The warehouse at 402 W. Ball St. doesn’t stand out on the outside, but its newest tenants have Plant City youths “flipping” out inside.
Titanium Gymnastics & Cheerleading, which started in Lithia in 2014, opened its Plant City location in September. The gym, which caters to 100 students between the ages of 3 and 17, takes up the space previously occupied by Dance Carousel and Fierce All-Stars.
The first Titanium gym, at 7017 Lithia Pinecrest Road, was started by coach Michi Pribil and a partner after Pribil sought to try something new. A 30-year veteran within the sport, the native German had already been a student, instructor and coach, working around the Tampa Bay area since coming to America in the late 1990s.
“I felt like I learned everything I could, and it would be easiest for me to open my own facility,” Pribil says.
Two years after opening in Lithia, Pribil says that the demand outgrew what the one facility could offer and brought about the need to open a second location. Because of its proximity, the available facility and the local demand for a gymnastics gym, the Titanium crew acted on a recommendation and settled in at the Ball Street gym.
The gyms offer artistic gymnastics, tumbling classes, cheerleading and All-Star cheerleading classes. The Titanium staff isn’t looking to add another gym in the future, but wants to add anywhere from 250 to 300 more students and at least five more instructors. Pribil says that the Plant City gym is also working on adding competitive teams.
In Plant City, there are four instructors for the 13 available class types. In some cases, students at the gym have transitioned into instructional roles.
One former student who followed Pribil to the Plant City gym is Arisi Lorie, who has been a student and instructor at the gyms for the past two years. Lorie, a Hillsborough Community College student, says that the transition has been smooth.
“It’s really great to see some kids that come in, they don’t know anything, and you teach them and see how far they grow … there’s a different bond that you build with each child,” Lorie says.
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.