Five years ago, Nick LaFond decided to take over his health and wellness. He joined the Anytime Fitness in Kalamazoo and from that point forward, fitness evolved from just a routine to a passion.
He started consistently training and says it transformed his life. He became more focused, determined, and in control of his life.
In Spring 2015, LaFond competed in and won the Kalamazoo Bodybuilding Championship. His new direction in life was set. He knew he wanted to focus his life’s work on helping other people to feel good about themselves through health and fitness.
A few months after that when the then-owner of Anytime Fitness in St. Joseph put the gym up for sale. LaFond knew this was the opportunity he was looking for. LaFond had been going to this gym for a couple of years and loved the facility.
The St. Joseph Anytime Fitness opened in 2006, the second Anytime to open in Michigan. Over the next 11 years, it would be was expanded three times by the previous owner.
Nick and Jess LaFond took over the location on Oct.14, 2016. Since that time, Nick LaFond has expanded the gym once again. He added a functional fitness section with various functional fitness training equipment, a new TV, and equipment for outdoor activities. He says these changes are just the beginning of what he expects to be an ever-changing facility.
LaFond says when he took over they gym he saw this as a window of opportunity to turn the facility into more of a community for its members. He invited the challenge of reviving the gym and making it into a place its members would love coming to.
For LaFond, Anytime Fitness represents many things: Bettering yourself. Achieving something. Continuously moving forward.
"Going to the gym is about more than just fitness--it’s therapy," LaFond says. "It’s a place where you can go and focus and work on you."
LaFond's philosophy is that every single person should feel welcome at his gym. "Everyone who walks through that front door earns respect for taking the steps to do something to better themselves. And I guarantee you will leave with a sense of accomplishment and that means something."
Source: Cornerstone Chamber of Commerce
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