RETIRED plumber Brian Long, 68, of Yowie Bay, was told by doctors he would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair after sustaining a spinal injury two years ago.
He is just one of the many success stories of Burn Rubber Burn, a fitness program run at Sutherland PCYC and four other Sydney venues for people with neuromuscular conditions.
The program hit a major funding snag last year, with the PCYC unable to afford to manage it.
Spinal Cord Injuries Australia (SCIA) stepped in and now funds the program.
Mr Long said the program had changed his life.
He attends twice a week, and has been out of a wheelchair for only four months.
"When you go to a normal gym with all the beautiful people, you get a bit intimidated but here it's all right, you are with people who have the same thing," Mr Long said.
"I'm mobile now, I can get around, but for some of the people here, this is the only [social] outlet that they've got."
Mr Long's trainer, exercise physiologist Kieren O'Brien, of Gymea, said about 200 people were signed up to the program.
He said members had been "very worried and disappointed" the program was facing the axe.
SCIA chief executive Peter Perry said financial support from the community was needed to keep the program afloat well into the future.
The program costs around $150,000 a year to run. It focuses on aerobic and resistance training, and was developed 10 years ago.