Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Scullin.
Hi Michael, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started lifting weights when I was 10 years old and never looked back after seeing how it was required for sports and how great it made me feel. As I got older, I started training athletes and general population clients like my friends who asked me for help in accomplishing their goals. I found training people to be really rewarding after I stopped playing college football in 2016 so I continued to take on a few clients here and there to gain experience with them and myself as a trainer.
I moved to Charleston at the age of 23 in 2018 and I started getting into powerlifting. I didn’t really know what I was doing too much and tried to learn as well as I could. After competing in 2 meets, I had people asking me for help in the gym so I obliged and started helping people. Before I could really understand it, I was coaching 15 people in less than a year and working with in-person clients weekly.
I finished my Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering and then started working full-time while still maintaining a client roster. Soon enough, I was coaching almost 40 people and it became clear to me I needed to start my own facility and bring something bigger to the Charleston area. After a change in ownership at my previous gym, I ran into Jason Cipriano, and within a couple of days, Palmetto Pump House was born.
We hit the ground running creating a business plan and looking for funding and support. After several discussions, my parents agreed to support my passion and help me with creating the ultimate gym.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has been a pretty smooth road due to the ever-growing gym membership numbers and the support of all gym members along the way. They have been supportive the entire time and aren’t expecting the world from us when it comes to a brand-new gym. Delivering that has been a great but very rewarding challenge.
When we opened the gym, we didn’t see too many delays in equipment delivery or logistical issues which helped us fast-track to a grand opening and establish a community and great membership within the first several months.
As you know, we’re big fans of Palmetto Pump House. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
The name Palmetto Pump House came about by my manager, Jason, and I brainstorming names. We couldn’t find anything that sounded light-hearted yet serious enough that we could set ourselves apart from a lot of the overly serious fitness community in the city of Charleston. We don’t want to have a gym where everything is so serious that it’s the end of the world if you miss a rep or forget to put something back.
We want to nurture a welcoming and friendly culture that sets us apart from all other gyms in the area and I’d say we started doing that well. Our gym colors ended up being very different from the typical gym and our reputation is along the same lines – doing things differently than our competitors.
We offer an open gym environment where all styles of training can take place – strongman, powerlifting, CrossFit, bodybuilding, and more! The community is extra helpful in creating a welcoming place for anyone coming off the street and that’s why we built Palmetto Pump House!
Who else deserves credit in your story?
Jason Cipriano deserves a lot of credit for helping create Palmetto Pump House as he’s been the sole manager and contact for a lot of the day-to-day operations of the gym. He was also running point on helping set up PPH while I was working at my day job.
Theodore Tat jumped in at the last second as the 3rd owner with valuable gym experience and has been instrumental in helping set up the gym as well as coordinate the art and cleaning aspects of the gym.
Justin Price has been instrumental in helping us set up PPH due to his experience in owning a gym previously and being a great mentor to the entire team. He’s also helped us source valuable equipment and helped with the layout a ton.
Dennis and Sandra Scullin are my parents and have been my biggest supporters and supported me in this venture to make sure it could happen. PPH would not exist without them so I can’t thank them enough for helping me in this venture.
Pricing:
- $75/month full time
- $45/month part-time
- $55/month first responder
- $60/month student and group rate
Contact Info:
- Website: www.homeofthepump.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/palmettopumphouse
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/palmettopumphouse
