It is a testament to the Galleon's long-standing legacy that some users of the leisure centre have known the staff longer than they've known their families.
Recently described as the 'beating heart' of Kilmarnock, it's no wonder that the centre this month marks 35 years since its doors opened for the first time.
Since May 15, 1987, the centre has been part of the fabric of the town employing thousands of locals over that time with more than half-a-million going through the doors each year.
Three current members of staff, of the 130 works employed at the moment, have been there since day one.
Receptionist Christine Ridout, 65, has worked at the front counter for the whole of the leisure centre's life so far.
The mum of two even worked alongside her son at the centre for a period of time.
Christine, who lives in Crosshouse, said: "I was originally going to apply for a part-time cleaning job and then the reception one came up and I got that.
"When I started here I was full-time and three years later I went on maternity leave and my son actually worked in here when he was older.
"I really enjoy my work. I worked with a lot of members of staff and quite a few managers too.
"There are customers that have been coming here for years and you can build a good rapport with them and have a bit of banter and a laugh with them."
Christine, who's set to retire in January, recalled the first day the centre was open: "Reception was really busy. At one point we were letting people in and we ran out of lockers and we didn't have change for lockers either."
Chivonne Houston-Smith, who turned 60 earlier this month, is still teaching 12 aerobic classes each week and has no intention to stop anytime soon.
Initially juggling 25 aerobic classes every week, Chivonne also worked on reception when she wasn't putting clients through their paces.
She said: "I heard about the Galleon opening and I came down and spoke to the manager and he said they were starting aerobic classes and I took the very first one and I got into reception.
"I used to go upstairs and do a class, come back and have a shower then put my uniform on and go back to reception. I did that for years."
Kilmarnock man David Hasson, the Galleon's general depute manager, is another lifer who has spent his entire career in the leisure industry.
And it all started across the road where McDonalds now is, where David, 57, worked at the former Kilmarnock baths.
He watched the Galleon sprout from the ground and transform into the huge, hulking building it is today.
David, who started out as a lifeguard, said: "When Magnum was the big sports centre in Ayrshire, Kilmarnock was looking for something to rival the Magnum but unfortunately there was no funding available to build it that's why the Galleon centre is quite unique.
"This body of people called the Kilmarnock Leisure Centre Trust got the money privately and built the centre.
"We don't have much in the way of public funding so it was a replacement for the old Kilmarnock baths.
"I watched it being built for 12/18 months and you could see it taking shape every few weeks."
A private firm was hired to build a complex at a cost of £4.5 million which could be repaid to a lending bank over a defined period.
Work was started on the site in February 1986 and was completed in April 1987.
A competition was organised for people of the town to select a name for the new leisure complex and it was decided that it would be called The Galleon Centre, the name reflecting the fact that the Gallion Burn formerly ran through the site.
Recalling the very first day, David added: "I was a lifeguard, although at that time they were called pool attendants, my recollection of the pool was that it was so busy. The first guy came in was swimming and it quickly built up and became so busy.
"You think back to the Saturday night ice discos and we had hundreds of kids on the ice at the one time it was jam packed."
The creation of a leisure trust has put the Galleon in a unique position, David believes.
"A lot of swimming pools and leisure centres were built around the same time or before us and they're probably getting towards the end of their life," David said.
"The Magnum has been gone a few years now and I think the Galleon centre has been well maintained over the years. We've always had a limited budget to work from but It's been good to be able to provide a service without having the same the local authority bureaucracy that other centres have to go through. We've had a bit of opportunity to operate much like the private sector."
Pre-pandemic, the results of a study were published in 2019 and the Galleon was described as the 'beating heart' of the area. Plans to build a new £33 million leisure centre were rejected in favour of spending £13.8m giving the Galleon a makeover in phases.
"I think we've always got to move with the times and make sure we're providing what's in demand and right now I think the demand is still there for the facilities we provide," David said on what a remodelled Galleon might have. "There will always be a need for swimming pools and getting kids used to water and able to swim.
"There's a lack of ice rinks in the country and I think the demand is there. Curling used to be the big sport on Sunday through to Wednesday then it was ice hockey Thursday, Friday and Saturday and ice discos on Saturday night.
"We saw the demand for the gym to be improved over the years. When our gym opened it could hold 20 people and we were bursting at the seams and we extended and developed to hold 120.
"When we opened we had five fitness classes a week and now we have 80 in the programme."
The Galleon was not immune to the impacts the pandemic had financially with East Ayrshire Council providing a hardship grant of £150,000 and the centre was handed a further £80,000 to solve cashflow issues.
David said on the centre's Covid struggles: "Hopefully the future is bright for the Galleon. We struggled through Covid as everyone else did and we did request funding from the council and we had to jump through certain hoops to get that.
"It was difficult for a few weeks prior to it because nobody really knew what was going to happen. We'd all heard about this virus coming and there was talk about a lockdown happening but nobody knew what that would look like or feel like. You could see the attendances dropping gradually and then on Wednesday, March 18 we closed. It was a horrible time.
"We're heading in the right direction but we're not quite there yet. Numbers have been busier for certain activities but we're not there yet."
With more normality returning every day and the demand and desire for the Galleon facilities still there, it's almost certain that the centre will still be the beating heart of Kilmarnock in another 35 years.
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