FORMER Southend United striker Simon Cox is setting his sights on achieving goals of a different kind.

Cox netted 45 times in 172 outings for the Shrimpers before joining Western Sydney in 2020.

And it was the ex-forward’s spell down under which has ultimately led to him opening a gym closer to home.

“I spent 18 months in Australia and while I was there I saw F45 gyms everywhere,” said Cox.

“It was like their Costa and they were in every street.

“They were always full and you could tell there was a good community vibe about them.

“When I came back I spoke with Tom Hopper and we sat down and said we need to put an F45 in Southend.

“Circumstances changed for Tom which meant he couldn’t come on the journey with me and I had to decide whether or not to do it myself.

“I thought I’d give it a go and being a sports person from a team background I like the idea of working out together and achieving your goals together too.

“I thought it was a good opportunity for me to carry on my sport mindset and mentality and turn it into a gym centre.”

Cox has therefore been working hard to open a new F45 gym next to the Travelodge by Warrior Square in Southend.

And he is pleased to be helping an area he has made home since since hanging up his boots.

“We love the area and really enjoyed being here when I was playing for Southend,” said Cox.

“We didn’t really want to move so to try and give something back to the city and the people here is great. I’m glad we can do it with a fitness element and it’s nice to be able to do that.”

But it has been quite a long drawn out process for the 35-year-old.

“We started the conversations back in June and July and there have been times it’s nearly been put in the bin but we’ve come through the other side.

“We’re selling our foundation memberships at the moment at £20 a deposit which includes two weeks free, which for those people will be March 18th.

“But our grand opening will be April 1st so it will be nice to finally get the doors open.”

For more details on joining the gym click here