Our Story
Forge Your Strength, Ignite Your Power
Where It All Started
Look, I'm not gonna feed you some polished corporate origin story. Blaze Fury Citadel started in 2018 because I was sick of seeing people waste their time at fancy gyms that were all mirror selfies and zero results.
After spending 15 years bouncing between MMA gyms, CrossFit boxes, and traditional strength facilities across Western Canada, I noticed something - the best results came from places that didn't look pretty but worked you hard. Real hard.
So I grabbed this industrial space in East Van, threw together some bumper plates, heavy bags, and assault bikes, and opened our doors. No frills, no juice bar, no spa towels. Just pure, unfiltered training that actually transforms people.
The Journey So Far
Started with 12 members in a 2,000 sq ft warehouse. Everyone thought we were crazy for focusing purely on combat conditioning and functional strength.
Expanded to 4,500 sq ft and brought on Coach Marcus from the Canadian Olympic weightlifting program. Our powerlifting crew started placing in provincial competitions.
Pandemic hit different for us. We moved classes outdoors, did parking lot workouts, kept the community tight. Lost some members but the ones who stayed? They became family.
Introduced our nutrition consultation program after seeing too many people train hard but eat garbage. Recovery sessions became a thing because we were breaking people down without building 'em back up properly.
Hit 200+ active members. Brought in Sarah, who competed in amateur kickboxing nationally, to run our combat program. The energy shifted - people weren't just working out anymore, they were training with purpose.
Here we are now. Seven coaches, 300+ members, and still in that same industrial unit we started in. We've upgraded equipment, added a proper rig system, got decent showers finally - but the mission hasn't changed one bit.
- Derek Chen, Founder & Head Coach
Former competitive powerlifter, Muay Thai practitioner, certified strength & conditioning specialist, and someone who still can't resist joining the 6am HIIT class on Mondays.
The Citadel
Our 4,500 sq ft facility in East Vancouver - raw, functional, and built for results
