“Mural packs powerful punch at Ashbourne gym” – Ashbourne Telegraph
An Ashbourne artist has found an enormous blank canvas for his murals, thanks to the collaboration with a gym in the town.
Graphic designer Wayne Edge, 27, has teamed up with Matt Etherington, owner of Ethro’s gym on Belle View Road to create a huge piece of artwork depicting Godzilla and King Kong weight-training.
Wayne, who lives on the same street as the gym with girlfriend Bethan, created the piece using only a selection of spray cans.
He said: “I had been training at the gym for around a year when Matt and I started talking about it.
“Matt wanted something on the wall and found out I did that kind of thing, so we picked a wall and discussed some designs.
“The idea of King Kong and Godzilla really jumped out at me – the power and strength of them, but with a caricature element.
“It took around 15 hours to complete as we had to work around the gym opening times due to using spray paints.”
The colourful comic book scene now sits behind the weights and racks on one of the training rooms.
Matt, 39, from Mayfield, who has owned the gym since 2013, said: “I’ve always trained and my uncle was a huge inspiration as he was a competitive bodybuilder.
“When he passed away, I decided to open the gym and it’s gone better than I could have expected. We’ve expanded three times so far.
“The feedback for the mural has been great. The younger members love it plus it adds character to the gym and it is nice to support Wayne.
“We are planning more space for cardio and boxing equipment so we are thinking about another mural already in there.”
The father-of-two plans to keep artist Wayne busy. He said: “I want a Shrovetide one next, as it represents the town – and even though I’m a Down’ard, the mural will be for all the players, as 95% of our members are Shrovetiders too.”
Matt is keen to shake off some of the stereotypes around the gym environment and provide something for everyone.
He said: “The artwork is all part of the atmosphere here, giving the gym an identity, and keeping a friendly club environment.”
