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For 50-years, Spartacus Gym on Commercial Drive has been East Vancouver’s top independent gym — offering weights, cardio, group fitness, Yoga, and martial arts classes. Memberships starting from $55/month.
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Community reviews
Reviews from Jiu-Jitsu Blog members who have trained at Spartacus Gym. Member recommendations raise an academy's Jiu-Jitsu Blog Score.
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I drive 20 minutes to go here because it’s better than all the other gyms nearby. Equipment and vibe is super solid and staff has awesome music taste too which makes it even cooler. Only thing I’d say is a lot of the benches are wobbly which makes me feel a little uneasy pressing, and lat pulldown machines could be improved by shortening the cables, allowing for more range of motion
Spartacus Gym is the best boutique local gym in Vancouver. Roy Duquette isn't only one of the best personal trainers in Van city, but also a veteran in mixed martial arts, jiu jitsu and kickboxing. Fluid studied techniques, and hard work over 30 years. He sticks to what he knows. (Coached world class athletes for many years)You will learn his sharp philosophies has shaped him into the man he is today. Anti BS, intellectual, who would make a stellar life coach. Thanks again Mr.Duquette.
I love coming here, but please for the love of god improve the ventilation and maintain your equipment 🙏. The floors are filthy to do any ground work even with the mats, and many equipment pieces could do with a wipe down and replaced parts due to being bent, frayed, or taped together.
Posting anonymously because I care about this place and don’t want it to feel personal. I saw another review that reflected a lot of what I’ve been feeling, and it gave me the push to share my own experience.
I used to be part of Spartacus for a long time and still love the community and instructors, they’re the reason I stayed. But caring about a gym also means being honest that it needs SERIOUS improvement.
The overall condition of the space has gone downhill. This isn’t about wanting something trendy, it’s about basic care. The floors are consistently filthy and some equipment looks like it hasn’t been properly cleaned in a long time. The fan bike wheel is layered in dust, and when you use it, it blows straight into your face. No one should feel like they’re inhaling dust during a workout. On top of that, some machine handles are so sticky you hesitate before touching them, and if you don’t notice in time, it’s honestly gross.
The cleaning spray bottles don’t help ease that concern. Whatever is in them looks and feels like plain water. If members are expected to wipe everything down, there should at least be real disinfectant so the effort actually makes the space sanitary. At one point, a broken spray bottle was taped back together instead of replaced, and it stayed like that for weeks. That pretty much sums up how maintenance is handled.
Air quality is another ongoing issue, especially in the summer. It gets unbearably hot and humid, and the air feels heavy and stale. I don’t understand the decision to add a sauna instead of investing in other areas that needed attention. Whenever the sauna is running, no matter the season, the whole space feels even hotter and harder to breathe, making an already uncomfortable environment nearly unbearable.
The fans are another concern, some of them wobble when spinning and look like they could come loose. They’re loud and feel unsafe, so they’re often just turned off.
The classroom mirrors are another example of small things that make a big difference. It’s already a tight room, and the design in the middle of the mirror blocks your reflection. No one wants to stand in the center because you can’t see yourself properly, which makes the room feel even smaller during busy classes. It’s such an easy fix that would improve the experience immediately.
Classes themselves are strong, but even there the lack of investment shows. When the main speaker broke, instead of replacing it with a reliable system, small portable speakers were brought in. They don’t always connect, and I’ve watched instructors lose over ten minutes of class trying to fix the sound. Their “backup speaker” is even smaller and less powerful, and at times it genuinely feels like playing music straight off a phone would sound better. For classes like Zumba where music is everything, that completely kills the energy.
Removing grandfathered rates and charging everyone the same felt abrupt and discouraging. It’s hard to accept paying more while equipment and maintenance continue to decline. Saying rent went up isn’t enough. I’d gladly pay $20+ more if it actually went toward real upgrades and repairs.
The overall pattern feels like patching instead of properly fixing. Things are second hand, temporary, or just barely working. I understand budgets are real, but after so many years it starts to feel less like resourcefulness and more like neglect.
To the owners: this gym has so much potential, but the community you have built deserves better. I would gladly pay more if I saw real improvements.
I appreciate the old-school feel, I truly do. But there’s a difference between character and neglect. Spartacus used to feel like it was moving forward, right now it feels like it’s just getting by. I hope that changes, because many of us would love to stay.
Using an anonymous account to protect my privacy. This is my honest review after going to Spartacus for well over a decade:
This gym was once a thriving and wonderful community hub, where I felt prioritized as a client, the classes were exceptional, and the equipment was in decent condition for an older gym.
During my time at this gym, I have felt like the owners care less and less about providing a quality experience. The equipment has all degraded immensely, and hardly anything has been replaced. When they have brought in new machines, most are cheap and barely used by gym goers (ex: hip thrust machine). There are almost no matching kettlebells, and they have been the SAME kettlebells since I started there. They are quite frankly, nasty. At one point we were promised new dumbells, and we got maybe 10, but only in lighter weights. The equipment is not just old and degrading, they are also filthy most of the time.
The air quality of the gym is commonly an issue amongst many of the folks I've been friends with there. During the summer, the gym is so hot and humid, often smokey, and the owners seem to do nothing to improve the air circulation or temperature in the space. For two years in a row I just had to stop working out through the summer.
The change rooms need upgrades. The women's showers are disgusting, the drain almost always clogs, to the point that I just stopped trying. The mirror is right by the entrance door, so if you want to do any reflecting on your progress, know that folks in the gym will see you when the door opens.
I was thrilled when they brought in a sauna for members to use, only to find out that you had to pay the "low price" of $50/month ON TOP of your membership, to use a tiny sauna room that is across the gym from the women's change room. Every single other gym I've been to that has a sauna, allows free use for members. Not here. I rarely, if ever, see anyone going in or out of that room. Why not make this financially accessible to members instead of having it sit empty??
The class schedule has been abysmal for years, since BodySculpt ended. If you do Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, sure, it's wonderful, but for everyone else there is so little to offer that it simply isn't worth the money.
One of the worst choices Spartacus has made over the years is REMOVING grandfather rates. I have been loyal to this gym for a very very long time. I believe it is fair that my rates were lower than new members when I signed up nearly 15 years ago. I don't mind a price increase, but the sudden decision that all grandfather rates would be cancelled, and we would be paying the exact same as new members, was such a slap in the face. Every year they offer discounted memberships for new members, but absolutely zero for those of us who have supported this small independent gym for years. Through all the ownership changes, weirdness with management, lack of response to any reasonable concerns, etc, I think we deserve any kind of nod toward member appreciation.
I loved this gym 10-15 years ago. It took me a very long time to accept that it was never going to get better. I'm sad to be leaving but I'm overjoyed to have found a gym for a similar price that has fabulous equipment, is clean, and has airconditioning.
Biggio, Roy, please if you read this: your members deserve better.
