Young brings gymnastics center to Kernersville

As a competitor, Chris Young was North Carolina’s most decorated male gymnast. Now, along with a talented group of coaches, he is passing along knowledge to the younger generation at Phoenix Gymnastics Training Center in Kernersville.

Phoenix opened May 15 at 1128 Snow Bridge Lane, where Flip Force Gymnastics used to be. Young and Bob Kohut co-owned Flip Force from 2000 to 2019.

“Everything has come 100% full-circle. I was here at Flip Force until seven years ago. I went back to Salem Gymnastics, where I did my gymnastics as a kid. I was coaching there, and they decided to get rid of the boys’ gymnastics program. I wanted somewhere for them to go to be able to train, and I got together with a group. Now I am back to establish a gymnastics center here,” Young said.

Young co-owns Phoenix with Vanessa Banks, Trey Brown and Jake Vanezke.

Phoenix brings to the community a youth gymnastics center staffed by experienced, established coaches. They offer preschool gymnastics classes for children ages 18 months to 4 years, as well as recreational gymnastics and tumbling classes for ages 5 to 18.

The center is also home to USAG competitive gymnastics teams for both boys and girls. Phoenix established itself as one of North Carolina’s premier boys gymnastics programs, with an impressive 19 athletes earning spots on the North Carolina Elite Team for the upcoming season. The athletes had to finish in the top five in their age group at the state meet to be on the Elite team. These young gymnasts will have the opportunity to train alongside some of North Carolina’s top athletes while representing one of the state’s fastest-growing and most successful men’s programs.

Young’s coaching staff of five features respected names in the region, including 2025-26 Compulsory Coach of the Year Trey Brown and 2023-24 Compulsory Coach of the Year Artem Moussaev.

Young is a former two-time U.S. National Team member, 1999 World Team member and a 2000 Olympic Trials competitor.

He said his talent for gymnastics was discovered when he was 9 years old.

“Believe it or not, I started gymnastics through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. I was doing flips in my yard, and my mom was flipping out about it. Ron Brown, the director of the Big Brother program, came over and saw me doing stuff in the yard, and he said, ‘You need to do something with this,’ ” Young said.

Phoenix Gymnastics Training Center will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 31 at 1 p.m. and a grand opening on Aug. 1 from noon to 3 p.m. Phoenix will hold summer gymnastics camps until school reopens. For more information about Phoenix Gymnastics Training Center and summer camps visit the website at phoenixgymtc.com.