Gyms

[TUCK]

I have always avoided Curves because of the political proclivities of the the founder. I went to Google and ran across a specific quote on the subject.

"There's a recent final chapter to this that I came upon in this month's Bitch - which is that the guy who started Curves uses his profits to push abstinence-only sex education and anti-abortion clinics. I admire people who put their money where their mouths are, but I don't want my money ultimately going where his mouth is."

[coppercoin40]

There was a co-op on the rural north end here for awhile, I never went but always thought it an excellent idea. The members all had card keys for 24 hr access. I thought that was a great idea as it gives people who are shift workers a place that they could use that fit their time schedules.

From the posts on this thread I would bet there would be a good interest in a start up. Considerations: Where would be the best centralized location. How much is commercial space rent. Would liability insurance be needed.

[2liveque]

A nice gym in PUna would be awesome. It would probably come with a steep membership fee and rules to keep out the knuckleheads.

[OrchidIslander]

quote:

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Originally posted by coppercoin40

There was a co-op on the rural north end here for awhile, I never went but always thought it an excellent idea. The members all had card keys for 24 hr access. I thought that was a great idea as it gives people who are shift workers a place that they could use that fit their time schedules.

From the posts on this thread I would bet there would be a good interest in a start up. Considerations: Where would be the best centralized location. How much is commercial space rent. Would liability insurance be needed.

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coppercoin:

All those are relevant considerations and there are many more as well. When we first began kicking around the idea of a co-op, the initial thought process was heavy on the informal aspect and light on such details as liability, agreements and what type of entity to create.

This is Puna and we still would like to keep it simple stupid - that last part not directed at anyone. It's what we keep telling ourselves in our co-op discussions.

We have noticed that the most favorable facilities are located within the Shipman Business Park. Warehouse type open spaces. Not exactly in the heart of Puna, but still a better drive and more parking than downtown Hilo.

Donated spaces would be preferable by far.

What we are focusing on at the moment is gauging how much local support is out there, majority-driven preferred locations and most important: are there enough folk willing to give some of their time, energy and a bit of their dinero for a small and, what hopes to be, efficiently run work out space.

If you manage to come across info on how the co-op you referenced was run, I would love to hear more about it.

When we are confident that we have covered the initial groundwork and have well reasoned info to pass on to potential members, we plan on holding some informal sessions about what we envision as well as soliciting input (lots!) from interested parties.

If you peruse this thread and are interested in what we are trying to do - please join in or use my profile's email link to contact me.

Thanks in advance,

Mike in HPP

[OrchidIslander]

quote:

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Originally posted by 2liveque

A nice gym in PUna would be awesome. It would probably come with a steep membership fee and rules to keep out the knuckleheads.

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I don't how one could prove this, but I'm willing to bet there are no more knuckleheads in Puna than there are in Hilo - and Hilo has more than several workout facilities. They all seem to do fine.

[Carey]

Liability insurance is pretty much a given, usually 'sports related' insurance minimum coverage is $1mil incident/$3mil aggregate, most sports type insurance companies offer policies (no matter how the co-op is worked out - insurance against liability is a good safety, even a simple slip can end up in upwards of $10K or more in liability exposure...) the rates are not that drastic (far less than SCUBA instructor liability!)

One should also look at the training that would be necessary for any personnel working (even a desk monitor should have some basic training)

Also there may be areas where zoning/CCRs may be an issue... but I do think most of Puna does have zoning that is compatible with a fitness club....maybe....

And if leasing a building is a part of the plan, the obvious would be to find a landowner willing to have a fitness center....

[DoryGray]

This looks like a good spot for a gym! I think a gym would be a booming business here. As for the liability issues, you have that no matter what you do. Someone could fall on your property & sue you. People could try to sue you for looking at them wrong. If anyone is seriously interested in pursuing this, please contact me.

http://honolulu.craigslist.org/big/reo/3140294535.html

[birdmove]

If you belong to Kaiser Permanente they have a program where they will pay most of your gym membership. Right now the gyms on the program are Aloha Fitness and Curves in the Shipman Business Park. We got memberships at Aloha Fitness for my wife and I. They are $300.00 memberships and we paid $100.00 a piece. So Kaiser paid $400.00. That was a deal I couldn't turn down. To get the best deal you need to join in January, as they charge the same if you join later in the year but you won't get the full year.

Jon in Keaau/HPP