Club Nutrition and Fitness moves, expands services

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|ret|by Paul Schreiber

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|ret|SBJ Reporter

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|ret|pschreiber@sbj.net

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|ret|Club Nutrition |amp| Fitness opened June 1 at 3401 E. Ridgeview. Business owner Kevin Walker's decision to expand into the 18,000-square-foot space from his 3,000-square-foot Nutrition |amp| Fitness at 2902 S. Campbell, Ste. D, was predicated on creating a quality gym and offering hands-on service, he said.

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|ret|Pumping revenues

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|ret||quot|What we'd like to see in a year is about $100,000 a month in revenue,|quot| Walker said. He said that, estimating conservative growth, he expects about $30,000 from personal training fees, $60,000 from open gym membership dues, and another $10,000 from other areas such as supplement sales, massage therapy and tanning.

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|ret|Personal training revenues are already close to $30,000 a month, Walker said, adding that he does 12 to 14 personal training sessions daily, and more are provided by his staff. Health drinks, flavored coffees, lattes and espresso are offered at a drink bar.

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|ret|Walker has a 10-year lease with building owner Patrick O'Reilly that runs roughly $10 per square foot, Walker said. Infill ran about $500,000 and includes about 25 pieces of cardio equipment, upright and recumbent bikes, incline step trainers, assorted other machines, about 20 TVs, and about 40,000 pounds of free weights.

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|ret| Overall, re-painting and cleaning prior to the infill ran about $45,000, he added. Staff now is 18 with a foreseeable maximum of 25, he said, and membership will be capped at about 2,000.

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|ret|Getting the right business into the building was the chief consideration for O'Reilly in his decision to acquire the $1.6 million property from Kent Morrison and his father, Steve. The Morrisons owned and operated The Fitness Club, which closed in July 2003, from the building.

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|ret|The building's previous use as a fitness facility made the buy logical, O'Reilly said, adding that his confidence that Walker's business would be profitable in that location put the icing on the cake.

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|ret|When O'Reilly did the due diligence it was |quot|based on me getting the financing,|quot| Walker said. |quot|He didn't want the building unless I was able to come in and put a gym in it. If I didn't lease the building, he wasn't going to buy it.|quot|

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|ret|O'Reilly worked with Ron Tappan at CJR Commercial to get the property. Both the building buy and Walker's business loans were through Signature Bank. O'Reilly owns Four Leaf Investments and partners with Matt Miller in Miller O'Reilly Construction. The purchase of this property was on his own, however, O'Reilly said.

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|ret||quot|(Walker's) success as a long-term tenant will give me a decent return on my investment,|quot| O'Reilly said. Walker's knowledge of personal fitness, his background and certifications in physical education and attitude toward customer service were all plusses.

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|ret|The Fitness Club initially opened in July 2001 and closed in July 2003, Morrison said. Before that, the Morrisons owned Gold's Gym, located at 3145 S. Campbell. Gold's Gym operated from May 1994 until 2002, when the Morrisons sold the property to Lipscomb Auto Group.

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|ret|Before Gold's Gym closed, the Morrisons changed its name to The Fitness Club to coincide with the Ridgeview location's opening.

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|ret||quot|The truth of the matter is we felt that Gold's name was hurting us more than helping,|quot| Morrison said, adding that people often thought it was an exclusive haven for bodybuilders, and that there might not be many women who worked out there. At its peak, it had about 3,000 members, he said.

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|ret|In opening Club Nutrition |amp| Fitness, Walker has his work cut out for him, Morrison said. Competing with nonprofit fitness centers like those operated by CoxHealth, St. John's and the YMCA can be challenging, he added.

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|ret|The presence of these multimillion-dollar facilities creates an uneven playing field, since they're often |quot|subsidized from larger entities,|quot| Morrison said.

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|ret|Still, Walker's familiarity with fitness and its associated industry goes back to when he first began training. |quot|I've lifted a few weights,|quot| he said, enough so that he took the Mr. Missouri title in 1996.

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|ret|Today, Walker's emphasis in on sensible training and providing overall health assistance to his club's members. Regardless of the obstacles of successfully operating a gym locally, he feels his experience and established record in personal fitness should prove advantageous.

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