Malden Gym Closing Its Doors After 28 Years In Business

MALDEN, MA — A longtime gym is permanently closing its doors after nearly 28 years in business, with ownership citing rising operating costs and revenue that is no longer enough to cover expenses.

Total Performance Sports owner and founder C.J. Murphy announced the closure this week, describing the decision as one that had been a long time coming. The gym will close for the final time at 10 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 23.

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"The cost of doing business paired with our incoming revenue which does not cover our expenses means only one thing," Murphy said. "Close our doors for good."

Murphy said the business had already cut expenses and labor costs while continuing to market for new members in an attempt to remain open.

"If there is something that could have been done to save TPS, we did it," Murphy said. "I'd like to thank everyone on my TEAM who worked tirelessly every day to deliver our product with pride and expertise."

Total Performance Sports dates back to the late 1990s, when Murphy began operating out of an approximately 900-square-foot space inside Rich Angelo's Karate Academy in Everett. The business expanded several times in the years that followed, eventually moving into a 7,000-square-foot facility in 2007 and an approximately 30,000-square-foot location on Vine Street in 2010.

Murphy has previously said the sale of the Vine Street building forced TPS to relocate and nearly put the business under financially. TPS later moved to Malden, initially operating out of a roughly 10,000-square-foot facility at 150 Charles St. The gym eventually relocated within the city to its current location at 109 Madison St.

TPS developed a reputation for powerlifting, Strongman and other forms of strength training while also offering personal and group training for members with varying levels of experience. The gym was named Best of Boston in 2012 and was previously included among Men's Health's 20 best gyms in America. It also received recognition from Women's Health in 2013.

"I've been honored to help people and change lives at TPS for a few months shy of 28 years," Murphy said. "I wanted to make it to 30. Oh well. It's out of my hands."

Murphy invited members to visit TPS or get in one final workout before Wednesday night's closure. The gym will operate under its regular hours until then but will only accept cash because its credit card processor is down.

A GoFundMe has also been launched following the announcement to support Murphy and TPS employees during the transition.

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