Not many businesses in the health and fitness industry — or any industry, for that matter — can claim being operational for 35 years. However, this year, Plymouth Fitness in Plymouth, Massachusetts, can, and the club’s operators are celebrating by investing $500,000 worth of renovations into the club.
“We feel very proud to be celebrating 35 years in business,” said Paul Baldrate, the general manager of Plymouth Fitness. “We are very aware that not too many businesses, health clubs in particular, are fortunate enough to be around that long. When we take the time to step back and think about how long 35 years is, it is really cool to know that all of our hard work has built a club that is very special to our members, clients and staff, and that even after all that time, we are not slowing down.”
Plymouth Fitness was founded in 1979 under the name Gamepoint, and originally consisted of 11 racquetball courts, a restaurant and lounge. Lincoln McDonald, the club’s current owner, purchased Gamepoint in 1988 and changed the name to Plymouth Athletic Club. In 1999, the name was shortened to simply Plymouth Fitness.
Since its founding, the club has continued to evolve, eventually becoming the multipurpose club it is today. In 1989, Baldrate worked closely with Curt Larson, Plymouth Fitness’ CEO and president, to establish medical partnerships in the local community and increase family programming. Today, the club is family-focused, and offers a great array of group exercise, personal training and aquatics programming.
According to Baldrate, there are many keys to the club’s success, but the most prominent one is its friendly and dedicated staff. “We figured out early on how to hire staff with a real passion for helping people and then to build them into a team with fantastic communication and accountability to each other,” he said. “We also created a culture that is totally focused on the customer and with that comes tremendous loyalty and referrals. Other keys include our desire to always be improving, our attention to detail and our willingness to fail.”
Baldrate believes that investing into the club is a wise move that will pay off in the long term, which is why the club is celebrating 35 years with $500,000 in renovations. Renovations will include the expansion of the strength training area, restructuring of the Group X room to accommodate larger classes and enclosing the Pilates room for more privacy. Plus, an HD Training Zone will be added, featuring indoor turf flooring and specialty equipment to accommodate small-group training.
“In general, we always feel that investing into the physical [club] is a good move,” said Baldrate. “If Plymouth Fitness wants to be successful for another 35 years, we have to continue to keep our club current and our programming fresh. Our people — staff and customers — have come to expect us to be the area’s premier health club and we will not let them down.”
With Plymouth Fitness’ long history, the club has received lots of feedback from members, some of which have been with the club for over 25 years.
“The best feedback we get happens when a member leaves us to try a cheaper competitor [and] then returns,” said Baldrate. “We stay in touch with our alumni and make sure that they know we are always ready for them to come back. In one particular case, a member returned and said, ‘I just never felt as comfortable at the other club as I do at Plymouth Fitness. I never should have left. It’s like my second home.’ That was awesome to hear.”
In order for Plymouth Fitness to continue receiving glowing reviews from members, Baldrate said he will continue to focus on one key aspect. “For us, the foundation of our success is our people. When I say people, I mean our staff and our customers.”
At Plymouth Fitness, family is important. With this in mind, Plymouth Fitness’ staff and members together celebrate 35 years in business and look forward to many more.
Photos courtesy of Plymouth Fitness
By Rachel Zabonick
