About Us
The Lifters Guild started in 2015 when Vinny Falletta broke away from the big box gyms. Tired of the poor treatment of clients and inability to grow, Vinny took his clients to his one car garage with little more than a squat rack and a few dumbbells. With limited resources Vinny was able to hold and grow his clientele bases over the next couple of years. The Guild grew to a point where Erika Portillo was able to quit her full time job and work at the garage with Vinny.
Vinny and Erika worked over the next few years to build up their clientele to open a new commercial facility. They worked tirelessly to build a business plan and gather the funds necessary to start this new endeavor. With just two weeks away from finalizing their business plan..Covid hit. The Guild was then forced to shut down. Times were dark and spirits were low. The team got together and started making live online workouts for their clients and world to enjoy. Workouts were simple using only household items like chairs, books, backpacks and even towels. As soon as The Guild was cleared to open, all was back to normal training wise, but the world was different. Moving forward they could no longer use the same business plan.
Garage 1
The Guild decided against the commercial location due to too many risks with Covid. Instead they moved from a house with a one car garage to a house with a nice big two car garage. This would allow both Vinny and Erika to train at the same time. The plan was put in action and within a few months, they had moved into a house with a larger garage. Over the period of a month they renovated the garage to make it the perfect training studio.
The new garage was doing very well. The Guild was growing in clients, the gym was working well and everything was going as planned. Until, a letter from the HOA. It read something along the lines of “You are not allowed to operate a business at your home, to continue will result in fines and penalties”. The Guild was fined for multiple months, along with threats to have a lien placed on their house if they didn’t cease all business activities within TWO weeks.
The new Guild only lasted six months. The team had to scramble to figure out how they could move and continue their training. They just spent all their money on the house and didn't have the budget for a commercial location. Nothing was within the budget and no options seemed to be available. The Guild's future was bleak. Vinny and Erika were starting to fear for the future of their business and livelihood.
Garage 2
On the last few days of the two weeks a good client and friend told them about a possible space at the Marina her father owns. A jolt of excitement and hope springs through the team. The space available was a small garage in the back that might be suitable for The Guild. The garage was located towards the back of the boat yard and was being used for storage. As you can imagine, there was no parking and lots of boats. Erika was not thrilled but Vinny saw the potential and knew it was their only option. They had no choice but to make it work. They got to work immediately; clearing out the garage, cleaning up debris, and moving equipment. Over the next few days, The Guild and its members worked day and night, which included seven trips to the dump, two trips to the scrap yard, and four trips to home depot later. But in the end it all came together. The Guild dubbed this new location “The Swamp” and it was the team's goal to get out of the Swamp as soon as possible.
The Guild was able to continue to grow its clientele, even in the back of a boat yard. As the weather got colder the team felt the pressure more so to leave and reach their next goal. Affordable commercial property in Woodbridge is non-existent. Everything was either way too big or way too expensive. There were a few hopeful prospects but everything fell through. The days are getting colder and darker as winter approaches and the Guild has to find something and fast.
But one day The Guilds luck had changed, facebook marketplace came in clutch. A space became available within our budget and size. The Guild jumped on the listing, reaching out immediately with interest. The location checked all boxes, which of course created a lot of interest in the space. The landlord had many prospects to choose from, who would best fit in this location. It was an anxious few days waiting for a response. The landlord decided The Guild was the best fit for the location. The team was ecstatic and immediately got to work.
"The Swamp"
The guild has now planted its roots in it's new home. Guild 4.0 . Bigger and better things. if you would like to join the guild and our growing family please click the "Join the Guild" button above.
Guild 4.0
