Fitness market bulks up Fitness market bulks up (June 25, 2004)

Two new clubs add to city's growing workout options

By David Herbert

Two new health and fitness clubs have opened in the already crowded Mountain View market, but their owners aren't sweating it.

According to Mountain View Chamber of Commerce President Carol Olson, the high concentration of fitness clubs -- there are an estimated 10 such businesses already -- might actually benefit competing businesses.

"It's very typical to see similar types of retail or services open near each other," she said. "It might be counter-intuitive to think that a fitness club would want to be near another fitness club, but if a certain area is a destination for a type of industry, then it feeds off of itself and they all succeed," she added

This "all boats rise with the tide" theory, she continued, can be seen most clearly in the city's thriving restaurants.

"People are always amazed how many restaurants are in downtown Mountain View and wonder why on earth another restaurant would want to come here," she said. "Well, downtown Mountain View is a great place to go to eat, so thousands of people do it everyday. It's a restaurant destination."

Already generating some interest is Custom Fitness, located at 650 Castro Street Suite 108, which opened its doors June 17. Over 100 people attended its grand opening celebration, which featured food, prizes and two cases of champagne, including Mayor Matt Pear, several city council members and ambassadors from the Chamber of Commerce.

Owner Dale Dunlap, a longtime Mountain View resident, describes her service as "individualized health and fitness."

"We are training you for your real life so you can bend over and pick something up without pain," she said.

Just one week before Custom Fitness' celebration, Slender Lady, a fitness chain with more than 350 locations in the U.S. and Canada, opened at 1734 West El Camino Real. Co-owner Sally Marrot said her services include 30-minute circuit training (short, quick bursts of exercise on a variety of machines), one-on-one nutritional counseling, and airbrush and body tanning.

Despite the fierce fitness market in Mountain View, Dunlap and Marrot are not concerned, each stressing the uniqueness of their services.

"We are not a membership gym," Dunlap said. "We are not a cookie-cutter type gym. I'm really not worried."

"No one else offers what we do, so we aren't worried," Marrot agreed.

Like the restaurant industry, Custom Fitness, Slender Lady and others in the field may be making Mountain View a unique destination, too.

E-mail David Herbert at dherbert@mv-voice.com

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