Savvas Kyriacou
Savvas Kyriacou is a British Cypriot former professional bodybuilder, professional trainer and founder of the renowned Muscleworks Gym in London, England. Known simply as “Sav”, Kyriacou has assisted and instructed a number of industry greats in their professional training, including eight-time Mr. Olympia, Ronnie Dean Coleman.
Early life
Kyriacou was born in Larnaca, the third largest city on Cyprus' southern coast. His father was a truck and coach driver, and owner of the family shop. From the age of 8 Kyriacou helped his seamstress mother in the shop before and after school until the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 . Aged 15 Kyriacou fled to England and settled in Tottenham, an area located in the London Borough of Haringey. Isolated from his family in Cyprus, Kyriacou started working shortly after his arrival in England and continued his secondary school education.
Professional career
As a child Kyriacou frequently visited the cinema with a predilection for films featuring bodybuilder and actor Steve Reeves . It was, however, only at the age of 21 that Kyriacou started training as a bodybuilder. In 1992 Kyriacou was crowned the South East Britain Bodybuilding Champion and was nominated as finalist in the British Championship in the under 80 kg weight class. From 1996-1998 Kyriacou was barred from the EFBB (European Federation of Bodybuilders – now the UKBFF) and instead competed for his native Cyprus during this time. Kyriacou won the Cyprus Grand Prix in 1996 and 1997, but was not allowed to compete internationally since he was no longer a resident. Kyriacou retired from professional bodybuilding in 1998 to focus on his own gyms and to provide training. In 2010 more than 50% of the UKBFF men's champions reportedly trained at Kyriacou's Muscleworks Gym.
Muscleworks Gym
Along with his wife (then fiancée) Joanna, Kyriacou opened the Bodyworks gym, located in Tottenham, in 1985. According to Kyriacou he wanted "…somewhere to train that was the best in the country and that would also produce the best." In 1988 the couple opened another gym, the now famous Muscleworks, in Bethnal Green Road, London, which was later moved to Hague Street. The gym covers 8,000 sq ft and has more than 2,000 active members including professional bodybuilders, hardcore weight trainers and fitness enthusiasts.
Among its current staff Muscleworks Gym includes a number of former professional athletes and bodybuilders including fitness guru Nick Mitchell, and British bodybuilding champion Gilbert Alaskadi. The gym has gained international renown in the bodybuilding industry over the years, and has attracted a number of notable industry names to its member list who have trained under Kyriacou, including JD Dawodu, Ian Wadley, Amoury Francis, Mark Smith, Brian Buchanan, Jamo Nezzar, Troy Brown, Leonard St. Cyr, Patrick Nichols, Danas Urnezius, Haroldas Dambrauskas, Ali Aljaff and Nicholas Antoniou, among others. Muscleworks Gym was named "Gym of the Month" in October 2008 by Bodybuilding.com and has also received the UKBFF’s title for the “Most Successful Gym in British History”.
The original Muscleworks premises (Bethnal Green Road) has since been converted into ladies-only gym 'Bodylines'. In 2001 Kyriacou opened Island Fitness in Enfield, and later, in 2006, Muscleworks 2 in Stoke Newington.