May 1, 2017

Meet C.J. Murphy of Total Performance Sports in Malden

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to C.J. Murphy.

C.J., can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
TPS was founded in 1999 in the back of a karate school with one thing in mind: to provide a place where people could train and become the best version of themselves.

At any time you could see a National level athlete in strength sports (powerlifting, strongman, weightlifting) training in the same room as someone who wanted to be fitter and healthier. The commonality was that we provided an atmosphere where success and excellence as well as personal responsibility and accountability was fostered.

We did this a number of ways including:

a highly qualified coaching team
constant staff education
paying close attention the needs and wants of our clients
providing our clients with balanced training programs based on science
providing nutritional guidance and more

Our motto is, that for every dollar a client spends, we give them two dollars in value or service in return.

I believe that by using this as our motto, we grew the business from a small, neighborhood gym/personal training center to a nationally recognized facility that consistently produces elite level athletes and also produces successful, happy clients whose health and fitness has drastically improved.

TPS started in 900 square feet in the back of a karate school as I said and we have grown over the years.
We moved into a 7000 square foot facility a few years later and business, and recognition grew as well.

Due to factors beyond our control we were forced to move from that location into a 3,000 square foot location just a few blocks away.

Again, business grew as well as recognition.

We have been awarded Best of Boston by Boston magazine, Best of Women’s Health magazine, we were voted One of America’s 20 Best Gyms by Men’s Health magazine TWICE and more.

Sadly, due to factors beyond our control, we had to move again, after only 5 years in our 30,000 square foot location. We are now happily located in the perfect sized facility for us, 10,000 square feet in Malden.

This “smaller” location allowed us to re-brand back to our roots.

We are back to being a highly motivated, destination location for those who wish to excel in their training, whether on their own or with our coaches, and one of the best Personal Training departments available.

We have changed how we deliver results over the years too. In the 90’s and early 2000’s, 1-on-1 personal training was all the rage.

We believed that people could get the same or better results training in small groups as they could 1-on-1 and we were right.

We have launched several highly successful programs including Awesome Camp, the 531 Training group, our Competitive Athlete program and our premiere service, the Total Performance Method.

The TPS Method takes my nearly 30 years of experience in this industry and applies it to the best group training program that you can attend.

Group training gives you the same programming, results and coaches at a fraction of the cost of 1-on-1 training, thereby adhering to our motto of $2.oo in value for every $1.00 spent.

It also increases effectiveness by putting you in a group of likeminded people and providing a built in community and support group.

Our clients and members at TPS are what makes us successful. We cater to those who want to be their best, regardless of their experience level. It doesn’t matter if you are brand new to training or a World Champion.

All are welcome and of all who train here, that is the common thread: being your best.

Our new Malden location has everything you need for success including:

indoor turf
the best equipment from EliteFTS
full line of Strongman equipment
plenty of lifting platforms, racks and benches
group classes such as Yoga, Pilates and Kettlelbell
massage
Nutrition services
tons of helpful, friendly members
the best coaching team you can find

Come see why we are different than the big box gyms.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Running a small business is never easy, but it is better than working for someone else.

We have had our share of issues, particularly as far as the physical building goes.

We have moved three times, once due to growth and twice due to issues beyond our control.

The most recent move almost put us out of business.
When we moved into our last location (the 30,000 square foot one) we laid out a lot of money (cash) obviously to do that and it takes time to recoup that.

Well, I renewed my lease after 5 years and we figured all would be well, we can recoup that money now.
Sorry.

That didn’t happen.
The building was sold right out from under me to build a hotel on the site. We had to move. Moving is pretty stressful if you live in an apartment.Imagine moving a 30,000 square foot gym!

Trying to find a suitable location was also pretty difficult.

I looked at almost every piece of available commercial property and found two that were suitable.

We made on offer on one and it was rejected. We made an offer on this one and it was accepted just in the nick of time.

We had to be out of our old location in January, and the offer got accepted here in August.

If you know about business, coordinating a move, getting permits, doing build out and actually moving in 4 months is not possible.

Thanks to Mayor Gary Christenson’s office in Malden, Kevin Duffy of the City of Malden, Mike Bono of Bono Inc. and all of my team, we got it done.

I also need to thank our members.

Have you ever heard of a gym where the members and clients care so much about it that they give up their time to clean, paint, and MOVE the equipment?

Well, ours did.

To me, this is a testament to the environment that we have created here. We care about our members, but they care so much about TPS that they made sure that we made the move on time so we didn’t fail.

I love that.

Total Performance Sports – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
TPS is a place that is almost like two different businesses under one roof.

The first is the BEST gym anywhere.

You can come in and train on your own with the best equipment.

This is half of our space here and it is full of highly motivated and educated people that train for fitness and competition.

The second part is our Personal Training division and Group Training programs. This is the other half of our business. This is one of the things we are best known for. Our program, the Total Performance Method is well known as the go-to program where you will be coached by my team and learn to lift and get strong. We are known for producing clients with outstanding exercise technique. This is the foundation of all that you do and without it, results come slow and injury comes quickly.

TPS has an expert on staff for whatever you want to accomplish in the strength/fitness world.

We are well known for our highly qualified coaches in: Powerlifting, Strongman, Weightlifting

We also are well known for producing National and World Champion lifters.

I think the thing TPS is best known for the quality of my team of coaches.

I am extremely proud of many things about TPS, such as our competitive lifters, the fact that my team and my brand has the respect of my industry, and the “every day” people.

When to comes to athletes, it’s easy to train them. When you take someone who has never touched a weight, or has had issues with their self-esteem or weight their whole lives, and you help transform them into confident, strong people, that is what I am most proud of.

I think the fact that we are focused one thing sets us apart from the rest of the pack. TPS is focused on Strength. No nonsense. Strength.

IF you can get STRONGER all of your other goals usually fall into place. Strength in the gym also help you to be stronger in life.

Making people STRONG is what separates us.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success is generally dictated by profit or personal income. Not to me.

Sure, it would be great to be rolling in dough like Scrooge McDuck, but I’d rather be happy.

To me, success is getting up and going to work at a place that I love every day and spreading what I believe to my clients.

They say if you love your job that you never work a day in your life.

Well, I’ve worked a lot of days in my time and could probably make a lot more money doing something else.

BUT:

Even with all the trials we have had, I’ve never WORKED one day at TPS.

I am doing what I want to do and what I am passionate about.

That, at least to me, is success.