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5 | W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,A ugust 26,2021 w aterloochronicle.ca Crossword & SudokuAnswers .ecaps eht fo noitcarf a ni tinu ezis lluf a fo ecnamrofrep dna stfieneb eht fo lla edivorp segdirf inim s'ybnaD .ybnaD htiw elpmis si evaworcim thgir eht gnidnfi ,elbaliava serutaef dna sezis ,selyts ynam htiW .evaworcim a tuohtiw etelpmoc si nehctik oN !secnailppa llams ni srojam ybnaD SBB4290WMBD dna 6-BDB6A330RAD - NWOHS SLEDOM !sdeen ecnailppa loohcs ot kcab ruoy lla rof ybnaD a s'erehT !melborp oN ?nalp laem oN 7491 ECNIS moc.ybnaD ta stcudorp dezis tnemtrapa fo enil lluf s'ybnaD eeS YDAER LOOHCS OT KCAB TEG !elbaliava sevaworcim dna segdirf inim fo noitceles ediW FFO %04 OT PU STCUDORP DEHSIMELB DNA DEHSIBRUFER SEDULCNI 9Z6 H1N NO ,hpleuG ,dR waletihW 0705 Life was clicking for Rob Potter when he moved to Kitchener in 2019 and de- cided to open a 13,000- square-foot fitness facility in a former industrial building. His day job, transition- ing from a major retailer to a local startup, was going well and his family was ad- justing to the area. The idea for the gym was influenced by his aiki- do dojo -- the largest of its kind in Canada in his for- mer hometown of George- town -- which wanted him to open a new location in Waterloo Region. "When I was looking to move, I told my teachers and they said, 'Well, there's no yoshinkan dojo in Kitchener, so guess what, you're going to open one.' They put the recommenda- tions into the central orga- nization in Japan, but it was something I wanted to do." The vision became big- ger when longtime friend Jen Horsepool joined forc- es in her search for a yoga studio. Both required high ceil- ings for things like weap- ons and jugglers, and Pot- ter had other plans for nin- ja and obstacle course training. A sign he saw on his dai- ly commute led them to a large industrial space in- side Natural Stone City's former factory at 136 Otta- wa St. S., Building 2. They signed the lease and had the paperwork for building permits into the city by February of 2020, just prior to the world shutting down. The only thing that's kept them afloat -- various gyms and martial arts or- ganizations have closed their doors permanently in recent months -- is that they expected to lose mon- ey at the beginning, like most new businesses. However, lockdowns and pandemic policies that restrict close contact have been devastating for clas- ses, many of which rely on partners for training pur- poses. Horsepool said she's been "heartbroken" be- cause her new location rep- resents a decade of work. "I took possession of my space on March 1 (2020), had one event and shut 'MOVEMENT COLLECTIVE' MOVES INTO DOWNTOWN BUILDING BILL JACKSON bjackson@torstar.ca NEWS See 'IT'S', page 14