Community rally round Peterborough gym owner after over £20k worth of equipment stolen in robbery
The Carriage Exclusive Fitness Club is located in a former railway carriage on a farm close to Peterborough.
A gym owner from Peterborough has thanked the community who has rallied to support him after a break-in saw him lost over £20,000 worth of equipment.
Giuseppe Polvere has spent the last three years (since 2022) building his own unique personal training facility in the unusual location of an abandoned Danish railway carriage from the 1960s.
The carriage, which is located on Grange Farm in Wittering, is now home to the The Carriage Exclusive Fitness Club. A private training facility home to an inside free-weights and cardio area as well as an outdoor platform area for group sessions with stunning lake views.
After spending over ten years in various gyms in Peterborough, such as David Lloyd in Thorpe Wood, building his client base, Guiseppe decided to work towards his dreams of his own facility but something unlike any of the other numerous offerings in the city.
He explained: “
There a lot of gyms being set up in Peterborough and I was looking for something unique and wanted to focus on the client experience, so I mapped out a project for a facility for private training.
"I was thinking what people were looking for post-Covid was not a populated gym but something a bit more private where you have an appointment and your own gym for a PT appointment and it’s worked really well.”
Unfortunately though, while away on a trip to Yorkshire, the carriage was targeted by thieves overnight on Saturday April 19 and over £20,000 worth of equipment was stolen, forcing Guiseppe to rebuild.
In order to help with this, a close friend, Rob Masters has began a fundraising campaign to help the business get back on its feet. So far, the page has received almost £1,500 in donations.
To support the campaign, visit www.gofundme.com/f/local-business-burglary.
Guiseppe has thanked the local community for all they have done to support him following the incident.
He added: “It was a professional job, gloves were worn and everything was wiped down, they didn’t leave a trace. I don’t know why I was targeted.
“A friend of mine who was helping out while a was away has very kindly set up the GoFundMe page and a lot of people have contributed, which is great. I am very, very grateful for people around the community who have supported me, it’s quite overwhelming the amount of people who have messaged me and it has helped me through a really tough time.
“We’ve got some kit back in now and luckily I’ve got a very loyal clients who have stuck by me and the business is running as usual and we have had a really positive week as we move forward. I am really pleased with the reaction and we have to crack on now.”