The former district offices of the William S. Hart Union High School District will become the new home of Warrior Fitness & Wellness Camp.
The building, at 21515 Centre Pointe Parkway, sold last week for $3.2 million. It had been listed for $3.6 million. Warrior Fitness expects it to open this summer.
Warrior Fitness & Wellness combines aspects of a commercial gym and a weight-loss program, said Tchicaya Missamou, founder of Warrior. “We realized that we cannot focus only on fitness,” he said. “We must also work on wellness” with a focus on weight loss.
The company’s programs reflect Missamou’s years as a U.S. Marine Corp sergeant. “Everything I learned in Marine boot camp, we will apply.”
His African upbringing is also an influence. The training is usually conducted outside — and often in public — running, carrying one another for extra weight and getting hosed down as they lift massive poles together as a team.
“It’s Congo-style. American people use machines, but we would use manmade things in Africa — tires, water hoses, street poles. My training combines these things together,” Missamou said.
Up to six customers at a time will live on site for from one week to one month in a program modelled after boot. “To change their situation, people need to change their environment, and we will provide a safe setting where that can happen,” Missamou said.
Missamou was forced to fight in the Congolese civil war at age 11 before emigrating to the United States and joining the military. He traces his interest in helping people achieve a healthy weight to his upbringing by three women who all had weight issues that contributed to their diabetes.
He was stationed in Ventura for part of his tour of duty. Familiar with Santa Clarita from shopping trips, he and his wife Ana bought a house here in time for the arrival of their twin daughters (since joined by a brother) in 2006.
The 16,777 square foot building, built in 1988, is being renovated to include a gym, weight room, cardio room and spin room. Outside, it will feature an obstacle course, a pool, and an unusual feature: a 182-step exercise stairway that takes advantage of a hill on the 129,000 square foot site.
“Life is an uphill battle, and everyone wants to get to the top,” Missamou said. “Every step you climb makes you stronger.”
The Hart district moved its district offices to a 30,000-square-foot office across the street at 21380 Centre Pointe Parkway in January 2014, which it has since bought for $8 million. Warrior’s move is also a short one, from rented space on Diamond Court. The company has experienced a decade of rapid growth for the company since it started in a garage in Saugus in 2006.
The district had hoped to sell its former building for $3.85 million when it went on the market in 2014, according to a board meeting agenda. The sale was complicated by state rules requiring school districts seeking to sell property to go through an auction process. The Hart district received a waiver from that rule.
