Two Levittown Natives Create One-Stop Shop For Fitness & Nutrition

Filipos Halikias (Left) and James Kle (right). Credit: Amanda Kuehnle/LevittownNow.com — Filipos Halikias (Left) and James Klemick (right).
Credit: Amanda Kuehnle/LevittownNow.com

Over the past several years there has been a ‘new wave’ in fitness and nutrition. What was once a threatening and expensive luxury to stay healthy can now be bought for a few dollars a month, yet Americans are as unhealthy as ever and two young businessman think they understand why.

While thousands flock to big-box gyms with the intentions of exercising for the cost of a few gallons of gas, they do so at an even higher cost. According to Legendary Athletics and The Warehouse owner Filipos Halikias and Coalition Nutrition owner James Klemick, that’s because gym attendees lack accountability and a true understanding of what to do when they get there.

Halikias, a former RN and CrossFit enthusiast and operator, and Klemick, a former champion power-lifter, operate two businesses out of 50 Hulmeville Avenue in Penndel. Two businesses, which they say offer truth and standards to an overly misunderstood industry.

Halikias, whose family formerly owned the Golden Dawn diner in Levittown and now own the Pub 2900 in Bensalem, began training with CrossFit after becoming discouraged in the medical industry. Halikias, who built his education and understanding on helping people, saw nurses smoking and encouraging unhealthy behaviors among their patients. It was then he said he sat down with his wife at their Upper Orchard home, cashed in their nest egg and “started something totally crazy”.

He opened the gym two years ago with the idea of doing something different. Offering long and convenient hours, four classes in conjunction with CrossFit training and a new kind of gym environment where people know your name and hold you accountable for becoming a healthier version of yourself.

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Halikias’ customers have the option to take classes seven days a week with some of the best in the industry, all for the cost of $129. With that membership, comes no fees, no strings, just the guidance, support and training by some of the fitness industry’s best when you walk in the door.

“You know these gyms like Planet Fitness, they make their money by selling memberships cheap and banking on the idea that nobody shows up,” Klemick said.

Klemick, a former champion power-lifter during his time at Penn State, had started going to Halkias’ gym when he got the idea to offer a “no bullshit” approach to his customers regarding supplements. At just 24, Klemick helped to remodel a corner of the gym and began selling genuine supplements all in the name of nutrition, according to Klemick it’s “for lifters by lifters”. According to Halikias, Kelmick has done his homework; has researched the products and only offers the best at true internet prices.

Just a short time after, Klemick was working to build his supplement store inside the gym, which he now calls Coalition Nutrition. “It’s totally different than a GNC where the manager is only trained on how to sell the products. He is actually knowledgeable of the products,” Halikias said. “I’ve been on the other end of the phone where he’s called these supplement companies to find out the truth behind their labels. I’ve even seen him pull product off the shelves because of it.”

“It’s not a ‘salesy’ enviornment,” Klemick said. “I’m here to find out what the customers goals are and offer products that can give that to them.” According to Klemick, his nutrition store is there to offer the truth to customers helping them to achieve the body they want while breaking down misconceptions people often read online.

“You know corporate America is scary, they’ve figured out a way to tell people what they want,” Halikias said. “We’ve figured out a way to listen to our clients and actually deliver what they want.” Halikias and his CrossFit gym are helping to change the mainstream desire of being skinny to being strong, fit and healthy.

A share of an Instagram post of a man working out at The Warehouse. Credit: jd — A share of an Instagram post of a man working out at The Warehouse.
Credit: kodjo91

Just last month the two remodeled an even larger section of the gym, a 9,000-square-foot section which had formerly been empty for over five years. As a complete 180 from the CrossFit room, patrons now have access to a warehouse style gym. The gym, an instant hit among young athletes and bodybuilders, has been a way of taking ‘the gym’ back to its roots.

According to Klemick, many gym enthusiasts have missed the idea of free range over a gym environment, where they can workout without their shirts, scream and yell and slam down weights. “There’s nothing around here anymore that is anything like it,” he said. The gym, which patrons can access for $20 a month, has a way of building morale among those who use it. “There’s a concrete floor and dust and it’s not pretty but every time you come here you see guys significantly better than you and that makes you want to train harder.”

The men, both Neshaminy graduates and local to the Levittown area, have become passionate about creating an environment where anyone can come and become a healthier, more fit version of themselves. “When you’re serious about working out and changing your fitness level, you come here,” Klemick said.