SYRACUSE, N.Y. — While fitness centers and many businesses were forced to shut down last March due to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Randy Sabourin, owner of Metro Fitness East and Downtown, made the most of a difficult situation. As his physical locations were closed, Sabourin offered virtual classes and personal-training sessions, while gearing […]
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — While fitness centers and many businesses were forced to shut down last March due to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Randy Sabourin, owner of Metro Fitness East and Downtown, made the most of a difficult situation.
As his physical locations were closed, Sabourin offered virtual classes and personal-training sessions, while gearing up for the reopening of his facilities. This process included incorporating COVID-19 protocols such as masks, temperature checks, social distancing, and reduced gym capacity.
It wasn’t until September of last year that Metro Fitness welcomed members back with these protocols in place.
Sabourin also used the time in which his gyms were shuttered to make renovations to the Metro Fitness East location, which included functional interval training (or F.I.T.), spin (cycling), and flow zones (offering streaming classes on a projector screen). The Metro Fitness East gym comprises 20,000 square feet and is located at 6800 E. Genesee St. in in the town of DeWitt.
The business built a new room for the spin zone, which includes 14 new Precor spin bikes, according to a news release. The flow zone, which was previously a conference room, gives Metro Fitness members a chance to take yoga classes, or schedule a time on the Fitness Demand Cinema, where they can choose a class to take such as strength training. Lastly, the F.I.T. zone was transformed with more than 2,100 pounds of athletic turf and new equipment such as ropes, a weighted sled, and a retractable net system, so members can practice their golf swings.
“Within the zones, people can exercise in smaller groups,” Sabourin says. “We can also back off a little bit with disinfecting.”
The overall investment in the improvements at the Metro Fitness East location was about $100,000, according to Sabourin. While the annual revenue was hard to gather in 2020, Sabourin says that some members continued to pay for their membership during that time while the club was closed. He says he expects to see better financial results in 2021, as New York State is expanding capacity limits for gyms.
Sabourin adds that he and his team have gotten positive feedback from their members about the renovations. He says since reopening his facilities in September, Metro Fitness has seen an increase in members from the initial large declines caused by the shutdowns.
“Our membership is only down about 30 percent from last year,” Sabourin says. “I attribute that to our strong emphasis on personal training and the culture and community we have built over the past 26 years at Metro.”
Metro Fitness currently has 1,310 members between both clubs, he says.
Sabourin sees the opportunity for more membership growth as people increasingly come out of their homes as the pandemic and its restrictions continue to subside.
“Everybody’s been cooped up for quite a bit of time and haven’t taken care of themselves,” Sabourin says. “They’ve gained weight, been stressed out, and haven’t been able to access health clubs.
The team used local businesses to help with the renovations and improvements, such as Avalon Signs.
On April 15, Metro Fitness held an open house at the East location to showcase the new facilities. According to Sabourin, 84 people visited the club that day and people seemed impressed with the upgrades and renovations.
Metro Fitness currently has 23 employees between both gyms, but Sabourin says they’ll slowly be bringing more people on.
Sabourin notes that all his trainers must have a four-year degree in exercise science, or in a health-related field.
“Personal training is really our foundation, and what the company is founded on,” Sabourin says.
After graduating from college, Sabourin had a hard time finding a position as a physical-education teacher. He always had a passion for fitness and saw opening his own business as an opportunity. In 1995, he established “Personal Fitness” Downtown in the basement of Salina Place as a small, exclusive, personal-training studio.
While making renovations to the East location, Sabourin continued renovations for the downtown facility which included new equipment for group and personal training, according to the release.
The Metro Fitness Downtown location encompasses 13,000 square feet and is at 205 S. Salina St. in Syracuse. It has undergone several expansions and renovations over the years.
These new renovations will also include work on a new Pilates Reformer studio, opening in the fall of 2021. According to the Metro Fitness website, the Pilates Reformer sessions are for all ages and fitness levels and focus on sculpting one’s physique. The overall investment Sabourin says he’s making in the Metro Fitness Downtown club is around $50,000.
The cost of Metro Fitness’ basic monthly membership starts at $59; its premier monthly membership starts at $129; and the premier plus zones monthly membership starts at $169.