The History of Southside
strength and fitness
1983 - 2010- Polaris Athletic Club: The Foundation
In 1983, Bill Frick was the first to start a gym in our current location in the Huffman Business Park.
Bill founded and operated the Polaris Athletic Club that ran for 26 years. Bill personally set several state powerlifting records before setting a national record. He was a lifter through and through and was proud of building a gym that supported local lifters and providing top-notch training opportunities. He helped guide and coach many lifters over the years and helped set the groundwork for powerlifting in Alaska. Polaris ended up shutting its doors in 2010.
2010–2020 - The beginning of Southside
In 2010, Hal and Marvel Loyd, who had been training at Polaris, took the initiative to fill the void left by Polaris and opened Southside Strength and Fitness at the same location.
They carried on the same tradition of being a locally owned and operated strength gym. Hal, a competitive powerlifter and Olympic weightlifter, went on to become a national-level ref in both fields and opened his doors to the local Special Olympics powerlifting team. They built a tight-knit, community-first facility that catered to powerlifters, Olympic weightlifters, and serious athletes. slowly growing the gym over the years through hard work and help from their entire family.
Hal still remains involved in the local powerlifting community and can be found at most local meets.
1969 - 2011 - Pete’s City Gym: Alaskan Legacy carried forward
We proudly display the Pete's City Gym sign inside our walls. This is the original exterior sign from Pete's.
Petes City Gym was one of Anchorage's first gyms, if not the actual first. It was founded in 1969 as “Anchorage City Gym” in downtown, where the original Anchorage High School was located. It moved to the park strip in 1985 when its original building was demolished to make room for the now, performing arts center and town square. Peter A. Maienza was the man who kept this gym running from the early days, and when he passed away in 1991, the board of directors immediately changed the name to Pete's City Gym.
Petes officially shut down in November of 2011. When this happened, they reached out to Southside Strength and Fitness specifically to sell the bulk of their equipment. They also provided us their orginal sign to carry the legacy forward and gave us the bear logo that we produly still use to this day
Pete’s City Gym was known for its no-frills, hard-nosed environment. Pete’s City Gym became a home for lifters who wanted authenticity. Chalk in the air, iron on the floor, and a culture that didn’t sugarcoat the work.
A New Chapter: The Lindsay Era (2020–Present)
In 2020, Matthew Lindsay purchased Southside Strength and Fitness during the height of the COVID pandemic with a clear vision: honor the gym’s legacy while building for the future. An entrepreneur, lifelong lifter, and former wildland firefighter, Matthew approached the transition with a hands-on mindset and a long-term commitment to the community.
During the COVID shutdown, Matthew began a full renovation of the facility. Walls were removed, new equipment was added, and the layout was restructured into an open, warehouse-style training environment. Since then, the gym has continued to evolve through constant reinvestment and upgrades.
Under Matthew’s leadership, Southside has added over 70 new pieces of equipment, expanded into adjacent space to increase the footprint by nearly 6,000 square feet, and become the primary sponsor and host for local powerlifting and bodybuilding events. The facility has been transformed while preserving the old-school work ethic and culture that defined its past.
Matthew remains actively involved in day-to-day operations and can often be found running meets, working on facility improvements, greeting members, and walking the floor. Southside’s mission continues to be providing a positive, strength-forward, and ever-evolving training environment for athletes of all levels.