WINTERSVILLE – Though the new Rocky Road Gym is a bit smaller than its old location, the members, and owner Chuck Spencer, make up for lost space with great enthusiasm and dedication.

Now located at 139 Main St., behind Goodwill on the border of Steubenville and Wintersville, Rocky Road is about 1,500-square-feet smaller than the old gym, which was across the street in the Treasure Island Flea Market plaza.

But this new gym, since its opening in October, has a certain charm about it that conjures up memories of the original Rocky Road Gym that was in downtown Steubenville.

“The ceilings are lower and everything is closer together,” Spencer said. “This is a newer place. We have more room for outside work and a better parking lot.”

The building was a retail store, about a decade ago, and was since rented out for garage space. Spencer and his crew had the new gym cleaned and prepared rather quickly. They moved thousands of pounds of equipment from the old place to the new place in just four days.

“Rocky Road is a gym, not some fancy club,” Spencer said.

It is a gym that is in an elite class.

Rocky Road is now a United States Powerlifting Association Certified Training Center – one of 30 in the country. It is the second USPA certified gym in Ohio; there are none in Pennsylvania. Recently, Spencer has become a USPA certified judge and he has already judged a few powerlifting meets. In 2016, Rocky Road is hosting two powerlifting meets of its own and hosting a weekend strength seminar.

“We have some people that are traveling or working in the area temporarily join the gym for just a week,” Spencer said. “They say that this is the nicest place they’ve trained at.”

Of the gym’s nearly 170 members, eight are ranked in the top 30 in the country in their respective classes.

In October, 71-year old Pat Costlow set the International Powerlifting League world deadlift record, pulling 430 pounds at the 181-pound weight class. Costlow set that record in Atlanta in October.

In Las Vegas last month, Seth Flauharty competed at the IPL World Powerlifting meet, pulling a 501 pound bench press.

Lifelong member Mario Sinicropi, at 165-pounds, is still in the record books 15 years after his bench press of 460 pounds, which he did in 2000 in Pittsburgh.

A rising member of the of the gym is 21-year old Josh Marosi. The Brooke High graduate and current West Virginia University student still regularly trains at Rocky Road and is ranked No. 2 in the United States at the 148-pound class. Marosi holds four International Powerlifting Association world records in the squat.

Other members of the powerlifting team include Nate Vanhorn, Robert Cooper, Anthony Ferguson, Kurt Chiodo, Zach Homol, Crystal Taibi, Jamie Starcher, Kevan Brown, Melissa Hudson, Travis Pusateri, Alex Huff, Joel Kerr and United State deadlift record-holder Leon Stinson.

“Successful people build each other up,” Spencer said. “They motivate, inspire and push each other. That’s what we strive toward.”

Rocky Road now has padded mats for wrestling and mixed martial arts training. It is still the only gym in the Tri-State Area that has a Monolift machine. Local artist Jimmy Bee has started to paint designs and a six-foot mural with a Rocky Road logo.

“When we have our meets next year, people will be taking videos, posting them on social media, and other people from all over will get to see our logo in the background,” Spencer said. “It’s pretty sweet.”

At first, Spencer was reluctant to make the move. But the new Rocky Road location has become a beacon of pride for its members. After all, it’s the people that make a gym what it is. With the same goals and an aggressive attitude to get better, anyone can thrive with fitness and exercising – at any level.

“Our gym is like a huge family,” Spencer said. “It’s not intimidating like people think. We encourage others to do their personal best, regardless if it’s trying to set a world record or reach a goal of losing five pounds.

“You don’t need to be a powerlifter to fit in here, we all are willing to help those just starting out. If you are a bodybuilder or competitive athlete, we have everything you need to reach the next level.”

Rocky Road is open every day from 5 a.m. to midnight.