From Lockdown 3, to the Present Day…
Although technically MyGym Hazel Grove launched on the 29th of August 2020, I personally see it as launching on the 12th of April 2021, because that’s when we were allowed to re-open after the third lockdown. It has been since then that we’ve really gotten going, building it into a successful gym in Stockport.
When we reopened there was a sense of trepidation. Not from us as a gym team - we knew we have a great gym. It was how would people feel about venturing back into gyms after the lockdown? Would we be rushed off our feet, inundated with new joiners, or would it be slow and steady? We really weren’t sure.
As it goes, the regulars flooded back in. They couldn't wait to train.
There was another group of people who took their time to come back, but they regained their confidence and the numbers grew. Once they saw how we were approaching the cleaning, the alcohol gel distribution and the antibacterial sprays they began to relax. It didn’t take long for life to feel back to normal.
Marketing to a new crowd…
It felt like marketing had to go back to square one. We hadn't been open for long prior to the second and third lockdowns, so a lot of people still didn’t know we were here. The momentum we’d built up was hindered, so we had to start from scratch.
We launched a Facebook campaign with a discounted ‘post lockdown’ deal to help rebuild numbers. It worked, and we added a good few people to our membership base relatively quickly. Each milestone was still a big deal, where we were working hard to add 10-20 members at a time. We used posters, in-house campaigns and refer a friend deals. Each one had a small impact, that collectively added up.
We also did a free bbq for our members, to thank them for the support they provided during the lockdown…
We wanted to show our appreciation for them. Without the support of our gym members, it would have been difficult for such a new business to survive.
The next boost was the investment in new gym equipment.
We still weren’t drawing a salary from the company and any spare money was used on investment into new gym equipment. We added new barbells, new sleds, dumbbells etc. When you look at the bare pictures of the gym in 2020, compared to summer 2021, you’ll see the difference…
By the summer of 2022 MyGym was unrecognisable to people who were our early members. They’d seen this new gym in Stockport evolve from a baby into a legitimate strength and conditioning gym. From a personal training and general training point of view, it was a fitness playground. Between the re-opening in April 2021 and the present day, we’ve invested in…
Another airbike
2 weightlifting platforms
5000kg of bumper plates
A pendulum squat
A 4 station cable machine, including a lat pulldown
Training rings
Sandbags
Battleropes
2 x Ski Ergs
Additional dumbbells
Plyo boxes
This has come in at a cost of several thousand pounds, but it has elevated us from just another gym in Stockport to the BEST gym in Stockport. If you want to be a weightlifter, a general fitness enthusiast, a strength and conditioning specialist, a CrossFitter or the like, you can do it in MyGym. We cater for as many different fitness approaches as we can, all under one roof.
The development of a community…
I’d argue that what makes MyGym even better than the other gyms in Stockport (and the wider area) is the creation of a community at scale. When I’d worked in other centres, I always felt they got it wrong when they tried to improve service. They’d offer things like additional programs, more classes etc.
These things work to a point, but they don’t do what matters… engage with people.
At MyGym we try to engage at several points. We make a point of saying hello to everyone who comes in. We run challenges in the gym to help engage members and encourage friendships. We’ve done the free BBQ’s, run Wim Hof cold exposure workshops and started free community guided walks in the local area.
MyGym isn’t just a gym, it’s a community. We can’t claim to be perfect, but with a small team we punch above our weight when it comes to effort and engagement. We listen to our members and we do what e can, with what we have when we can. If that means new gym equipment, member events, little gifts etc, we do.
MyGym is always going to be a work in progress. We won’t stop trying to make our product and service better. Other gyms will copy us - they already have, and they’ll continue to do so in future. That’s fine, because we would have evolved by then and we’ll have moved on to the next phase of our development! The next innovation, the next idea, the next target.
If you’d like to become part of the MyGym fitness community by joining the best gym in Stockport, click the link below…