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“I said no matter what happens, I said I’m going to open a gym this year,” he said. He began picking up extra minimum-wage shifts at Champions Fitness Center in Cicero to learn about the gym business.Īfter local banks turned down his applications for a loan, Edwards, now 42 years old, decided he would take matters into his own hands. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center, but never let go of his dream to own his own gym. “When I was younger, it was just me alone.”Īs an adult, Edwards worked as a social worker at St. “When you’re sleeping from place to place and don’t have somewhere to stay, you want to get out of that situation,” he said. Edwards said he never missed a day of school - he was motivated to get off the streets. After his two-hour shift, he would take another hour-long bus to attend school at Cicero-North Syracuse High School, where he was able to attend using his father’s address. After trying unsuccessfully to live with his estranged father in North Syracuse, Edwards alternated between sleeping on the street and crashing on friends’ couches.Įvery morning, he would wake up early and travel 20 minutes north to arrive at Nesci Produce’s truck terminal by 4:30 a.m. “I felt such a sense of community growing up and wanted to recreate that here.”Įdwards’ mother passed away when he was 11, leaving him and his five siblings on their own. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, to bring something positive to the neighborhood,” he said. Tim EdwardsĮdwards hopes the gym will promote healthy behaviors and bring the community together socially. Tall and muscular, Edwards bounces around the orange-and-blue painted space in a Southside Fitness T-shirt, laughing with gym members and providing a helping hand when needed. On a clear Monday night, the gym is buzzing with chit-chat and the soft thud of barbells hitting the mats. Southside Fitness, a low-cost gym, has grown in popularity since opening in December 2016. Finally, he has been able to make his dreams a reality: owning a gym, which happens to be in the same shopping plaza where he slept outside as a teenager. When Tim Edwards was growing up on the South Side, he always had a passion for fitness and giving back to his community - passions he held onto his entire life. Tim Edwards’ passion project, an affordable South Side gym, is thriving