New fitness center opens at Eastwood

By Jon Moffett

The new gym is built to shoulder all budgets, at a dollar a day, and all ages, including kids.

NILES — There have been very few advertisements for the Fizek fitness center at the Eastwood Mall complex in Niles.

That’s because general manager Rick Coy says the facility should sell itself.

“The first impression, to me, is everything,” Coy said. “So when people walk through the door, it really will be that ‘wow’ factor.”

The entryway is decorated with an elaborate water feature the bears the Fizek (pronounced physique) logo behind it. A small sitting area and the front desk complete the open air foyer.

“When you walk in with the high ceilings and the waterfall and all the things that it has to offer, you can’t help but just go, ‘wow,’” Coy added.

The facility, at 5555 Youngstown Warren Road, had its grand opening ceremony earlier this month. Coy said there are already “well over 100” members, and he expects more to join once word of the facility starts to spread.

Coy said one of the best features of the facility is the nearly 30,000 square feet of space, which provides a place for everyone. The facility has three floors and multiple areas for patrons to work out.

Ashley Anderson, 23, of Howland, works out at the gym and said it’s unlike anything around the area.

“Because there are three floors, you can separate yourself completely,” Anderson said. “It gives you privacy, and they have everything you could ever want here.”

The first floor offers the most variety for people looking for more than just an average workout. As well as more than a dozen pieces of cardio equipment, each with its own individual television monitor, the first floor also houses spinning bikes, free weights, circuit workout machines, two tanning beds, a child-care center and spacious locker rooms complete with a sauna.

Coy is meticulous about the cleanliness of the facility, especially the locker rooms. The entire facility is on a cleaning regiment every hour, and the locker rooms are inspected every half-hour.

“This is a family fitness center. We want to make sure all the equipment is wiped off after each time it’s been in use; we want to make sure there is a locker room check every half-hour and that we’re doing the job necessary to keep this club from having any type of a problem.”

Anderson said the family-friendly atmosphere is noticeable.

“Everybody is just very helpful,” she said. “You can tell its more of a friendly environment than just walking into many other gyms I’ve been to ... you don’t get that everywhere.”

The second floor has more cardio equipment, two aerobic multipurpose rooms and a virtual sports room. Coy said the virtual sports room is comparable to what facilities in larger cities such as Cleveland offer. The room is geared toward children, who Coy feels are often overlooked in the world of physical fitness.

“This entire country is talking about obesity and about the fast foods,” he said. “And unfortunately our schools — because of the economy — can’t afford certain things, so we don’t force things on the kids anymore, and you hate to think of exercise as being forced, but you don’t have to do it in class hardly anymore ... We want to get the kids involved; we’re going to go to the schools and address child obesity.”

The third floor offers cardio machines, of which there are more than 100 pieces, and a private circuit training room.

Coy said although the space is a draw, the cost of a membership is what separates Fizek from other gyms. He added that William and John Cafaro, the facility’s principal investors, wanted to keep the cost down for patrons and offer memberships for as little as $29.95 a month.

“Will and John Cafaro have a passion for fitness, so when they decided to put this thing together, they wanted to do it right. To be able to have a membership that is affordable at a buck a day, I think that speaks volumes. Here’s my concern, when it comes to people exercising: They look at it as a luxury, but it’s really a necessity.”

Coy said although his employees will walk around to make sure all is well, there are no “fast-talking” salesmen offering customers special deals or specials. He also thinks that word of mouth is the best way to promote the facility.

“Come in and see it,” he said. “If [you’ve] got something good to say, great. Sometimes you get too carried away in things that have to do with the salesmanship of it, and I really want to stay away from that.”