When Scott Draper opened the doors to Club Northwest in 1997, there was one statistic that stuck out in his mind.
At the time, over half of the U.S. population had their first humiliating experience occur in either a sport or physical fitness setting. From Day One, Draper wanted to take the intimidation factor out of the gym — he wanted to create a new paradigm.
“The old model of fitness says, ‘You’re broken, we need to fix you and you may even look like this photo someday,’” said Draper. “And I wanted to flip that. The new model says, ‘You are well.’ That’s where we stand for each and every one of our members. We’re going to be that champion. If you need to borrow our belief for a while until you see it, we’re fine with that. That’s our job.”
Simply put, Club Northwest exists to witness, respect, celebrate and elevate the love and well-being that’s inside of everyone.
“We see every single person that comes in our club as well,” explained Draper. “Any age, any perceived level of fitness or well-being at the time, we know there’s well-being inside of them. And it’s our pleasure to bring that out.”
This dedication and way of thinking is what made IHRSA dub the club as “ahead of the curve.” Now they strive to keep that nickname and always find the next cutting-edge thing.
One way they’ve done this is by partnering with BeaverFit to build a 2,500-square-foot open-air, covered outdoor training space, believed to be the largest of its kind for a commercial fitness facility in America.
Jesse Sallas, the director of people and programming for Club Northwest, said this project really came about from listening to their members.
“Throughout the COVID-19 experience it became very evident to me this was something that needed to be a part of the norm,” said Sallas. “What we’ve done here at Club Northwest, and even in the industry as a whole, is create a space where people can have this physical fitness experience in a beautiful outdoor setting so they can be outside in nature and still have really nice equipment. I noticed from the get-go this has to stay. People love it.”
And as a business choice, Sallas believes it will be very profitable. Club Northwest members will no longer have to make the decision between being outside and working out at the club thanks to their partnership with BeaverFit.
“BeaverFit is a mature company that has been innovatively serving our military around the world for many years, providing the best in fitness and workout facilities and equipment,” said Draper. “In fact, the majority of their team members are former soldiers. These folks know their stuff. We get them and they get us. The folks from BeaverFit create unique, over-the-top facilities and equipment. And they are Serriors.”
A Serrior is a warrior servant in love and well-being. It’s a word Draper created to describe the people of Club Northwest.
In fact, in the pocket of every Club Northwest employee you will find a Serrior’s Guide. It lists the club’s core values, highest mission and service standards.
“The Serrior’s Guide is a pretty big deal around here,” explained Draper. “We believe what we do has meaning. We believe love changes the paradigm and changes the world. And we do our best to live that way. Profit is the first order of business. Yet our mission is, ‘Our member’s and guest’s experience of well-being here now.’ I am grateful we’ve found a way for those two things to co-exist. I am grateful this talented and committed team has found a way to have one support the other in abundance. I think this is good business. Most importantly, living this way we’ve made a positive difference in a lot of lives, including our own.”
Club Northwest wouldn’t be able to make a positive difference if it wasn’t for its four core values — Choose Abundance, Practice Excellence, Own It and Well Together. These are more than just words put on plaques — they are the DNA of the club.
The core values are the foundation of every program, member experience and idea the club carries out. They’re designed to help employees not only better understand the brand but also improve their lives. Draper said they’ve learned over the years that’s where their focus needed to be. “Life is a mirror,” he said. “If we really focus on our team and support them and their well-being, they just simply pass that on.”
One way the Serriors “pass it on” is through Random Rose Days. A staff member will go out and get 144 roses to hand out as members leave the facility. “I can’t even tell you all the thank yous and stories I get from Rose Days, Disco Fridays or last minute water slides in what we call our Backyard,” said Draper. “Programs are a must. In the moment, random over-the-top service is the next level of loving on people. We call it, ‘leaving our loveprint.’”
Love is a key driver behind a lot of Club Northwest’s decisions.
For example, about 10 years ago Club Northwest was going to announce a dues adjustment — approximately a $4 increase — and Draper admitted he was a little concerned about how the members would receive it. He wanted to create a situation where they could increase the dues but also show their members some love through giving back. Thus, the Ambassador Program was born.
“It’s pretty simple,” explained Draper. “Any member who wishes to can place a yard sign on their property and/or a small bumper sticker on their vehicle. Each month they simply take and submit a photo of each with the current date and email it to us 10 days before their billing cycle. Our member experience office receives the photos and credits their membership dues $20 — giving them more than the original increase.”
The message on the yard signs and bumper stickers? “LOVE CONQUERS ALL.”
Draper explained there is a lot of negativity in the world and toward one another. He wanted to shift this paradigm as well to spread a message of love and positivity. “We believe in people,” he said. “People are getting a bad rap these days. Sure, some of this is deserved. We all make mistakes. Yet we are all learning. We will never stop believing in people, and we do all we can to help each person we come across find that magic brand of well-being inside themselves.”
While this model of focusing on the member’s well-being instead of physical appearance may seem abnormal, it doesn’t mean it’s not successful. In 2019 — and likely for 2023 — 62% of their gross income was from non-dues revenue.
The focus on well-being has transitioned to what the facility is comprised of as well. The space is jam-packed with offerings like a world-class med spa, one of the largest indoor play centers for kids in the country, an outdoor ropes course, an aquatics center with saltwater pools, a NinjaZone, an indoor rock climbing wall and more. However, the differentiator is these offerings were created through the lens of letting members play, as well as focusing on improving their inside instead of their outside. And Draper said it’s paid off.
“When someone walks into your facility, if you can see that person as well — regardless of their physical appearance, background, etc. — I don’t think there’s a greater thing you can do for them,” said Draper. “We’ve proven you can build a whole business around that. I mean, we’ve beaten the odds. Our max membership number was 10,000 members. We’re a little below that — 9,800 members — now due to COVID-19, yet we’re building back up. In a town of 36,000 people, that penetration just isn’t normal. We’re super healthy as a business.”
In today’s society, Americans are struggling. Data from the COVID Response Tracking Study conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago in 2020 found Americans are the unhappiest they’ve been in nearly five decades. Since the pandemic there has been higher demand for mental health services, meditation and similar offerings. This all supports Draper’s belief that the paradigm needs to shift.
“The old model is dead,” said Draper. “It’s not working; look at the statistics. And to me, that old model simply says, ‘No pain, no gain, you are broken and we need to fix you.’ I don’t believe it. We haven’t believed it for 26 years; we believe everyone is well. I think a lot of times our paradigms tell us we’ve got to do good things or be profitable. We’ve shown they work together. The important thing is what we do with the profit. We freely invest it in more well-being for our precious members and Serriors. This is the story of Club Northwest.”
