Tilted Athletic Center aims to get gym-goers in the shape they want
Dec. 1—Hanford's newest athletic center celebrated its grand opening recently and will now serve as a hub for those looking to stay in shape, or shed extra lockdown weight they may have put on.
Tilted Athletic Facility is located at 700 11th Ave. in Hanford, in the old Orchard Supply Hardware building.
"It's been great so far. We've been getting eight to 10 new members a day over the past month or so," said co-owner Lucas Faria.
While the facility held its ribbon-cutting and grand opening on Oct. 30, it opened in a much more limited capacity right before the COVID pandemic forced gyms to shut down.
The owners, Ralph Herrera, Jimmy Simas, Daniel McClard and Faria, used the opening-and-closing-again uncertainty of that period to expand the facility, keeping their eyes on the inevitable light at the end of the tunnel.
"We had just opened in January of 2020. We went through all the hoops to get permits to open and then that's when COVID hit," Faria said. "It was kind of a tough time. It was a tough way to start out, but we had a lot of committed athletes and parents that kept us going."
Faria, who has a background in agricultural work, was determined to make a move into athletics. Shortly after he partnered with the other owners, the gym quietly opened in the back half of its current location.
What was once basically just batting cages set up in the warehouse section of the building has since expanded to 20,000 square feet inside and another 8,000 square feet of equipment and space on the outdoor patio.
Along with an area for soccer training and baseball and softball training, the facility has multiple weight machines, free weights and cardio equipment.
"We want it to be a complete athletic training facility," he said, noting that they hope to eventually add basketball and volleyball courts.
The clientele is currently mostly athletes at the high school and college level — some even younger. But there are also a fair number of clients who aren't necessarily gunning for the major leagues who've joined just to stay in shape with the gym's equipment, including many senior citizens.
And while the equipment is similar to the kind you may find at other local gyms, Faria stresses that the environment is a little more intense, for example, the treadmills are powered manually, not electronically.
To prevent the overcrowding of equipment and to ensure a good atmosphere, memberships in the sports programs as well as the gym equipment will eventually be capped.
"We want it to be something of an exclusive place for people," he said. "We want people who are serious about their health, serious about working out, serious about athletics — whatever it is. We want people who want to get better — in all facets of life.
Faria said that the gym is about halfway to the cap and he expects that they'll meet the goal around the start of next year — when all those New Year's resolutions kick in.
Those interested can learn more at www.tiltedathleticfacility.com or by calling 559-381-4051.
