Four local friends have been working out together for years, and now they have come together to open their own gym.
Chris Pittman, Caleb Bowen, Justin Gentry and Joey Mirth opened 24/7 GritFitness in the old Hibbett Sports building (1877 North Bluff Street) on Monday. Their goal, bettering the community's health.
"We started the gym because we wanted to basically enhance the fitness lifestyle here in Fulton, Missouri, and bring something new and positive to our town," Pittman said. "We want to be a resource of health and betterment for our community."
Each owner brought a unique way to bring this dream to reality.
"Gentry knew about construction, Bowen has experience with customer service, Pittman was creative and I have experience with business," Mirth said.
The gym offers hammer strength and plate equipment, treadmills, ellipticals and stairmasters. It also plans to offer a variety of classes including high-intensity interval training, youth training, boxing cardio, strength and endurance training and more.
It costs $37 a month for a single individual and $50 for a family and is open continually. The gym also offers a beginners plan, in which an employee will demonstrate how to work the equipment, answer questions, offer nutrition advice and create a workout roadmap, Mirth said.
The owners wanted to create a gym where "everyone feels welcome," Bowen said.
"The big thing that when we all went into this is that we wanted this to be a resource for the community, and we didn't want to gear this towards any one type of person and make it where it is uncomfortable for anyone to come," Bowen said.
The gym will offer healthy snacks in its vending machines along with post-workout and energy drinks. It will also sell pre and post-workout supplements, Mirth said.
Children are welcome to sit on the couch and watch television, however, they do not offer formal childcare services, Mirth added.
The gym is working towards collaboration with the community and other gyms, Pittman said. 24/7 GritFitness recently donated toward the YMCA's pool campaign.
"We feel like unity is the whole purpose behind everything," Pittman said. "I feel like it'd be better for us to kind of come together instead of being separate competitors, and I feel like if our goals are all the same, which is to better people, then why not work together."
While the owners support other gyms, they were ready to make something of their own.
"We just wanted to branch out on our own and do our own thing as opposed to working on anybody else's jam," Mirth said. "We feel like we've got a passion for it, that we want to carry into our own space."