Revolution Fitness in Cincinnati, Ohio, began as a spinning studio in 1999, evolved into a full-service facility in 2001, and in 2005 expanded to accommodate its growing membership — each time, evolving the club to best suit its members’ needs.
Mary Beth Knight, the owner of Revolution Fitness, began at Revolution Fitness as a member. According to Knight, she struggled for years to lose weight, and had unsuccessfully joined and quit other gyms in the Cincinnati area before giving Revolution Fitness a try. “It was very hard to be the biggest one in the gym and I was not only embarrassed about my size, but also my lack of knowledge as I had no idea how to use any fitness equipment,” said Knight. “A friend of mine promised me that Revolution was different and convinced me to try it. He was right! It was the first gym that treated me like a person, not a number.”
Knight worked closely with the previous owner of Revolution Fitness, Barb Phillips, who taught her how to use the equipment and offered Knight encouragement. A year later, Knight had lost a total of 65 pounds, received a spinning certification and ran a marathon. “After two years I finished Ironman Lake Placid and have never looked back,” she said. “That year Barb’s family moved out of state and she invited me to be her business partner. There were many others who knew more about the fitness industry at that time, but Barb knew that because Revolution had changed my life I would make sure it continued to change lives.”
Knight became the sole owner of Revolution Fitness in 2006, and planned to continue to extend the support and commitment to its members that she experienced first hand. Revolution Fitness offers free seminars on health and wellness, nutrition counseling, group fitness classes, personal training services and free first-timer cycle classes, among other services. “We specialize in a very personal approach to wellness,” said Knight. “One of our areas of expertise is in weight loss. Since I know what it feels like to be the heavy girl in the gym who knows how to use nothing and feels very insecure, we go the distance to make sure people do not feel that way at Revolution. We try to eliminate the fear involved with exercise and we offer many beginner programs to help get people over the hump.”
According to Knight, Revolution Fitness takes a personal approach towards fitness to fight the stigma associated with big box gyms. “Revolution Fitness has often been overshadowed by the big box gyms, some of whom have ruined consumers’ trust in gyms,” she said. “We find that we often have to rebuild trust for our industry. Poor business practices, poor customer service and often times, difficult cancellation policies have many consumers wary of gyms. We have always worked to gain their trust through excellent customer services, fair policies and consistent pricing.”
A unique aspect to Revolution Fitness is its approach to membership sales — employees don’t receive sales bonuses, and the club hasn’t raised its membership dues in over eight years. “This practice allows our members to feel good about our pricing and recognize our fair and consistent business practices,” explained Knight. “We don’t force a sale, we don’t lock them in a little room to sell them — we let the experience of Revolution sell Revolution.”
By working with local news outlets in Cincinnati, Knight has positioned herself and the club as experts on health and wellness. In addition, the club sponsors and volunteers at local charities and events. “Our marketing is based on being the go-to for health and fitness people in the city,” said Knight. “This gives Revolution a lot of consistent exposure and allows us to share our knowledge with our entire community in hopes of improving the quality of life.”
Knight described Revolution Fitness as a “mind, body and spirit facility,” focusing on not only physical fitness, but mental fitness as well. “I have encouraged our trainers and instructors to think about the emotional state of their clients prior to the workout … and to train their clients on what is best for their life, not just their body,” said Knight. “We firmly believe that our gym is not just four walls filled with equipment — we [care about] the people who come to us, and we try to follow them outside of our building and support them in their everyday lives.”
By Rachel Zabonick
