Old Downtown Warehouse Now a Fitness Center
bean owens, donnie markham and bean owenselizabeth city, downtown, recreation, sam bloodworth, state-of-the-art fitness facility,
The old warehouse building in downtown Elizabeth City has seen its share of spare tires. And it still does. But today’s spare tires are the kind that can be fixed through aerobics and weight training.
A year ago physical fitness buffs Sam Bloodworth‚ Donnie Markham and Bean Owens had a hunch. Betting on pent-up demand for a new state-of-the-art fitness facility‚ they took a chance on an empty brick building downtown that had once been a tire warehouse.
“It didn’t look like much‚ but the location was great‚” Bloodworth says of the building just three blocks from the waterfront. “It’s right downtown off the main drag‚ the way you go to Nags Head‚ and the building was big enough to let us do what we wanted.”
Taking their cue from the past‚ they came up with the name Fitness Warehouse‚ and began “taking just about everything out and putting some walls in‚” doing nearly all the construction work themselves.
The result of three months’ work is a sleek fitness center accented with trendy industrial décor. Fitness Warehouse boasts a 2‚500-square-foot equipment room‚ plus space for aerobics‚ step‚ yoga and boxing classes. Clients can work out on Hammer Strength weight-training equipment‚ Life Fitness cross-training equipment‚ elliptical bikes and treadmills. The individual attention Fitness Warehouse offers‚ from personal training and assessment to one-on-one program planning‚ is among its focuses.
“We try to cater to everyone‚ whether they’re beginners or experienced. We feel if someone comes in and doesn’t know what to do‚ we can help‚” Bloodworth says. “If you teach people what to do‚ they’ll keep coming. If not‚ they’ll be gone after two weeks.”
Their philosophy apparently works. Since the Fitness Warehouse opened in January 2001‚ its membership has grown to almost 1‚000. It’s a phenomenon Bloodworth credits to a staff of professional trainers and instructors.
“With the right people‚ you can do anything‚” he believes.
In coming months he‚ Markham and Owens plan to expand the Warehouse even further‚ utilizing a renovated basement parking garage for equipment and class space‚ and beefing up their offerings to include spinning and more boxing instruction.
“The need is definitely there‚” Bloodworth says.
Story by Laura Hill
Photo by Martin Bennett
