Mavis Mannall has been pumping iron for 20 years and is still regularly hitting the gym aged 94.
“My favourite thing is that when you walk through that door, you feel like you've come home," Mannall said. "Everybody is lovely."
She started going to the gym at the age of 74 and has been a regular at Ignite Fitness at the Papanui Club for the past seven years.
“You don’t have to get all glammed up, you can come in whatever you feel like,” she said.
“The worst thing in here is the box. You gotta put all those weights in it and push it up and down."
She had always led an active life, enjoying swimming and having been a captain of a basketball team.
Her mother was a key inspiration for her achievements.
“She would say 'don’t tell me you can’t do it, just get on and do it. And do it once and do it right, or you’ll do it again."”
Two years ago Mannall had to stop driving due to her eyesight, but that hasn't stopped her from keeping fit.
“I usually bring her to the gym,” Shaz, her driver and friend, said.
“She is a lovely lady, something to aspire to. She is wonderful.”
Another gym goer said Mannall was a bit of a character.
“She's such an inspiration. You know we look at her and go, 'I can't do half the things she does'.
"But you know it just inspires you to keep going."
There are 20 different workout plans Ignite Fitness Gym manager Eddie Kerrigan tailored to Mannall's needs.
“She wanted to join the gym, and I said okay because I am encouraging people to look after themselves throughout their whole life, and so she started, and she hasn't stopped. She wants more,” Kerrigan said.
“If she sees someone doing something, she’ll want to do it. So I have to just tailor it down a bit. Just to make sure she can do it."
Six days of the week, Mavis is there, and on Friday, she gets her weekly haircut.
“She is pretty much the matriarch of the gym,” said Kerrigan.
The gym serves an older demographic, with 65% of its members being retired.
“70% of them would be between 65 to 75, and then we've got a few over 80s, and we've got Mavis, of course, who tops the bill.”
Mannall said the key to her long life was simple.
“A good sense of humour, be kind, learn to compromise, and the last thing - don't mess with Mavis."
SHARE ME