'Fitness for everyone': New fitness facility with local beginnings

When Seaside CrossFit closed its doors in late 2022, two friends knew they wanted to make their own gym to give a chance for others to make memories the way they did.

"A month after Seaside closed I reached out to Ben and I go, 'Hey, is this still on your docket?'" Zach Ledogar said.

Former head coach at Seaside, Ledogar spent his time training gym-goers like Ben Tomkins. For the last three years, the two have been working together to open their new functional fitness gym which welcomed its first athletes Monday, July 14.

And the rest was history. 

After three years of planning and preparing, Ledogar and Tomkins opened Echo Athletics, a new functional fitness gym at 133 Marion Road next to Wareham House of Pizza. The gym offers open gym hours, functional fitness, strength and conditioning and nutrition 

With full schedules and a long list of sign-ups, the duo said the gym has been running smoothly since opening.

"The response from everybody has been reassuring," Tomkins said. "We get so many people walking in and saying, 'What is this place?'"

Echo Athletics offers what the pair call a, "No sweat intro."

"People can come in and it's a 15 to 30 minute conversation," Tomkins said. "We figure out their goals and what they want out of joining. Then we figure out how we can achieve those things for them."

From there guests can expect programs Tomkins said are designed to, "Attack people's goals." 

Ledogar has been a South Coast resident his whole life and currently lives in Marion. He is the Head Varsity Hockey Coach for Old Rochester Regional High School. 

Tomkins resides in Wareham and moved to Massachusetts almost 10 years ago from Buffalo, New York. 

The locals have been a big part in why the pair opened the facility in Wareham. They said the small town offers a chance to connect with people.

"It's us giving back to the community, I think it's one of the biggest things you can do," Ledogar said. "Not just Wareham but Marion and Mattapoisett — those towns really aren't that big. Being able to give back to that sense of community is amazing." 

With plans for people of all ages and skill sets, the team said they have goals to make the Tri-Town and surrounding areas healthier. Their passions for fitness and health, sharing their hobby with others is something they said they've enjoyed creating together.

"We just want to be a lifeboat to the community and everyone can pile on in," Ledogar said.