EZIA Athletic Club Owner Purchases Neighboring Cherry Street Property

Isaiah Truyman, the founder and owner of the EZIA Athletic Club on Orange Street, completed the purchase of 1 Cherry Street on Friday for $1,150,000. The small, 384 square foot commercial building, the former Fast Forward coffee shop and most recently a dog grooming business, sits on .12 acres of land and is on an adjacent parcel to Truyman’s club.

"The purpose in acquiring the lot next door is our dream is that we're going to be able to eventually expand on what we've already started and create a place where teens can go walking distance from high school,” Truyman said. “We're looking at our options and we are developing some ideas with architects and engineers and all of that will be pending HDC approval and everything else. The whole process would take potentially a year or two, and so I can't really say anything other than the dream is to try and create a space for these kids.”

The nonprofit initiative was created with the intent of bolstering community well-being through an annual endowment of $30,000 to fully subsidize 24/7/365-access memberships for local youth.

Truyman said his goal, along with other members of his new nonprofit which launched in April earlier this year, is to provide a recreational facility he feels the island lacks that will give kids a place to work out and train throughout the offseason.

"The island has a mental health issue in general, but especially between the ages of 14 and 18," he said. "At that age the Boys & Girls Club no longer applies and at 18, kids are getting scholarships from the Nantucket Golf Club. I'm going to go out and engage a whole bunch of the community partners to help me, and I'm just going to build this place period, but then I'm going to engage partners in helping to deliver this really kind of robust program.

“The goal or the dream is that any kid who wants a health club membership will get it no charge and kids will get open access, coaching, hands-on mentorship with a coach and also get paired with a community buddy,” he continued. “And we're hoping that we might even be able to find a way to make that a high school class, almost like PE if you will, and so they can get credit.”

Truyman said he has already begun working with some varsity coaches to help provide “comprehensive strength & conditioning, speed, agility, and injury prevention programs” through the nonprofit.

Truyman said he has already had active high school athletes utilize the memberships. Anyone interested in learning more about the program and filling out an application can do so by clicking here.

"The one thing I'm clear about is that this is going to need to be a big, private, and nonprofit kind of joint effort,” he said. “This isn't going to be a town driven mandate where we build a big rec center out on Milestone Road. If it is, it's going to take another 10 years, and these kids don't have time. I've been proposing these things for almost 10 years, and it's just going to take a group of people in the community standing up and taking ownership and getting it done and that's it. That's what it's going to take, so that's what we're doing. We will need the entire community’s support to make this a sustainable effort in perpetuity, available to every single kid forever. That's the goal. That's the plan.”

According to the club, the student’s application should include a personal statement addressing what health and wellness means to them, the positive impact of club membership, and specific life and/or career goals that will be achieved with the help of the program. Additionally, students must secure sponsorship from a teacher or coach on their behalf for a character reference that is not a parent.