Tommy Mansmann, the manager of The Health Club at The Fairmont Pittsburgh, started lifting weights with his father in their basement when he was 6 years old. They exercised with sand-filled weights purchased from the local Sears. As Mansmann aged, weights, exercise and lifting became a way of life.
“As I got older, lifting and training became a lifestyle,” Mansmann said. “When you feel good, you present that energy that so many people need to dig down deep to get — some never do.” Mansmann has been in the industry for over 25 years and believes he has altered the lives of an estimated 15,000 people.
By working in health clubs, Mansmann has been given the opportunity to repay favors that were shown to him at an early age. “There were a few people in the industry that had touched my life in a great way,” he explained. “This gives me the opportunity to return the favor.”
On March 29, 2010, Mansmann officially opened the Health Club at the Fairmont Pittsburgh. “There was a need for a particular ‘raising the bar’ in the hospitality in Pittsburgh,” Mansmann explained about the local fitness industry. “One particular ‘service’ is the aggressive hospitality that is a Fairmont standard in and around the whole complex. Instead of asking the customer if there is a need or a concern, our colleagues are intuitive and will react prior to the need.”
The front desk at Fairmont is the first place members are inundated with the impressive services. “At check-in to the health club, filtered water and a towel are provided without asking,” Mansmann said. “Upon exiting a cardio workout, a cool eucalyptus towel is offered for refreshing comfort. The little things add up in many ways!”
Although, Mansmann isn’t running the typical health and fitness club, he still faces many of the same challenges clubs see in the beginning stages. “Outside of the normal hiccups with new construction, the biggest challenge has been the public awareness in the surrounding suburban area,” he said. “Old school grass roots marketing and ensuring that every guest or member has that ‘WOW’ feeling each and every time they enter the facility is paramount to positive word-of-mouth reinforcement.”
As a fitness facility, Mansmann has decorated his club with high-end equipment and surrounded customers with exceptional staff. He said his keys to success have been “cleanliness” and “a professional core group of colleagues who are passionate, motivated and love the ability to make customers feel great.”
“It’s not about me,” Mansmann explained about the success of his club. “I learned from some very influential people. If you embrace each colleague, their different and unique talents, and enable them to have a voice, the big picture becomes the focus, not any one individual.”
Mansmann and his team successfully worked together to get the pristine club opened. They worked 20-hour days and sacrificed a lot of time with family and friends to make sure the launch went off without a hitch. “Finally everything came to fruition,” he said. “The first thing I did was call my wife, Joni! I wanted her to share in my moment … it was up there with the birth of my children.” -CS
