Member News

Last fall, Ohana Growth Partners brought the Judgment Free Zone^® to the Gallery Place community with its opening of Gallery Place Planet Fitness^® in Washington, D.C.

For the club’s grand opening, about 200 people came out to celebrate the new club. The grand opening event included many festivities, such as a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the D.C. Chamber of Commerce.

To get the blood pumping, everyone in attendance could take part in free workouts and a 30-Minute Express class. Those in attendance were also able to meet well-known members of the Washington Wizards, as well as former professional basketball players Harvey Grant and Michael Adams, the Wizards mascot G-Wiz and team members from WPGC 95.5.

Many fun giveaways and prizes were given out at the event, including a 65-inch smart TV, Amazon Echo Show, Apple Watch and Wizards game tickets and apparel. The giving didn’t stop there! Ohana Growth Partners also presented the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Washington with a $1,000 check.

“The grand opening celebration in Gallery Place was a huge success for our members, staff and the community,” said Victor Brick, co-owner of Ohana Growth Partners. “Washington Wizards legends Harvey Grant and Michael Adams were a big hit, and the crowd loved it when the mascot, G-Wiz, set off the Lunk Alarm.”

Planet Fitness Gallery Place offers 19,817 square feet of workout space. The club also features a wide array of fitness equipment from cardio machines to strength equipment and a 30-Minute Express Circuit. The club offers amenities like fully equipped locker rooms with lockers and showers, numerous flat screen televisions, HydroMassage beds, massage chairs and tanning beds.

Ohana owns 21 clubs in the DMA, such as Ivy City and Penn Branch, and there are 48 Planet Fitness clubs in total in the area. This new location is the first of three D.C.-area clubs the franchise group plans to open in the area.

Yeehaw for giving back to the local community! PF^® franchisees work hard to give back every day, whether it be to their club members or to the local community.

Last October, National Fitness Partners teamed up with the HorsePOWER Therapeutic Learning Center in High Point, North Carolina, an organization that provides therapeutic horseback riding and equine-assisted activities. HorsePOWER’s mission is to promote the welfare of individuals with physical and/or emotional disabilities through activities using horses.

Seven staff members spent hours at the horse facility building a pen, obstacles and a bridge for the horses. The group’s involvement was part of the Corporate Caring Challenge, in which local businesses partner with area nonprofit organizations to help complete a project. The Volunteer Center of the Triad, a local nonprofit, hosted the Corporate Caring Challenge.

NFP won the People’s Choice Award for its involvement with HorsePOWER. The People’s Choice Award is given to the corporate partner project that received the most votes as a “favorite.”

The franchise group didn’t stop there with its involvement in the community. The group also sent staff members to help with a Habitat for Humanity build in High Point, North Carolina. The group helped to build the home’s joists, subfloor, porch and put up the home’s first wall.

Staff members from the group’s Triad locations helped at each volunteer event. General Manager of Greensboro West Market Planet Fitness^® Mariah Crockett led the HorsePOWER event and was adamant about the impact NFP’s involvement in the community has for the PF brand.

“Our communities are an extended part of our Planet Fitness family. The outreach efforts we provide help to further our mission for servant leadership and transforming the lives of those we serve,” said Crockett.

Late last year, National Fitness Partners opened its Ocean City, Maryland, Planet Fitness^® location including a grand opening event. The grand opening included music, games, food, a prize wheel and giveaways, as well as raffles for memberships and swag bundles. Many members of the local community came out to celebrate the grand opening, including Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce and Ocean Pines Chamber of Commerce, as well as local government officials.

At the event, the franchise group also donated $1,000 to Ocean City Surf Club, an organization dedicated to supporting the community through scholarships, environmental causes, educational programs and helping area youth. National Fitness Partners donated to this organization because they felt their missions aligned on supporting the local community, environment and youth.

“The best part about opening new clubs is the opportunity to impact a new community and team. We have an incredible opportunity to bring the Planet Fitness brand to a whole new area and what better place than at the beach! Thank you to everyone for all their hard work these last couple of months, especially Bobby, Kelsy and Taylor who have been amazing to work with and brought to life all my crazy ideas,” said Dominique States, area director with National Fitness Partners.

The 14,391-square-foot Planet Fitness Ocean City location features 64 pieces of cardio equipment, an assortment of tanning stations, PF 360, TRX equipment and more. The club started with almost 900 members when it first opened and has grown to more than 2,600 members. National Fitness Partners has 116 locations, with six of those in Maryland.