“We’re striving to provide the best customer/guest experience.”—Zachary Block
Physical health is, in essence, a personal responsibility. Excluding medical emergencies, the decision to exercise lies solely on the individual. Because work and personal schedules vary from person to person, the only facility capable of satisfying everyone’s schedules would have to be open 24 hours. And with that goal in mind, 24 Hour Fitness opened its doors.
Voted Best Gym by readers for NorthBay biz magazine’s Best Of poll, Santa Rosa’s branch of 24 Hour Fitness offers equipment, programs and support for gym-goers at all hours. Its unique availability means no excuses for those who say, “I can’t fit workouts into my daily schedule because all the gyms are closed.”
“The experience is everything for us here at 24 Hour Fitness,” says General Manager Zachary Block. “We feel like we can create an experience that can last for a lifetime of all of our members and guest that have been a part of our family here.”
One of the gym’s signature programs is GX24, an introductory course to basic fitness that includes several tiers designed to either drop weight, tone or develop muscle at the participant’s pace. Success stories from the GX24 program include weight loss in excess of 100 pounds, various life-altering changes that make the subject more fit and subjects who are able to work for the body they always wanted. Success stories, testimonials and videos giving feedback for the program are available on the gym’s website.
Santa Rosa’s 24 Hour Fitness is one part of an international business. By membership, 24 Hour Fitness is the largest privately owned and operated fitness chain in the world, with more than 400 locations across the United States. Co-owners Mark Mastrov and Leonard Schlemm started their first gym, called 24 Hour Nautilus, in 1983. The owners then changed the name to 24 Hour Fitness, and out of their headquarters in San Ramon, continue the expansion and growth of the club’s brand throughout the country.
“It feels really good as an organization to be a part of such a large survey and to be one of top businesses in our field in Sonoma County,” says Block. “As an organization, we take this award as recognition we’re striving to provide the best customer/guest experience.”
In 2004, 24 Hour Fitness reached the national spotlight when it became the program partner with NBC’s breakout show, “The Biggest Loser.” The premise was to monitor the dietary and fitness habits of several medically obese contestants, with the contestant losing the most weight at the end of the season crowned the winner. Later in the year, the U.S. Olympic committee partnered with 24 Hour Fitness, and as part of the deal the gym trained hopefuls and members of the 2008-2014 team.
Today, Block says the gym will continue to provide high-quality exercise equipment, cutting-edge programs and personal consultations for its members. “It means the world to us when our clients, guests and members achieve their goals,” he says. “We will continue to consistently evolve and stay ahead of the industry by changing lives through fitness.”
