About Jonathan Walker - Owner of Gambaru Fitness Harrogate

Four and a half years ago, Jonathan Walker fulfilled a long term dream of his by buying his very own gym. Jonathan had always been passionately involved in athletics winning sprinting competitions in Bedale High School and excelling in sports such as rugby and football, so the realization of owning his own gym was truly a dream come true. At 24, Jonathan joined the very gym he would actually end up buying and threw himself into free weight training. His efforts in the gym paid off as eventually Jonathan achieved a level of strength that would lead him down a competitive path ....at age 31, Jonathan started training to become a power lifter and won various regional competitions in Yorkshire. Then at age 32 , he broke all records and qualified for the British Power Lifting Championship in Birmingham where he went on to win the Silver British Medal in 2008. Inspired form the win, Jonathan then started to train harder than ever as all hopes were on him to win the Gold medal in the next British Power Lifting Championship....However, his training would be temporarily halted when the unthinkable happened. In June 2009, Jonathan was told that he had a rare cancerous tumor in his left eye and that it had to be removed. The removal of his left eye was challenging in a way most of us will never understand, but staying true to Jonathan's strong and determined style, he was back training harder than ever at the gym only ten days after this life changing operation. Proving to himself that cancer would not harbour his abilities, he went on to break the British dead lifting record with a 301 kilo dead lift in a 2009 Doncaster Regional Competition.

When Jonathan decided to re brand his gym, he chose the name GAMBARU after having faced cancer and surviving. He wanted his gym to build upon the idea that no matter what your starting point, or what you have been through, you can always give it your best and become empowered in the process. Jonathan's vision for Gambaru is to create a place where people can greatly improve the quality of their lives by embracing fitness no matter what their starting point. The motto of Gambaru Fitness is to "NEVER GIVE IN" and "TO DO YOUR BEST NO MATTER WHAT YOUR ABILITY". This inspiring motto is carried through daily with the heartfelt encouragement and support Jonathan gives to all of the members that walk into his gym . Jonathan hopes that his business and personal ethos to 'never give in' will help inspire those with self doubt that anything is possible both physically and mentally if ones will is strong enough.

Jonathan's fitness continues to evolve as he participates in World Wide athletic events such as the New York City Marathon in 2010 where after a year of determined and relentless training he successfully completed the Marathon in just under 4 and a half hours in aid of Yorkshire Cancer Research raising £10,000 for this noble cause. And in 2011 Jonathan completed the New York City Half Marathon in 1 hour 52 minutes.

Jonathan is currently training for his second New York half marathon in March and for the Edinburgh Marathon in May.

'Jonathan is a Certified Personal Trainer with both Level 1 and 2 Kettlebell Credentials, and currently takes on new clients when possible.

Gambaru Fitness.....Be the best you can be.