If ever there was a time in your life when all you wanted was to run away and join the circus, now could be your chance.
Timmins Fitness Alternatives, a “centre for unforgettable experiences”, is hard to summarize because it’s a little bit of everything: part parkour gym, part summer camp, part circus school, and more. It’s a one-stop shop for fun, unique programs never before offered in Timmins.
“People don’t think they can be a circus performer and travel the world coming from Timmins, but they could. Anyone could, from anywhere,” says Alex Gagnon, owner and operator of TFA.
“What we do here is we’ve brought anything that does not usually exist in a small town or small city into the city. Anything you’d find in bigger cities, but now under one roof so it’s a little more accessible,” Gagnon says.
Gagnon, who was born in Timmins, says he has always enjoyed entertaining. After graduating from Laurentian University with a degree in psychology, he moved back to his hometown to help his mother with the family business at Minuteman Press. In the meantime, he spent his weekends travelling to and from Toronto and elsewhere, obtaining whatever certifications he needed in order to eventually make Timmins Fitness Alternatives a reality.
“I knew you needed the credibility, the training, the experience, so I got whatever certs I could get and brought it back,” Gagnon says.
Gagnon began TFA in 2018 as an entirely mobile business, hosting events and classes at any venue that had the space for them. When the pandemic forced everyone inside, TFA moved into a more permanent space which opened in May 2022.
Each year since its inception Gagnon, a self-identified “jack of all trades and master of none,” has added new activities to offer, which include everything from casual fitness classes to more specialized programs with the eventual goal of attending competitions. TFA runs unique fitness classes, summer camps, PA day activities, birthday and staff parties, and organizes fun games for events.
What started out as a one-man show, so to speak, now offers over a dozen different programs for people of all ages, skill levels, and abilities.
While Gagnon still deals with much of the business side of things himself, he has also had to hire more staff to keep up with all their programs. Some of those staff are former students of TFA themselves, while others come from more experienced backgrounds. This includes a pair of Ukrainians who ran their own school for aerial arts and acrobatics before the war in their home country forced them to put down roots elsewhere.
“It’s nice that we have some international folk that work with us, but we also have students that can help too,” Gagnon says.
“Even job-wise, I’ve got some teens now that can move to anywhere for school and work at a ninja facility already trained and certified and already be way ahead of the game, or a parkour facility, or an aerial arts facility, or a circus school. So it does expand the job market for future youth,” he says.
“It’s something that Timmins has never had, these opportunities for kids that don’t fit into the hockey or dance box.”
Gagnon says TFA’s camps and themed sleepover events allow kids to make connections and form memories with people they might not otherwise meet, and he finds joy in watching the kids open themselves up to new experiences.
“We’ve seen shifts where these kids feel more comfortable, more open with us, with the environment. We let kids really be themselves, so we notice at our sleepovers, at our PA days, at our summer camps, that these kids are not putting on a show, they’re not class clowning, they’re less shy,” Gagnon says.
“We don’t just child mind, we’re spending time with them, we’re testing them, we’re challenging emotions because they’re pushing themselves. They’re finding courage.”
It’s also a unique challenge to many of the parents who see, perhaps for the very first time, the extent of just how capable their kids are.
Although TFA offers programs for people of all ages, abilities, and interest levels, the hardest demographic to break through to has been adults.
“There are lots of adults who get into our programs, and they don’t stick to something after the first or second class because they’re discouraged. But the ones that stick get surprised by how much they develop in a short amount of time,” Gagnon says.
“I want to offer as many adult classes as I can because I see the benefits. But the numbers, the commitment, the lifestyle… it’s tough, adults don’t commit for themselves. They don’t do things for themselves, especially with families. We’re hard on ourselves,” he says.
Starting new things as an adult is tough already, but in a town of many shift workers, people working multiple jobs, or people who simply want to spend the weekend unwinding at the camp instead of attending fitness classes, it’s sometimes a hard sell. It makes predicting levels of interest or availability difficult.
“It kills me to see the limiting beliefs that we get in adulthood, and that’s really one of the goals of this. Especially older adults, I love to see that we get some coming in,” Gagnon says.
“People don’t often find real fun and enjoyment where they get out of their heads and just really enjoy something. Ask a kid or an adult to describe ‘fun’ nowadays and it might be something that distracts. It’s to help people discover that they can still have fun, they can still play,” he says.
Gagnon has lofty hopes for the future; he wants to transform the iconic Hollinger Mine Headframe into an outdoor climbing attraction and escape room experience that also showcases a piece of local history. He also has a concept for an aerial mine tour in the works, among other things.
In the meantime, Gagnon hopes to convince the people of Timmins that play is not something that needs to be left behind in childhood.
“It’s not a hard sell if you walk through the door and do something. It’s a harder sell for us to get people to understand what we are.”
