Daniel Mercer
Head coach · owner
About the club
We built the gym
we wanted to train in
ChoiceUpliftLane started in a dusty storage unit on Victoria Street with two racks and a heater that mostly didn't work. Seven years later it's the strength club we always wished Hamilton had.
01 / The story
From two racks to a full floor
No investors, no franchise manual. Just a couple of coaches, a lease we could barely afford, and members who kept showing up.
Est.
2019
2019
2019 — the storage unit
Daniel and Aroha sign a lease on a storage bay off Victoria Street. Two racks, one platform, forty-two founding members within three months.
2021 — knocking walls down
We take over the neighbouring unit, add the sled strip and the first real changing rooms. The class timetable doubles overnight.
2023 — full rebuild
Eight weeks of dusty renovation: six competition platforms, a proper recovery corner with sauna, and the front desk that actually faces the door.
2026 — today
640 m², eight coaches, 26 classes a week. Still independent, still on the same street, still chalk on the floor by closing time.
02 / How we think
Strong first.
Everything else follows.
We believe strength is the most useful thing a body can own. It carries groceries, protects your back at work and quietly fixes a dozen problems people try to solve with stretching videos.
Around that core idea, a few rules run the whole place.
- Coach first, sell second — the floor always comes before the till.
- Technique before load, always. A pretty 60kg beats an ugly 100.
- Everyone's plan is written down. Progress you can't see is a rumour.
Effort is the entry fee
We don't care what you lift on day one. We care that you keep coming on day sixty.
Paper over memory
Every member gets a program card. If your weights live in your head, they get lost there.
Loud is allowed
Chalk, dropped bumpers, the odd yell on a PR attempt. This is a working gym, not a library.
Leave your ego at reception
The strongest people here are the ones who ask for a spot and take coaching cues.
03 / The team
Eight coaches, zero sales staff
The person showing you around is the same person who'll coach you. Every coach still trains and competes in something.
Aroha Ngata
Strength lead · co-founder
Liam O'Connor
Conditioning · classes
Priya Sharma
Mobility · recovery
Josh Tane
Powerlifting coach
Emma Brooks
Nutrition coach
Caleb Rehu
Classes · youth program
Sophie Nguyen
Coach · floor manager
04 / The work
Things we've built beyond the barbells
The club is the main project, but a gym should earn its place in the neighbourhood. Here's what else we're up to.
Youth lifting program
Free Saturday sessions for teens from Hamilton Boys' and Girls' high schools. Technique first, strength second, confidence as the side effect.
Annual charity lift-off
Every August we run a deadlift ladder for a local cause. Last year's event pulled $6,300 for the Waikato Rescue Helicopter trust.
The member study
Since 2022 we've tracked attendance against strength gains across 300+ member cards. The findings shape how we write every program block.
The 2023 rebuild
Eight weeks, three skips of rubble, members painting walls on weekends. The current floor exists because the community showed up with rollers.
Shift-worker mornings
A 4:55am open slot for nurses and hospo staff finishing nights. Quietest hour of the day, warmest coffee in Hamilton.
The whiteboard blog
Training notes we publish weekly — what works on this floor, with these members, no borrowed research summaries. Read the blog
05 / Receipts
A few numbers we're proud of
0
active members
0
comp medals by members
0
$ raised at charity lifts
0
% of trials become members
06 / About us, quickly
Questions about the club itself
For pricing, check the prices page. For everything else — these.
Daniel Mercer, the head coach, owns Choice Uplift Lane Limited outright. No franchise, no head office — decisions get made on the floor, usually over coffee after the 6am class.
The floor leans strength — platforms, racks and bumpers take up most of the space — but the member base is mostly regular people training for health. Powerlifters and first-timers share the same racks fine.
Any time we're open, just walk in. Or book the free trial and you'll get a coached session plus the tour in one visit — that usually answers more questions than watching.
All of them, in something — powerlifting, Olympic lifting, CrossFit comps, hyrox. We think a coach who's been nervous on a platform coaches heavy attempts better.
Come see the floor
in person
Reading about a gym only goes so far. Book the free trial or just walk in during opening hours — the coffee's always on.