As with most gym’s, North Shore Barbell started merely as an idea (back in 2013). This idea which was spurred from the frustrations of wanting to train specifically for strength and powerlifting without the constraints of a commercial gym.

 

This frustration eventuated in purchasing a squat rack, barbell, plates, and a platform for the small garage we had at our flat (as seen below). And from there on North Shore Barbell (NSBB) was born.

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NSBB then upgraded in garage space and added some more equipment (shown below). It was also around this point in which NSBB first became a powerlifting team at the Auckland powerlifting championships on 2016. At this point, NSBB was comprised of lifters across the North Shore who wanted to compete as a collective.

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Yet, although we were competing as a powerlifting team, there still was a need to have somewhere to train. Thankfully this eventuated in mid-2017 with the a collaboration of equipment from now NSBB co-owner Joel Larter. We managed to acquire an upstairs space out of a Crossfit Gym which gave us a medium in which we could all train together and have the space and opportunity to add members to our team. This space served us more than well over the next year and a half and helped us validate the need for a powerlifting specific facility on the North Shore.

 

As the demand increased our space and time restrictions became more prevalent, hence the need for our own facility became clear. Our new facility at Basement 2, 65-67 Birkenhead Avenue now provides powerlifters with the highest level of powerlifting and strength equipment available alongside 24/7 access and a training environment which we would argue is second to none.

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