Today we’d like to introduce you to Jon Hubbell.
Jon, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Growing up, my step father, Paul Peterson, had a private gym with old school equipment and no public awareness. There wasn’t even a sign outside the brick building. For him, it was not a business. The gym was mainly for personal use, with about 20-25 people paying a small amount for a key to the back door. He had no interest in bringing the masses in and dealing with the maintenance a busy fitness center requires. Once he retired in 2019 and sold the building, my brother, Garrett, purchased the old gym equipment from him and relocated to the space he still occupies today in our home town of Hastings. Garrett slowly but surely brought members in from the community and made major improvements to the facility during the government shutdowns in 2020. The Other Body Shop was finally off to a good start.
By 2022, I had saved enough to leave my day job and team up with my brother to build a second location . We signed a deal for prime retail space in Grand Rapids with nearly 3X the footprint as Hastings. We knew we could build the best gym in West Michigan, but getting access to the capitol needed to do so was no walk in the park for two guys in their mid twenties. By taking in another minority partner, Bretton Curtis, and refusing to take no as an answer, we found a small private equity group out of Oregon to provide the funding needed for equipment. Despite being highly leveraged, we chose to select the very best gym equipment, importing machines from Italy and all across the US in order to build the ultimate workout facility. After one year in business, we expanded the Grand Rapids facility by 30%, and we continue to make improvements to support our members.
This year, I chose to keep growing and build a third location in Middleville on my own. Each one of the three locations has required us to be resourceful and take most of the buildout process into our own hands. By learning from past experiences and sharpening the vision for the company, I am now very confident in where we fit into the gym market and how to grow moving forward. This location just opened in August, and it’s off to a great start! I am looking forward to the opportunities ahead for The Other Body Shop Fitness Centers.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We were faced with many challenges along the way. Trying to borrow a big sum of money with very limited assets and a lack of experience is not for the faint of heart. Once we jumped that hurdle, the real work was ahead. We could not afford to hire a professional general contractor for any of the gym builds, so finishing construction in timely manner with budget constraints and high expectations required loads of sweat equity and long days. Building great gyms requires a lot of capital upfront and long periods of time before any of that investment comes back.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about The Other Body Shop?
The Other Body Shop 24/7 Fitness Centers are built with one thing top of mind, providing the best workout experience possible. Most large gyms across the country seem to be put together by owners who don’t workout, or they cater to one specific training style. Big box gyms have a corporate feel and they don’t support their member base on a personal level. We focus on providing the best equipment selection for all major types of exercise, foster an unmatched environment, and treat our members like real people, not numbers. Our pricing is fully transparent from the start, with no contracts, no maintenance fees, and no cancellation fees. We always look at our offering from our customers point of view, and we build our gyms to provide our people with all the tools they need to improve their health and wellbeing.
What matters most to you?
Trying my best, day in and day out. The outcome is never guaranteed, and a sense of fulfillment doesn’t always come with success. If I consistently try best with whatever is right in front of me, I can be satisfied at the end of the day. This goes for my work, relationships, health, and my faith. No one knows what the future holds, but if someone truly puts in effort towards a better tomorrow, they will be rewarded in one way or another. Life is too short to do anything except for what you’re called to do. Go for what you want and leave no room for ‘what ifs’.
Pricing:
- All Access Membership (Access to All Three Gyms) – $50/mo
- Middleville Access Only – $40/mo
- Hastings Access Only – $35/mo
- Discounted Memberships for Military, Law Enforcement, and First Responders – $10 Off Any Membership/mo
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.theotherbodyshop.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theotherbodyshop/?hl=en
