A WHITEHAVEN gym owner has found his business going viral on the social media site GIPHY.

Extreme Fitness Gym, based at Lillyhall became the first Cumbrian-based brand to go viral on the platform.

In late June, the gym started posting content on the platform and quickly gained traction and in just over a month have topped 1.2 million hits with a range of content.

GIPHY is an online database and content search engine that allows avid social media users to search for and share looping videos with no sound, that resemble animated GIF files.

Lee Butterworth, who owns Xtreme Fitness said the success was down to his team: “The team we have here are often going out their way to come down and create content that gives people light and comedic relief, and we like to put content out that reflects how we want our members to feel. Aga is often staying after her early morning shifts to help us. We all have a strong bond here, and it’s great to see it’s not just our members who find us funny!

“Coronavirus has presented many boundaries and new challenges for people, whether it be at work or home, so we just thought, let’s make people smile and have a good laugh."