No one wants a cookie cutter club. Even franchise operators want their club to have something that sets them apart from all the rest. When Maverick Gym franchise owners decided to open a new facility in Ventura, CA, they decided on an unconventional approach by re-purposing an old grocery store into a 30,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility. As the franchise owners worked with their architects to create a one-of-akind space, they kept member comfort in mind.
It is no secret that how comfortable your members feel when they are in your clubs affects your bottom line. The International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association’s (IHRSA) President, Michael Levy said in the organization’s 2006 global report that, “The biggest reason people leave clubs is that they are not treated as they are promised. The sales process starts after the sale is made. It does not end with the signing up of a new member. Unless member expectations are exceeded, why would anyone stay?” Levy goes on to say that he sees membership attrition as the biggest financial concern facing clubs, “It costs far more to advertise and sell a new member than it does to keep an existing one.”
Back in Ventura, architect Tyson Cline of Main Street Architects had to create a space that was not only aesthetically pleasing to future members, but physically comfortable as well. In short, it had to exceed their members’ expectations of what a gym should be. The old grocery store building came with one unique feature to help them along – an exposed, curved, wood-beam ceiling with multiple skylights. Cline and his team decided to accentuate that feature with something just as special – giant 20-foot diameter, ceiling-mounted fans.
The fans, commonly referred to as “big fans” within the industry, use their size, and not speed, to create gentle breezes over large spaces. The air movement from the big fans can make a space feel eight to 14 degrees cooler without the chill from air conditioning a space too much, or the noisy, disruptive air movement of smaller fans. Big fans take advantage of the human body’s natural evaporative cooling system. By moving air over the skin, sweat evaporates more quickly, making a person feel cooler.
Beyond the function, big fans just look cool. They are available in diameters ranging from six feet, to a whopping 24 feet. The all-aluminum construction gives them a slightly modern or industrial look, but they can be custom powder-coated to make any décor.
That same aluminum construction makes the huge fans surprisingly lightweight. That means they can use small, energyefficient, one-to-two horsepower motors. The operating costs for a big fan averages just ten cents per hour. Big fans become real energy stars when used in conjunction with HVAC systems. Because of the cooling effect of the fans, clubs can raise their thermostats a few degrees with no loss of comfort.
In the case of the Mavericks Gym, the big fans were used as part of an overall ventilation system that had member comfort in mind. The new gym is just three miles inland from the Pacific coast. Cline and facility manager, Dave Tostado wanted to invite the ocean breezes inside their building. Using a wall of windows along the front of the club that can be opened, and the big fans to move the air around inside the building, made the club’s indoor and outdoor environs comfortably cool for members. This casual, outdoorsy space was just what Cline and Tostado were after. “We wanted to avoid that cold, corporate feel,” says Tostado.
You don’t need an architect to take advantage of the benefits of these gentle giants. Big fan manufacturers have made the installation and maintenance of the fans simple, and trouble-free. At Mavericks, the fans were easily installed by the facility’s staff electrician at minimal cost and are controlled by the staff from a single rheostat. Any facility, whether building from scratch, renovating an existing building or retrofitting a current location, can find a big fan that is right for their space.
Tostado says of their big fans, “They do the job we needed them to do.” Architect Cline reports, “Everybody loves them…allowing the warm yet cooling Pacific breeze to flow through the open front windows and… letting the building breathe.”
The fans really do seem to be doing the job. After installing them, the club was named the “Best Gym in Ventura County” by readers of the local newspaper, the VC Reporter. They can also boast of a membership base of nearly 5,000.
The big fans at Mavericks Gym in Ventura, CA are a key piece to what Tostado calls, “The best equipped facility in town.” With better member satisfaction and retention; a cool and comfortable environment, and a look that will make your club stand out from the crowd, you may just want consider big fans for your club.
Heather Henley is a Technical Researcher for the Big Ass Fans Company. She can be contacted at 877.BIG.FANS, or by email at heather@bigassfans.com.
