Saturday, July 25, 2009

Health scare leads local man to buy Madison gym

It didn't happen overnight, but seven years after he received the dire diagnosis from his doctor, the 1988 Madison Comprehensive High School graduate is living and promoting a healthy lifestyle as founder of Madison Fitness Center and Budo Kai Martial Arts.

"Get mad fit" is Messner's catchy mantra, the perfect slogan for the new two-story center at 926 Ashland Road and anyone who works out there bent on making healthier choices like its owner.

"My health scare was life-changing," Messner, 38, said. "If you make fitness fun and don't get too hung up on it, you can enjoy it. You want to make it so that people want to come back.

"For me, it's mostly about how people are treated in here. I love my members; I treat them the way they want to be treated. There are times when I might have to push the people I'm training, but you still have fun. I'm very upbeat, and I think that can be contagious."

"Mad Fit" screams at visitors from the sleeveless shirt that is doing a poor job of hiding Messner's new, improved -- OK, ripped -- physique. It's hard to picture him as a sedentary 245-pounder.

"When I was 31, I had high blood pressure and chest pains and was basically very unhealthy," he said. "I ended up in the hospital where they pretty much told me if I didn't change my lifestyle, I'd have a heart attack.

"I didn't take any medications. Within a month after improving my diet and exercising, I had my blood pressure under control."

Messner immersed himself in the martial arts. He owns black belts in To-Shin Do and Jizaikan Aiki Ninjutsu, teaching the latter self-defense discipline three days a week on the second floor of his center. Messner is also a certified personal trainer, offering hourly instruction to clients.

"I was originally in rental properties, and business was crumbling," said Messner, whose family includes wife Bobbi and three daughters -- Kayla, 16, Jenna, 10 and Lauren, 9. "It was not a good time and I think that caused a lot of stress that led to my health problems. When I made my lifestyle change, I knew I had to do something in fitness, but I wanted to learn at the same time, so I got into the martial arts."

Messner opened his first martial arts studio about a mile down Ashland Road from his current facility. He opened his new center in April, taking over a structure that was once home to three businesses. It's bigger than it appears from the street and is stocked with free weights and state-of-the-art weight machines purchased from a local gym that recently closed.

Many of the members of that gym moved to Messner's place with the equipment.

"I've had incredible support," Messner said. "Everybody pitched in and helped with the moving. We turned it into a big party. We moved on a Friday and opened our doors on Monday."

In a limp economy, some might consider it a huge risk opening a gym, especially in a community that has a number of other fitness facilities within a 15-mile radius.

There are bigger risks, though. Like living the life Messner was leading seven years ago.

"There's always worries," Messner said, "but you've got to do your thing and make it work. Hopefully we offer an atmosphere that is enjoyable for people to go to. Everybody should be working out somewhere."

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