PITTSFIELD — Growing up, AJ Bowman viewed Geoff Powell as the guy that everyone wanted to be when working out at the old Retro Fitness.
Years later, the duo, separated by 25 years, struck up a friendship, started working out together, and are now set to open a new state-of-the-art gym.
“Now that we’re opening a gym together, it’s just a dream come true,” Bowman said.
Ultimate Body Factory, an 8,500 square foot fitness facility founded by Powell and Bowman, was built to raise the standard for what a local gym can be. The facility, located at 5 Cheshire Road, Suite 31, focuses on helping members see change with an environment centered on commitment, discipline and personal growth.
They were hoping to open on Dec. 1, but Powell said that the Thanksgiving holiday could delay the process by a week.
The duo is excited for the opening and said that people have been walking by and coming to check out the facility, which features high ceilings, a black and blue design and a turf training area.
Owners Geoff Powell, left, and AJ Bowman at Ultimate Body Factory their new gym set to open in early December at the Allendale Shopping Center in Pittsfield. “Now that we’re opening a gym together, it’s just a dream come true,” Bowman said.
STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
“We’ve known, and we’ve felt that we’ve put everything into it, but [it’s nice] getting the validation now from other people saying, ‘This is amazing. There’s never been anything like this here,’” Powell said.
They will be offering two memberships, a $50 a month commitment option and a $65 a month noncommitment option. The gym is also currently offering a Founders Club membership of $50 a month until the day they open.
Founders Club members receive locked-in rates, a free T-shirt, and special perks, Powell said. This week, they are giving people a chance to check out the facility to see if they would be interested in signing up.
Powell and Bowman have been workout partners for over two years, and between them, they have over 35 years of workout experience. Over the last few years, they had floated the idea of opening their own gym, and in September 2024, the duo pursued the idea and spoke with a commercial lender who said that their business idea was great.
After going through the process to acquire a space, they announced in a September social media video that they were opening a gym, and “People went nuts,” Powell said.
Ultimate Body Factory is a new gym set to open in early December at the Allendale Shopping Center — taking over the former location of Wood Bros. Music. Ultimate Body Factory, an 8,500-square-foot fitness facility, was built to raise the standard for what a local gym can be.
STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
The space is the former Wood Bros. Music in the Allendale Shopping Center, Powell said, adding that when they were first shown the space, it took some vision, but the square footage was there. They got the keys on Sept. 1 and started renovating, doing the majority of the work themselves.
Powell said that the first couple of weeks were late nights with sawzalls and hammers and that in the middle of the space, they had a “giant pile of debris that we were adding to every night.” The duo installed two locker rooms with ADA-compliant bathrooms and showers, and Powell said the only work they didn’t do was the electrical and plumbing.
With full-time jobs, it’s been a challenging endeavor for Powell and Bowman to get ready to open. Powell is a sergeant in the Dalton Police Department and works overnights, and Bowman is a mechanic for Onyx Specialty Papers.
Over the last three months during renovations, Powell would work the overnight shift, go home and eat breakfast, then go into the gym to work. Bowman jokes that in the last three months, Powell has “probably slept three and a half hours.”
Ultimate Body Factory co-owner Geoff Powell demonstrates the inclined chest fly machine, one of the unique pieces of equipment available at the new gym — set to open in early December at the Allendale Shopping Center in Pittsfield. “They’ve been designed and created to work the muscle in its maximum efficiency in the safest manner,” he said.
STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
The gym will have over 55 pieces of equipment that have been handpicked by Bowman and Powell. The duo flew out to see gyms in the south and the west coast to find the best equipment.
“Nowhere in the Northeast has a couple of these pieces,” Bowman said. “We feel that we definitely hit that right on the nose.”
Powell said that the machines are designed for longevity and to save your body. Since using the machines, Powell said that he does not have the shoulder, elbow or knee pains that he used to.
“They’ve been designed and created to work the muscle in its maximum efficiency in the safest manner,” he said.
Geoff Powell demonstrates the pendulum squat machine, one of the pieces of equipment that Powell and Ultimate Body Factory co-owner AJ Bowman are most excited to make available at the new gym — set to open in early December at the Allendale Shopping Center in Pittsfield. “They’ve been designed and created to work the muscle in its maximum efficiency in the safest manner,” Powell said.
STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
One of the best pieces they got was a pendulum squat machine, which Bowman said is one of the most sought-after pieces that “95 percent of gyms don’t have.” They are also excited for people to try the belt squat, rogers squat, an incline fly machine and a glute drive machine, or as Powell calls it, “The booty machine.”
Ultimate Body Factory
What: Ultimate Body Factory, a fitness facility.
Where: 5 Cheshire Road, Suite 31, Pittsfield.
Hours: The facility will be open Monday through Friday 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
More information: Check them out on Instagram and Facebook at @UltimateBodyFactory and their website, where you can sign up, at ultimatebodyfactory.com/
Powell said the plan is to introduce all of the equipment with the opportunity to sprinkle in others as membership grows. Listening to residents on what they want is important, Powell said, adding that as membership grows, they plan to continue investing in the gym.
“We don’t need this as an income at this point in our lives,” he said. “The money that’s coming in here is staying in here.”
The duo his prioritized privacy in the gym and has strategically mapped out where to place mirrors and will have a privacy room with tinted windows for stretching and ab workouts. Powell said that they want to be a friendly gym to all sexes and not let people be caught in “precarious positions.”
The gym’s motto is “time for a change,” Powell said, which means it’s time for a change in the Berkshires and in what a gym is. The duo plans to create a positive atmosphere and work out with people.
“It’s going to be a very uplifting place to be when you walk in the door,” Powell said.