Dear Visitor,
It has been an amazing journey for us here at The Gym in Ventura, California. Since opening our gym in 1970,
our commitment was to make a difference in peoples lives by contributing to their health and well being through
fitness. The trip has been truly unique in the last 38 years, and it has certainly been rewarding.
During this time, we have worked in all fields of sports on local, national and international levels — from Pop
Warner football to Olympic Kayak gold medalists and even a professional golfer. We have also been involved in
beauty pageants and bodybuilding contests on local, national and international levels of competition.
The AAU, ABCC Naturals, NPC and the IFBB Organizations hosted the bodybuilding events. This included judging
these competitions, presenting seminars on the techniques of judging and 15 years of promoting and producing
these events. We have been privileged to include over-all winners in these categories.
Before founding The Gym, I competed in local regional and national competitions, winning the AAU Mr. Pacific
Coast, Mr. USA and the IFBB Professional Western America. My achievements helped me get started on a life-
long career in personal training.
therapy, working in conjunction with physicians, health practitioners, and trained physical therapists in the use
of specialized weight resistant exercises in rehabilitation therapy.
In the early 1970s, we contributed to the design and development of exercise equipment with Bob Clark, owner
of “The Iron Company” (now “Polaris”) in San Diego. Bob’s understanding of kinesiology and engineering, along
with his unique ability to adapt this to machines that really work the muscles in their proper range of motion,
was a marvel.
With his help, we designed two machines: “The Crossover Cables” and “The Mackey Monster Chin and Dip,”
both with selectorized weight stacks. These machines were the first of their kind. We still have a pair of both of
the original design in The Gym today. These are my favorites. There are only a few clubs that have the original
design and I have not seen them on the market of late.
In the last few years, we’ve added new services to the gym. We now offer esthetician skin care and massage
therapy by “FitSkin” in addition to our personalized fitness programs and nutritional consults.
We hope that you will become a part of our history here at The Gym and take advantage of our unique
equipment and talented staff.
Sincerely,
Daniel L. Mackey, Ph.D.
Founder of The Gym
In 2005 Shawn Freeman purchased The Gym from her father Dan Mackey, keeping The Gym “in the Family”.
Both Dan and Shawn are personal trainers at The Gym specializing in fitness programs for Men and Women.
Shawn certified in 1990 has worked in the Sports- Fitness and Spa industry for over 27 years, Six of those
years As a Trainer and Fitness manager for the Sports Club Company in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Shawn
has also worked at The Ojai Valley Inn and Spa as the Guest Services/ Fitness Manager at Spa Ojai. She brings
a wealth of experience to The Membership here at The Gym.
It has been an amazing journey for us here at The Gym in Ventura, California. Since opening our gym in 1970,
our commitment was to make a difference in peoples lives by contributing to their health and well being through
fitness. The trip has been truly unique in the last 38 years, and it has certainly been rewarding.
During this time, we have worked in all fields of sports on local, national and international levels — from Pop
Warner football to Olympic Kayak gold medalists and even a professional golfer. We have also been involved in
beauty pageants and bodybuilding contests on local, national and international levels of competition.
The AAU, ABCC Naturals, NPC and the IFBB Organizations hosted the bodybuilding events. This included judging
these competitions, presenting seminars on the techniques of judging and 15 years of promoting and producing
these events. We have been privileged to include over-all winners in these categories.
Before founding The Gym, I competed in local regional and national competitions, winning the AAU Mr. Pacific
Coast, Mr. USA and the IFBB Professional Western America. My achievements helped me get started on a life-
long career in personal training.
therapy, working in conjunction with physicians, health practitioners, and trained physical therapists in the use
of specialized weight resistant exercises in rehabilitation therapy.
In the early 1970s, we contributed to the design and development of exercise equipment with Bob Clark, owner
of “The Iron Company” (now “Polaris”) in San Diego. Bob’s understanding of kinesiology and engineering, along
with his unique ability to adapt this to machines that really work the muscles in their proper range of motion,
was a marvel.
With his help, we designed two machines: “The Crossover Cables” and “The Mackey Monster Chin and Dip,”
both with selectorized weight stacks. These machines were the first of their kind. We still have a pair of both of
the original design in The Gym today. These are my favorites. There are only a few clubs that have the original
design and I have not seen them on the market of late.
In the last few years, we’ve added new services to the gym. We now offer esthetician skin care and massage
therapy by “FitSkin” in addition to our personalized fitness programs and nutritional consults.
We hope that you will become a part of our history here at The Gym and take advantage of our unique
equipment and talented staff.
Sincerely,
Daniel L. Mackey, Ph.D.
Founder of The Gym
In 2005 Shawn Freeman purchased The Gym from her father Dan Mackey, keeping The Gym “in the Family”.
Both Dan and Shawn are personal trainers at The Gym specializing in fitness programs for Men and Women.
Shawn certified in 1990 has worked in the Sports- Fitness and Spa industry for over 27 years, Six of those
years As a Trainer and Fitness manager for the Sports Club Company in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Shawn
has also worked at The Ojai Valley Inn and Spa as the Guest Services/ Fitness Manager at Spa Ojai. She brings
a wealth of experience to The Membership here at The Gym.
