Gym Realities

If you rewind a decade or two ago, you’d find that P and K had both thought that owning a gym would be… cool? Fun? Fitting? Exciting?  As with many gym rats, the idea was always there in some form but there was no actual plan of action or genuine intention to make that idea a reality.  It is easy and sensible to look at an activity you enjoy, you participate in daily, and maybe you’re even “good at,” and see yourself taking that to the next level.  In fact, it is difficult to keep track of how many people then, and certainly now, tell us that they want to or plan to open a gym of their own someday.  A select few folks have already owned studios or small gyms and will read this little piece from the other side of the fence.  And that is really the impetus for everything we’re about to talk about.

We were in the east location the other day finishing some quick vacuuming and tidying, in an otherwise empty gym, and we were discussing what our gyms (or any gym) looks like to anyone else.  As you look around, you see a building with some sort of rubber floor, some weight machines, some bars, some free weights, and whatever other implements or treats the place might offer.  Maybe there is an aerobics room or a tanning suite.  Maybe there are some broken pieces with signage hanging, or a crazy person wearing a vacuum and trying to trip everyone with his extension cord.  Certainly there are mirrors, towels, and maybe even some chalk.  On the whole, it is a pretty simply setup.  Stuff, in a place, used by people for a few minutes every few days.  Even we have joked that owning a gym is the Fisher-Price of business – probably not the most serious nor high stakes endeavor one can undertake.  And that is mostly true.  Partially true.  It’s a lot of things.

We’ve always been pretty open with our gym business; what are we doing, why are we doing it, what is the cost, and so on.  We don’t share this information freely to show off, nor do we share it to garner sympathy, nor anything in between.  We simply chose early on to run a very specific type of gym and one of the absolute most important variables in our equation is a member base that appreciates the efforts, the outcome, and certainly the journey.  Whatever it is we’re hoping to accomplish here, we cannot be successful unless our people have our backs.  In return, we aim to give back as best we can.  Many of you have had the gym to yourself, or with plenty of room to move and no waiting on equipment.  This isn’t the exception and it is not an accident.  And maintaining that doesn’t come cheap nor easy.  But we got you.

The nuts and bolts, the fat and nasty of it all…  Real estate is all over the place and the cost disparity between rent/lease is enormous, so we cannot possibly capture the reality of every iteration of a gym but there are some reasonable assumptions you can make regarding gyms, especially in our region.  When you crest those doors, you’re probably looking at $1 per square foot of building, per month.  More building, more cost.  This goes up or down based on geographic area, general condition, etc.  You know the score – do you want to hit the grocery at Grant and Alvernon at 10pm or Tangerine and La Canada?  Do some quick math and compare this to your pay check.  For most of us, that is probably intimidating (a history of terrible financial decisions notwithstanding J ).  Whatever that number works out to be, add 15-25% for utilities, insurance, services, and things like towels, TP, cleaners, scheduled maintenance, etc.  Don’t forget deposits/down payments, build-out costs.  In a very stripped down reality, that’s your starting point to have a roof and walls with the basics to be operational.

Now you need to fill the space.  Turf, rubber?  Self-install or contract?  What’s your timeline?  Remember that you’re a small business and contractors are NOT putting you first.  Add a 0 or two to your invoice and maybe they’ll be into your project.  MACHINES AND WEIGHTS.  This strikes us as one of the most misunderstood aspects of gym building.   You can buy new or used.  You can lease.  You can pick up, have shipped.  The salient point is that each piece is going to cost you $500-5000, +shipping, need to be assembled and positioned, and maintained.  Don’t forget a ladder, dolly, and plenty of friends.

                That last little bit is the MOST important. Friends.  If you’re wealthy enough to afford to have everything delivered, assembled, and positioned, then you’re probably not opening a quaint gym in the first place.  Or you pulled a giant loan and you just started a long ruck, with a very heavy pack, and no end in sight.  As daunting and arguably negative as the finance section above may seem, this is the opposite.  This is the lifeblood of your project.  If you don’t have a solid team, then your. shit. will. fail.  People you trust to show up.  Friends you trust with a credit card.  Friends who will literally protect your back when a weight stack falls.  Friends who can back a trailer and aren’t afraid to sweat.  Check the friend box first.

                Coming back to the dream versus the reality, we should mention toilets.  Of the folks we know who are in this industry, or used to own gyms, we have all struggled with the same thing.  While the gym is typically a positive place where you can work out energy, process your rage, socialize, and get better, that all happened on your own terms – until you owned.  Now you need to first worry about the disgusting mess Chaz left in the toilet, order a pulley, and listen to Joe complain that it’s too darn hot.  Never mind the idiot insisting he needs a discount.  If these aren’t more important than your workout, you’re lighting the match for your own stake-burn.  Just having the right friends to build and maintain the dream, accepting the reality of the gym versus the dream of the gym is priority.  As we sometimes do, we’ll liken this to a call on a fire engine, or really any team environment.  In any given situation, you’re going to have multiple sets of eyes seeing the same scenario and identifying different priorities.  There is likely merit to each assessment but generally, the responsibility for outcomes falls to a single point/person.  It is easy to see a broken bench, a la the old Gold’s/Platinum days, and curse the owner for his shoddy equipment and terrible maintenance.  What we don’t see is the parts delay, the discontinued item, the enormous AC-repair bill from last month, or the staff crisis that suddenly made a cheap, easy problem more daunting and less of a priority.  We were guilty of this ourselves.  In fact, we think any business owner very quickly modifies their filter when viewing the world.  All this is to say that you will need to balance your own needs against the much heftier needs of the gym, and that will require decisions that do not please everyone and don’t always implement smoothly.

                We hope the tone here is not unpleasant and certainly don’t wish to paint gym ownership in a negative light.  Rather, it seems appropriate to candidly explore the good and the bad, hopefully giving everyone a greater understanding of why we do what we do or even give you a roadmap if you decide to open your own space.  We would caution you, though, to blaze your own trail according to your own passions (for your own success).  Folks lifting ideas works in the short term but not over the long haul… And where’s the pride in anything but your own creation?

Opening your own space begins with a thought. Maybe that becomes a dream.  Or maybe it is just a good business move.  Regardless, you’ll need to identify what you want to create.  What should the gym offer?  Who will attend?  Who will attend… That’s a big one.  The gym is a social menagerie.  We tend to create the bubble we want, be it our own solo-bubble or a gaggle of friends and training pals.  “Man, running a place just like my bubble sounds pretty swell!”  It does indeed.  But you’ll find that your bubble probably won’t cover the costs of your dream, and when your dream needs help, your bubble may not be so sturdy.  Creating the environment that becomes a home for the right group is important beyond words.  And the fact is, your end result will not look like your initial daydream.  In the case of Evolve, you better believe there are members that don’t like Kate or Patrick for one reason or another, and there are members we have no desire to have a beer with.  And that’s OK!  But that is a reality the “I’m going to have a gym!” dream generally doesn’t consider.

                Finally, as we’re certain you’re tiring of our typical ramblings, is the fitness industry in general.  In the digital age, things are changing rapidly and there exists a saturation that somehow continues to expand, that is driving this industry in multiple directions.  There are a lot of folks jumping into the game.  It is very difficult to be unique, or at least special, because there are so many iterations of “gym” and folks are not shy to copycat while chasing a buck.  Who knows if Evolve will stand the test of time but from where we stand now, we’d encourage anyone to consider their dream and assess that against the current climate AND your best guess for what is coming down the pipeline.  Wanting a cool spot is not enough, especially these days.