The Fitness Lab members take on Aussies at gruelling Turf Games

The team from The Fitness Lab in Kerikeri who won ‘The Everyday’ division at the Turf Games on the Gold Coast.

Members of a small Far North gym are “absolutely amazed” after winning a division of the gruelling and intense Turf Games in Australia.

Twenty-four men and women from The Fitness Lab in Kerikeri, including gym owner Gary-John Hill, attended the games held on the Gold Coast from September 30 to October 1.

Teams participating in the event battle it out over two days of strength, fitness and endurance workouts.

Four teams from The Fitness Lab participated in the Gold Coast event, returning with the win, along with eighth and 12th placings out of more than 140 teams made up of 1600 athletes, most of whom were Australian.

Hill, better known as GJ, said his teams had been preparing for months and he was “absolutely amazed” at how well everyone did.

“I can’t fathom how well we’ve done.

“Especially in Aussie, the health and fitness industry over there is so much more competitive than here.

“Everyone was 20-something, whereas most of us were 30 or 40-something.”

Turf Games is a global event series offering team-based functional fitness competitions for athletes of all abilities.

It started as a series of casual workouts at different gyms and studios across London in 2017, and now also hosts events in other English cities, as well as Dubai and Ireland.

The Fitness Lab team that won their division at the Turf Games; Chris and Paula Warren, Richie and Alley St George, and Jaco and Thelani Cronje.

All athletes complete the same four, 10-minute workouts in the heats, with the top eight teams from each category progressing to an ‘elite’ semifinal, where the intensity is stepped up a notch.

The four top teams from this progress to the elite final, where one team from each category is crowned winner.

Hill, a personal trainer and former Northland No 1 golfer, said Turf Games was similar to cross fit “but more user friendly and accessible”, with a focus on “super intense” cardio and strength workouts.

The Fitness Lab team that won the Everyday Division was made up of three sets of married couples; Chris and Paula Warren, Richie and Alley St George, and Jaco and Thelani Cronje.

Hill and his team competed in the intermediate division and came eighth.

It’s a remarkable comeback for Hill, who, in 2017, was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma.

Gym owner Gary-John Hill competing in the ‘Divide and Conquer’ section of the Turf Games.

He went from being able to dead-lift 300kg as a former personal trainer at Kerikeri Community Fitness to having to undergo urgent treatment which lasted seven months and caused him to lose 30kg in weight.

The community got behind him, holding fundraisers that lifted his spirits so he could train again, to the point where he was able to compete in the WBFF bodybuilding world champs in Las Vegas in 2018.

Hill and his wife Sasha opened the boutique fitness centre in Kerikeri 18 months ago followed by a 24-hour gym in Waipapa two months ago.

Running his own gym was “something I always wanted to do”, he said, and once he was cancer-free he took the leap.

Jenny Ling is a news reporter and features writer for the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering health, food, lifestyle, business and animal welfare issues.