline on the South Side made him consider shuttering the gym many times.
"It was so bad in here," Staszak said. "I was hurting."
Staszak refused to quit, though. Power lifting has been an integral part of his life for 35 years, and he doesn't want to take that away from his loyal members who pay $20 a month to train.
"If I didn't love lifting and love the atmosphere," Staszak said, "why would I sit behind the desk, make no money and watch people work out?"
Handle Bars is the kind of place where you'll find iron plates of every weight — from two pounds to 45 pounds — thrown all over the floor. There are no rules about making too much noise or keeping the place tidy.
There's only one unspoken rule: Do not pass judgment on your fellow gym rats.
"This is more of a neighborhood gym. Everybody's kind of in the same boat," Staszak said. "There are really no big muscleheads here. There isn't so much ego."
At the front of the gym, you'll find a refrigerator full of preworkout drinks and protein shakes. On the counter, there's a bucket of crushed weightlifting chalk to help you get a good grip on big weight.
Taped on the walls, pictures of a prime-time bodybuilders like Arnold Schwarzenegger and bodybuilding champion Jay Cutler look down, motivating men and women on the bench press or squat rack.
Before he bought the gym, Staszak worked out at Handlebars. He liked the place because of its welcoming atmosphere, something so many strength-trainers look for in a gym.
Alfredo Franco, has been lifting at Handle Bars for the last eight years. He's not interested in looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger; he just wants to stay healthy. Over the past year, he's been bringing his son, Alfredo Franco Jr., who plays football at Mount Carmel High School.
"It's like a family here," Franco said. "You get the best pumps here."
To Staszak, you won't find that at places like Planet Fitness or LA Fitness, where "everybody wants to be a fitness model."
At Handle Bars, you won't find many people who want to look like the men and women on the covers of magazines. You'll find mothers trying to lose weight, truck-driving dads trying to stay in shape and high school kids training for summer football camps.
One of Staszak's goals when he opened the gym was to draw more kids off the streets.
"It keeps these kids out of trouble," he said. "I have a lot of young kids in there working out. I'd rather have them in here than on the corner getting into trouble."
Staszak, who once could bench-press 500 pounds and squat almost 700 pounds, has a simple philosophy when it comes to joining a gym like Handle Bars: This is a place that will help you get a strong body.
And a strong body makes a strong mind, he said.
"All these other generic gyms are opening and people are running there and jumping on the machines and they think that's the way to go," Staszak said. "You make the gym. The gym doesn't make you."
For more information, call 773-847-0499.
Here's a look at the gym's membership packages:
Platinum Package: $160/Year
Gold Package: $40/3 Months
Silver Package: $20/Month
Student Package: $15/Month
Bronze Package: $3/Day
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