Exploring Life & Business with David Gonzalez Torres of Omega Strong Gym

Today, we’d like to introduce you to David Gonzalez Torres.

Hi David, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
It all started when I was 17 years old; I dreamt, envisioned, and thought every single day of opening my own business. To be specific, open a gym where people could call it home and view it as their safe haven as well. Which eventually led to the opening of Omega Strong Gym. I started working at a young age in side jobs, from landscaping, construction, and janitorial, while going to college. In order to gather the necessary funds to open up the business and start it from the ground up.

Keep in mind that I had no business background or no mentors, but I did have the ambition and determination to work towards my dream every single day. Little by little, I started buying fitness equipment and slowly gathered the necessary items to start up the company. By the time I was 19 while working part-time in the janitorial industry, I was offered a full-time position in management. I saw this as an opportunity to continue to make more money in order to gather more funds to open Omega. I took a leap of faith, took the job, still kept going to college, and kept working hard to achieve the goal.

By the time I was 20, I was able to have the necessary funds and finally ventured out to open the gym; this was not an easy task, however. I got rejected by five different landlords since I didn’t have any commercial history or even credit. I almost gave up on even starting the company since I couldn’t find a place that would allow us to open up a gym in South Phoenix. Finally, while browsing Craigslist, I saw an ad for small 500 to 900sqft warehouses being leased. I called the landlord and scheduled a meeting, and upon meeting him, I learned that he had just recently purchased the property.

The gentleman named was Todd Hamilton, upon meeting him at the warehouse I explained to him this was my first rodeo and was looking to start a small business. After talking to him, he decided to give me a chance and gave me the opportunity to start the gym. Finally, in November 2017, I processed the paperwork to make the company official and moved into the first location in South Phoenix in 2018.

Finally, after months of remodeling the warehouse, the first location was opened. We started marketing on Instagram our small gym, little by little we gather some following but not enough to keep the business thriving. Powerlifting gyms are specialty gyms, and most people at the time didn’t know what powerlifting was.

The first couple months were rough, I almost shut down the gym as I got discouraged. However, the friendships and close friends who supported me at the time inspired me to keep going. Eventually, Maria who has always been there supporting Omega since day 1 decided to become an official business member of the gym and between the two of us we pushed Omega to new levels.

After the first couple of months in business, slowly but surely, a community started forming. What I had dreamed of slowly started becoming a reality; the place I wanted to become a home and safe haven for the community was becoming a reality. The OG members started promoting Omega. People just loved to be there and have a great time. Not just working out but pushing each other and supporting each other to the next level. Our small business started to gain more traction, and we were able to move to a bigger location to accommodate more people.

Omega 2.0 was born in 2019; our community became bigger, and we started going to powerlifting meets to compete as a team and, most importantly, promote the sport of powerlifting and Omega.

At the end of 2019, we had such a great year, and we had to expand to a bigger warehouse, which is our correct location here in Phoenix, AZ. Omega 3.0 was born in 2020, and we were able to expand to a 3200 sq ft warehouse and accommodate more members.

2020 the first couple months were great, of course COVID unexpectedly hit. Unfortunately, we lost lots of members during that time, but our community was amazing that some of them were still paying the gym dues in order to keep Omega up and running even if no one was able to train at the time. Unfortunately, in August of 2020, I got COVID pretty bad and almost lost my life to it at the time. I was hospitalized for two weeks.

2020 was such a rough period; at the time, while I was battling for my life, my business partner kept Omega up and running to ensure the home and safe haven for the community was still alive. I’m very grateful for her and her strong will to keep the business alive during those times.

After COVID, it was like starting all over again. However, one of the things that I learned this time was that I had the experience and a great business partner to keep going. Once you hit rock bottom, the only thing left to do is to look up, and that’s what we did. Look and climb up the ladder once again.

We started becoming more involved in the powerlifting scene, not just competing but sponsoring events, going to expos to promote Omega, and building partnerships with great companies like TSS, where we host powerlifting competitions. Host mock meets collaborations, and more. This movement allowed us to grow the gym. Fast forward to today. Omega Strong Gym has been in business for seven years, all thanks to the community that supports us! An omega is a place “Where Strength United All.”

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story. Has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
It is not a smooth road; business will always have bumps on the way. Resilience, discipline, passion, and ambition will always overcome any obstacles.

COVID, health issues, and disagreements in the community of powerlifting were some of the challenges. Competing with also the Globo corporate gyms is also a big challenge, people expect 10-dollar memberships however, since we are a specialized private powerlifting gym people don’t realize the value, we provide.

While we try our best to provide the best pricing in all of Phoenix, individuals who don’t understand often complain about pricing.

Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about Omega Strong Gym?
Omega Strong Gym is a Premier Powerlifting Gym in Phoenix, Arizona. We provide the best corporate-free gym environment; our gym is made up of a community, and everyone is welcome. You don’t have to be a powerlifter to be part of Omega.

We offer gym memberships, general strength and powerlifting training, and programming, and we also host powerlifting competitions not just in our gym but slowly collaborating with other gyms in the community throughout Arizona.

We also offer Military, Police, EMT, and student discounts as well. What sets us apart is that we are a gym for the community; it’s not about us but about them. We are a place where “Strength Unites All.”

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Feel free to check us out on Instagram at @omegastronggym. Thank you to everyone who has supported Omega throughout the years. We are nothing without them!

Contact Info:

• Website: omegastronggym.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/omegastronggym?igsh=dGtoY3U2dmxnODQw
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@omegastronggymllc8903?si=ViOafwvu0FjI_DYq
• Yelp: https://www.linkedin.com/company/omega-strong-gym-llc/