Planet Fitness franchisee Kira Ehly opens the door to one of two vertical tanning booths available for patrons at the Fort Oglethorpe location across from Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School. There are three conventional lay-down models in house, as well.Stacey Sanders has been at the new Fort Oglethorpe Planet Fitness almost every day since it opened three weeks ago.
She wants to lose some weight. Be healthier. Live better.
Sanders lost both parents recently, and she now looks at her own two daughters. And though they may not know it, they inspire her to get in there and keep working.
The Fort Oglethorpe Planet Fitness is about a 10-minute drive from the Sanders' home in East Ridge, a major plus for her.
And it's the fifth franchised Planet Fitness owned and operated by business partners Pat Augustine and Kira Ehly, who are based in Charlotte, N.C., and Chattanooga, respectively.
Planet Fitness was founded in New Hampshire in 1992 by Chris Rondeau. There are now more than 1,000 Planet Fitness locations across the country, the majority of them owned and operated by franchisees.
Augustine and Ehly opened their first Planet Fitness in Chattanooga in 2012, on Perimeter Drive in the Pin Strikes and Sportsman's Warehouse strip mall.
Since then, they have expanded to open locations in Hixson, Knoxville and Fort Oglethorpe and are partners in locations in Cleveland and Dalton.
Each is a multi-million dollar investment.
Augustine and Ehly say the quality of the Planet Fitness product was appealing to them as they searched for a joint business venture years ago.
The Planet Fitness specialty is the "judgment-free" zone, an open invitation to seasoned gym members and total newbies alike.
The Fort Oglethorpe location is equipped with a "lunk alarm," which sounds when anyone, or any group, is guilty of slinging weights and hulking out.
Ehly said creating a comfortable, inviting atmosphere is one of the top two priorities for Planet Fitness. The other is cleanliness.
In the middle of the afternoon Friday, dozens worked out at the new Fort Oglethorpe location.
"It kind of caught us off-guard," he said. "At all of our locations, we pull from much further than we expected to pull from."
Ehly said Planet Fitness welcomes the 80 percent of Americans who have never held a gym membership - the folks who have no idea how to work certain pieces of gym equipment - with open arms. The gym offers free sessions with trainers to introduce new members to workouts and equipment.
And Ehly said the gyms feature more of the equipment that average people want to use, like treadmills.
"We go really big on the things that normal people like to use," he said.
Consequently, the gym stays busy. And memberships can remain inexpensive.
A base membership at Planet Fitness is $10 a month. For an extra $10, customers can purchase a black card membership, which includes access to tanning beds and hydro massages.
Black card membership also comes with access to the red light, collagen stimulant treatment room.
Sanders tried the treatment for the first time Friday afternoon.
And with her membership, she gets unlimited guest visits for standard gym equipment.
She brought her daughter, Hope, on Friday. She brings her husband sometimes, though, frustratingly, he manages to stay in pretty good shape without working out, she said.
"I just like that they're $20 a month," Sanders said.
For more information, visit www.planetfitness.com.
Contact staff writer Alex Green at agreen@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6480.