BRIAN O'Halloran is not the type of guy you'd expect to run into at a gym that attracts elite athletes from the highest echelons of Aussie rules, rugby league, athletics and netball.
The West Footscray resident, who turned 80 last month, has undergone a triple heart bypass, heart valve replacement, prostate resection and hip replacement.
A year ago, his daughter dragged him to Apollo Gym - the first gym he'd been to.
"I was a bit wary about it because you get all these warnings when you have an operation like this, but now I'd recommend it to any older person," Mr O'Halloran says.
He says his twice-weekly sessions with gym owner Paul Anderson have improved his strength and balance and helped straighten his back, which is affected by osteoporosis. His doctor is impressed with his progress.
Mr Anderson takes obvious pleasure in seeing the marked improvement in Mr O'Halloran's health.
The softly spoken giant can lift weights that many tough guys would blanch at, but perhaps the biggest burden he has had to carry is his father's name - also Paul Anderson, though he was better known as The Mighty Apollo.
His father's career began in professional weightlifting, where he smashed national and state records in every division from featherweight to super heavyweight. He then started touring as a strongman and carried out amazing feats of strength.
They included pulling trams and trucks uphill by his teeth, carrying a horse up a ladder and lying on a bed of nails while a truck and six cars were driven over his body.
"His logic was if you want to have notoriety you have to do something different from other people," Mr Anderson explains.
"He chose to show his strength through everyday objects that people could relate to.
"He'd offer anyone who could match his feat - not beat it but match it - £1000. That was just to show it wasn't fake. A few tried but no one was up to it."
Mr Anderson carved his own name out in sport by competing at national level in decathlons.
But he is most proud of continuing his father's gym after Mighty Apollo died in 1995. While Apollo Gym is the oldest established gymnasium in Australia, you probably haven't heard of it because it relies on word of mouth, not advertising, to attract clients.
Marg Lind, for example, heard of it from a wheelchair tennis player. She coaches Hume City in the Victorian Netball League and credits Mr Anderson's conditioning work for her club's victories last year in the open and under-19 divisions.
"I don't think we would have been as successful if we weren't coming here."
In training elite athletes, Mr Anderson's business partner, Martyn Girvan, has witnessed some amazing feats: guys who can benchpress more than 300kilograms and do squats carrying 450. He says the main difference between training professionals and non-professionals is that the former are more goal oriented and focused.
"They're here for a reason. The common theme among all these guys is they've got a phenomenal work ethic."
It is not only Australian athletes either - both the Malaysian and West Indies Olympic cycling teams train at Apollo.
Barry Conlin, the gym's oldest conditioning coach at 73, works with the gym's youngest athletes, including a 13-year-old.
With more than 30 years coaching experience under his belt, Mr Conlin says the biggest challenge in working with young people is their attitude.
"They want to come in today and be a champion tomorrow.
"I think that's what's wrong with this generation: they don't do anything tough. Everything is too easy for them."
His solution is tough love. One example was a kid called Jayden Post, who turned up six minutes late to his first session with Mr Conlin. After pointing out the time, Mr Conlin walked out.
"I can guarantee he'll never be late again for the rest of his life." It's something the Richmond Football Club will no doubt value, after picking up Post in last year's AFL draft.
As Mr Conlin likes to say, talent is never enough.
"I know lots and lots of talented people but they haven't made it because they don't have a work ethic.
"I'd rather work with someone a little bit less talented who has a great work ethic because he'll wear 'the champion' down."
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