Professional bodybuilder opens high-end training gym in north St. Pete
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A new gym is coming to St. Petersburg’s Gateway area this summer. Champs Elysium Gym is a semi-private facility created by professional bodybuilder Derek Lunsford and his wife, Jhelsin. It will open at 3051 Tech Drive in a 15,000-square-foot industrial space.
The gym will cater to elite athletes, bodybuilders, and fitness enthusiasts. Membership will be limited to maintain a focused training environment. “We aren’t trying to compete with other gyms,” said Lunsford. “Each one offers something different. Ours will be capped so it never feels overcrowded.”
The name Champs Elysium comes from Greek mythology. It refers to a paradise reserved for heroes and the righteous.
Inside, the gym will feature over 150 pieces of strength and cardio equipment. Most machines are from Newtech, a South Korea-based company that designs gear specifically for bodybuilders. The brand is also a title sponsor of the Olympia World Championship.
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What began with bouquets at Tampa Bay markets is becoming a place designed to carry people through the day, from morning coffee and flower arranging to wine and small plates in the evening.
Florafête Bouquet Bar, a floral design business founded by Lucy Watkins, plans to open this fall at 400 Beach Drive in downtown St. Pete.
The shop will bring custom arrangements, a build-your-own bouquet bar, retail goods, and a nine-seat wine and coffee bar together under one roof.
The space was previously occupied by Savory Spice Shop, which permanently closed in 2024.
Watkins, a Miami native with decades of hospitality experience, said the concept grew out of an encounter with flower carts while visiting her hometown in 2021.
“At the time, I was just visiting Miami when I saw flower carts not only selling single-stem flowers but also creating full bouquets for people on the street,” Watkins said.
Flower carts are a familiar sight in Miami, which serves as the country’s primary air gateway for imported flowers. Miami International Airport says it handled 91% of U.S. flower imports arriving by air in 2025, with many cut blooms coming from production centers in Colombia and Ecuador.