by – GARY MALICKI
A short while ago I hopped off the porch and searched the back streets off Mill and landed at 5 Park Ave. That’s where you’ll find the home of Bradley Poole’s Warrior Fitness & Wellness, LLC. It’s an unassuming brick building in the middle of a small industrial park where I found an amazing story and an amazing human being.
What brought me there was surfing local social media and I ran across a little blurb that advertised the Ellicottville Wellness Fair, June 1st at 11am at the Nannen Arboretum. The activities will include a wellness market, circuit-craze workout, kid’s carnival and more. I saw that the event is sponsored by Warrior Fitness and decided to make contact to find out more.
I sent an email to Bradley Poole and received a phone call from him and two young ladies who make up his marketing team. That was followed up with an appointment for a personal interview.
Joining us was trainer Casey Allen who, along with Katelyn Glow and Deb Golly, make up his fitness team. Also in attendance were Jess Wallace and Julia Dunn from Refined Media 716 assisting with the marketing for the event.
I wanted to know more about Brad and he told me his surprising story. He told me about how he was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at a very young age. To help him deal with it, his doctor recommended an involvement in sports, breathing treatments, nebulizers, pills and running to keep the lungs healthy.
He was very candid about his experience with anxiety and mental health issues. He was hospitalized quite often and it was expected that his young life would be cut short. He admitted that he spent many years abusing himself.
Then a turning point took hold. This young man who is now 37 and is an integral part of our village, returned to an emphasis on fitness and, according to one of his personal Facebook posts, developed a hunger for success. Married with two children and graduate of Ellicottville high school he has found success in fitness training with even a second location at 214 Main Street in Little Valley which has been open since January.
His program features various boot camp type of fitness programs. His staff member Casey, for example, performs a WWW program meaning “Whenever, Wherever Workouts”. He also features live on-line fitness programs and on-demand classes that you can tune in to any time.
Bradley says the number of participants vary from month to month and he said that he works Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays starting a 6am. I asked what he does to relax and what do you think he said? You guessed it, he enjoys lifting weights, running and spending time in nature in his own private time.
I wanted to learn more about Ellicottville’s first Wellness Fair which is Bradley’s brain child. He said he, “wanted to raise awareness of fitness and thought spring was a good time”. He also smartly chose a weekend where there were no festivals or special events that might bump into each other.
The marketing team of Jess and Julia are equally excited about the event and told me that quite a range of events will be offered, from yoga to high intensity workouts. They are currently in the process of signing up vendors for the event as that is capped at 30.
Also featured will be information regarding mental health and there will also be an emphasis on women’s health.
There’s also going to be a presence of EARS (Empire Animal Rescue Society). Their role will be to walk folks around with a rescue buddy.
For someone who fell into real darkness then fought his way out, Brad is truly an inspiration and it was a pleasure to meet with him and his staff.
The Wellness Fair will begin at 11am on June 1st at the Nannen Arboretum. You can contact Warrior Fitness and Wellness at 716-699-1100. Check them out on Facebook and keep in mind they are located at 5 Park Ave., Ellicottville.