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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A new café named for one of Pinellas County’s noisiest residents is coming soon to Gulfport.
Nanday Café will open at 3107 Beach Boulevard South, the former home of GulfPerk Coffee Bar. The locally owned café will serve coffee, breakfast, and lunch, according to its website.
GulfPerk remained closed after sustaining extensive damage during Hurricane Helene in late 2024 and announced in July that it would not reopen after three years in business.
The café’s name comes from the loud-mouthed nanday parakeets frequently seen, and heard, around Pinellas County. The green birds have become something of an unofficial mascot of the area.
Native to South America, nanday parakeets first appeared outside captivity in St. Petersburg in 1969.