NATCHEZ — On the outskirts of Natchez, there is a small gym on 1702 Sgt. Prentiss Drive, behind the Natchez Doughnut shop. To some, Commandos is more than a gym.

Tim Mize, 44, is the owner of Commandos.

“I wanted to create Commandos because I wanted to put it out to the community,” Mize said.

Before Commandos was created on June 12, Mize had served in the Mississippi Army National Guard. Mize began his service when he was 22-years old in 1996.

Then on Dec. 3, 2011, Mize was named Sgt. 1st Class of the Mississippi Army National Guard. Mize said the Army has changed his life.

“I was going nowhere and nowhere fast,” Mize said. “It saved my life and gave me direction. It gave me everything that it’s supposed to. It taught me values, such as honor and integrity. Plus, it gave me a good job. The training and travelling is what I liked. It [the Army] taught me some leadership skills I would have never been able to get anywhere else.”

After Mize was named Sgt. 1st Class, he said he took a four-year break and began working for Phil Robertson, of the TV show “Duck Dynasty.”

With the company called Duck Commander, which produced “Duck Dynasty,” Mize was Robertson’s personal assistant and property manager. Mize also made six appearances on the show as well.

“It was a great and amazing experience,” Mize said. “I stayed busy with Phil, and he is a worker. It was wild and you never know, who you will walk into at Phil’s house, whether it would be ZZ Top or the plethora of movie stars. The coolest thing is that I got to meet Sarah Palin. I really liked her.”

After his four-year break from service, Mize re-joined the Mississippi Army National Guard as an Army National Guard recruiter. As of Oct. 1, Mize is the Operations/Training for Recruit Sustainment program. In Mize’s 22-years of service, he has been on 13 mobilizations with the last one from January to May in Afghanistan. Mize said the high moment for him for the mobilization in Afghanistan was bringing back 12 other soldiers alive.

At the beginning of June, Commandos began with six people. Since June, Mize has capped the number of people training at Commandos to 15-20 people Mize said Commandos is not a gym but rather a club.

“It’s a group of like-minded people that we have certain goals and we’re doing anything to meet them,” Mize said. “We’re all on a different level as far as fitness goes, not everybody is on the same level. The thing I like about this group of people is the bond. I have met people that I wouldn’t have crossed paths around here other than that gym that brought us together. Now, it’s a tight knit of people.”

Mize said he runs Commandos basically how he would run his soldiers.

“Not one of us is as strong as all of us,” Mize said. “Mental health is just as important as physical health, if not more.”

One of the people who started at the beginning of Commandos is Hunter Rogillio. Rogillio, 24, began working out with Mize when he was working out at a different gym in 2011. Rogillio said what makes Commandos a unique place is how serious people take exercising.

“It’s unique because we add military training along with cross-fit training and Tim is here seven days a week,” Rogillio said. “You can always find a time to train.”

Carli Galbreath, 24, said she works out at Commandos because she wants to lose weight.

“I just wanted to get in shape and I wasn’t feeling good,” Galbreath said. “I had a friend who told me about this place and I have been here ever since.”

When Galbreath was an athlete at Monterey High School from 2012-15, she ran track and played basketball. She said she had always loved to exercise.

“It’s stress relief for me and I really got out of that when I was pregnant,” Galbreath said. “This place is bringing me back to it and I’m loving it.”

Commandos is moving to a bigger space at Every Day Adventures in downtown Natchez on Dec. 1. The place is located on 334 Main St. Natchez, MS. To reach Mize, one can call his phone number at (601)-443-1666.