Olivia Wilson reported this story on assignment for the Vermont Community News Group. The Community News Service is a program in which University of Vermont students work with professional editors to provide content for local news outlets at no cost.
When Jake Middleton moved to Williston in 2018, he’d drive almost 40 minutes to Bristol every day for his job as a trainer at a gym. During his daily route through rural Vermont, he’d notice how few gyms he saw in the towns on his commute and wondered whether that could change.
He answered his question earlier this year: Middleton opened 116 Fitness, Hinesburg’s first gym, in May, and business is booming.
Open 24 hours a day, the gym serves as a convenient place for locals to cultivate their fitness journey without the hassle of a commute or a time restriction. The gym is membership only, and members pay $48 a month for full access to the space at any hour of day.
Laura Gurdak, a local of 12 years who works next door to the gym at Hinesburg Hair Studio, has been a member since the gym’s opening on May 1. “Turns out the only reason I wasn’t going,” she said, “was because there wasn’t one here.”
Gurdak praised the sense of community the gym has created, as well as the personal training sessions provided by Middleton — something taken advantage of by about 10% of the 150 members at the gym, according to the owner.
Middleton, a New York state native, has been a personal trainer for seven years. A graduate of the University of Alabama —where he studied exercise science, business, nutrition and disability sports — Middleton has trained clients from all walks of life: kids, people with disabilities, a 101-year-old.
Earlier this year, Middleton moved to Hinesburg when hearing from a friend, a mutual in the fitness industry, that a commercial space had opened on Commerce Street right across from the new town gathering space. Hinesburg Redemption had occupied the unit but was forced out due to lack of funds, its owners said, and has yet to find a new home.
On a recent afternoon, Middleton recalled the negative politics of the fitness industry during his time working in management positions at chain gyms such as LA Fitness and Crunch Fitness, which is why he opened 116 Fitness as an independent operation, not a franchise. He said members have described the gym having a more friendly, laid-back feel than some big-name fitness centers.
To some extent, that dovetails with the recent goals of Hinesburg leaders, who’ve recently greenlighted the development of new housing and public spaces.
A little over a month prior to 116’s opening, a Crunch Fitness franchise opened its doors in South Burlington, but the competition has had no effect on business, Middleton said. People want a sense of community, and the convenience of a local option. “The last thing they want to do,” he said, “is travel 20 minutes out of their way to go to the gym.”
Though 150 members belong to the gym, Middleton said there has never been more than eight people in the gym at once, and the space has never felt too crowded. Staff are on hand from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for personal training and other needs.
So far, Middleton said, members have been picking up on the laid-back feel and helping each other with workouts. Middleton said he’s super open to suggestions as well and has added five different pieces of equipment in the last few weeks upon request.
Middleton said many folks have approached him and talked about discussions in the community to pool funds for a local gym. But Middleton beat them to the punch — and filled a need in the town.