flexagon | A more adult daydream

I've spent half this afternoon daydreaming about either franchising or buying a local gym and turning it into something wonderful. Damn Bally's and the survey they sent me! I wanted to fill it out because I want to ask them to buy a Viper, but by the time I finished fully answering the question of what they could do to improve their space I was basically whimpering because I could see it all so clearly and I know they won't do it. Probably not any of it.

How about this... I buy Fitness First from the current owners. I keep their lovely stretching area.

I sell most of their crappy weight machines and use the space to expand the free weight section with a squat rack, more benches and some kettlebells. I add a tiny noncirculating library, just a small bookshelf with books (and issues of Crossfit Journal, etc) so people can read about things to do.

I add a Viper, a QuadMill, an actual climbing rope, a glute-ham machine, a good pullup/dip station, a pair of rings and a couple of pairs of parallettes. There might not be room for a static trapeze, alas... it's a small facility.

I upgrade the cardio machines, but have fewer of them.

I post the Crossfit "WOD" every day just to give people ideas. (I remain hypocritical and don't do them myself.)

I find people to teach yoga and pilates and handstands, and occasionally fun things like juggling or hacky sack, in the downstairs classroom.

I have fun explaining in my FAQ that there is no women's only area, and no men's only area, and no childcare area (though we have an affiliation with a nearby daycare center).

I have another small bookshelf over by the cardio machine, pre-stocked with cheap paperbacks from The Book Rack. I put up a sign saying "Take a Book / Leave a Book" and hopefully the system keeps itself going.

Sigh... is this out of my system yet?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

if all you did was add a climbing rope i'd be happy. oh and rings!!
if you have a space for yoga and pilates then you can probably have a trapeze in that room. the one i work on is really low.

Well, in that case it can have a trapeze. As long as it can be pulled up / to the side when not needed... and as long as we're daydreaming.

yep, trapezes are easy to pull out of the way

Intriguingly, I daydreamed out loud about this at work and immediately got cold water thrown on me in the form of "you have no idea if you'd be good at that, or if you'd like it" type comments. I know. I've definitely seen the dark side of entrepreneurial things too (and am generally not that tempted). At the same time the cold water made me surprisingly angry -- I wanted to run right out and prove the person wrong. It's interesting that I cared so much.

Still... what would you do if you knew you could not fail? Seriously, I think creating/running a good gym would be A-1.

You advertise an "adult daydream", then just talk about running a gym? You're such a tease.

I guess I forgot to mention the outfits all the personal trainers would be wearing. And, um, the after-hours "special members only" events.

Oh, did you tell Bally's to turn down their damn music? I didn't get a survey.

I think you could possibly do well competing against Bally's in Porter Square just by advertising "No Music". And Porter Square would be much better than taking over Fitness First all the way out in the boonies.

Almost anything with an existing clientele would be better than trying to start up from scratch. And FF has windows!

I didn't complain about the music. (I like their music fine.) I just told them to get more equipment for body-weight based exercises, and buy a Viper, and create a decent stretching area, and that if they don't think they have space they can use the stupid womens-only room.

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG I WANT A VIPER. My birthday is tomorrow, I'll be home, have it delivered. Thanks.

My mom's gym has a quadmill and that fact was actually something that popped up in my "pro" list when I was contemplating whether I could bring myself to go out there for a visit. Why do west coast gyms get all the awesome stuff?!

Anyway, I'm guessing that the person who threw cold water on you

a) watched a friend or family member suffer through a failed entrepreneurial attempt

b) has some daydream of their own that they are too scared to pursue

Because, honey, your ideas are kick ass, and I don't see why you couldn't do something like that. Obviously there would be a learning curve associated with the business side of things, but I doubt that would keep you down.

Can I make a request for the gym? I love the wet area at healthworks, and think you can't go wrong with a hot tub, but even more than that I want an ice bath tub. Many many people would benefit from regular icing, but it's a pain in the ass without proper equipment. You'd also need an ice machine.

Viper for birthday... check. Ice bath tub... check.

heisenbug's mom's gym has a quadmill too. Argh! She goes to what is pretty much the best gym ever just because they have so. much. space.

Cold water man is probably the most risk-averse person I know, as I realized after mentally kicking him in the face a few times, holding him under the surface of peaceful mountain streams, etc. Anyway, I can't totally blame him since I watched my dad making a mess of the entrepreneurial life for a long time. It was just weird because I said out loud that I was daydreaming... why bother to smash it, unless maybe I sounded like I was going to quit and try to do it next week? That's ridiculous, I was going to wait at least until next month.

Last but not least, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETIE! Yay 29! Let's make it a good one... I'll help. :)

My mom's gym also has no music. One more way they're better. I suspect they cost a lot more than Bally's, though.

A more adult daydream

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