INTERVIEW
weight is limiting them from doing,” says Grover Daly, vice president of US- based Downsize Fitness and the owner of the chain’s Houston facility, which opened in August 2014. “You might lose 50lbs, 100lbs or 200lbs with us – and people will initially tell us weight loss is their goal – but it’s not their deeper motivation. The real reason people come to us is to be able to achieve something they couldn’t previously do because of their weight. “Our core philosophy is therefore
functional fi tness – getting people healthy and able to live their lives. Although celebrating a 50lb weight loss is great, we encourage people to celebrate what they can now do with their lives because they’re 50lbs lighter, because that typically is huge.” He continues: “That said, by no
means do we negate the importance of somebody losing 50lbs. You can’t understate the importance of a number to them – they might not have weighed under 300lbs since school, and as they
44
GROVER DALY W
hen I first talk to prospective members, I ask them what their
The vice president of
Downsize Fitness in the US, and owner of its Houston club, speaks to Kate Cracknell about transforming the lives of an overweight population
pass that milestone there’s a lightbulb moment when they start believing they can do it, that they’re worth it, and that it’s something they will therefore do. And they begin to challenge themselves to get below 275lbs, below 250lbs. “At that point they become a
cheerleader for health, for living well – and fortunately for us as an operator, for Downsize Fitness too.”
A safe haven Downsize Fitness started life in November 2011, founded by Francis Wisniewski who remains chair of the company. Daly explains: “Francis weighed approximately 350–360lbs and
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had battled weight his entire life. He was working with a trainer and was getting frustrated by the lack of results, as well as feeling intimidated and judged and overwhelmed because of his size when he went to a traditional gym. “He felt there was a need for a place, a
gym facility, where larger people could go without feeling intimidated or judged – a safe haven in which to work out. So he created Downsize Fitness in Chicago, which is now our headquarters.” The business has since grown to fi ve
sites – in Chicago, Naperville, Dallas and Houston in the US, and Ontario in Canada. Of these, two – in Ontario and Houston – are what Daly calls
“hybrid” sites, part company-owned and part franchised. “They’re classifi ed as company-owned, but we’re partners and in our day-to-day operations it’s just like a franchise, with the club being independently owned and operated. In Houston, I own the controlling interest – 90 per cent of the business – and Downsize Fitness retains 10 per cent.” He adds: “Downsize Fitness is now
looking to start offering franchises, and as part of that we’ll probably convert Houston and Ontario into full franchises.”
January 2015 © Cybertrek 2015
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