Max looked around his gym, recalling how he had got here. It hadn't been easy, by no means. Playing high school football and baseball, he had been recruited by several in-state universities as well as a handful of out-of-state colleges.
Max was 6' 2" and 240 pounds of pure ripped muscle that comes from preparing for football since he was in 6th grade. People often remarked or asked about his ethnicity. He was half Native American; Comanche/Yaqui mix as well as half Scottish. Both heritages had contributed to his athletic nature. He had medium dark skin, and long hair that he sometimes braided in Comanche style. But his eyes were gray, and they popped with brightness. If he was wearing a green shirt, people saw green eyes, likewise if he wore blue.
His gym was named Warrior Gym and was located in the busy downtown area. Any number of office types came in before their day started, or lunch and even after work. So his clientele had a solid base, any new clients he could sign up added to his profit margin.
He thought back to when his friends had gone in together, each had taken a loan out to start up the gym, which at time they had set up in a derelict old space. Over the years, one friend had bowed out, not being able to deal with the stress of meeting profit margins. He begged the other three to buy him out, the other two balked, but Max saw an opportunity. He put up his car as collateral and borrowed enough money to buy him out with an agreement the other half of his initial investment would be paid out from the gym's profit over the next several years.
He now had a controlling interest in the gym, 50% his, 25% the other two partners. As the other two became less involved in the day to day operation, he knew it was only a matter of time before they also decided to opt out. He started to squirrel away money as much as he could. When his grandmother passed away and left him her house, rather than live there, he spent the weekends renovating it and leased it out to a young married couple that just had twins.
He now had a passive income stream.
One of his partners came to him saying he was done with the gym, Max was able to buy him out with the profits he had nest egged. Over the next year, seeing his last partner use the gym as a personal workout spot and picking up on girls; he approached him about buying him out. His last partner hesitated; enjoying the benefits of monthly income adding to his day jobs salary while picking up on hot young chicks.
That was the problem, it was giving the gym a bad reputation.
"Tell you what, you can take this check, and sign here..." Max put the paper and check in front of him, "or you can take this check, sign the title and I send your wife a video of you constantly flirting with younger women."
Deal closed.
Max's chest swelled with pride. This was his domain, his kingdom come. He was the master of his destiny.
"Hey boss, I wanted to ask you something?" a petite redhead spoke to him, collapsing his memories.
"Sure, what's up Cara?"
Would you be open to a corporate account? She smiled pleasantly.
"Tell me more," he started walking slowly to his office on the 2nd floor, "I'm always open to new ideas."
"Well my boyfriend works in one of the offices nearby and he heard they were looking for a gym to add to their wellness program."
"By all means, send him over and we'll talk it over."
"Okay, thanks!" she smiled as she walked away.
Max was about to go into his office when two of his members stopped him.
"Max, my wife and I were wondering if you do any personal training. We are sure if you do, you probably charge more. We were just curious if you do."
"I haven't in at least 3 years, but you never know. Email me what your fitness goals are and I'll send you a quote. Okay?"
Max stepped into his office, a glass box that overlooked his gym, he had made this gym happen. He had the vision and the determination.
************
It wasn't Cara's boyfriend that came to see him about a corporate account, it was the president of the company, Mr. Hugh Williamson. With him was a beautiful lady, very fit for her age, that Max assumed was his secretary or head of Human Resources.
Cara walked them up to his office and introduced them. Once the door shut, Max got to business.
"I'm surprised you are taking such a personal interest in your wellness program Mr. Williamson. Normally, I would expect a series of emails from your Human Resources" his smile at ease.
"I'm told you built this gym from the ground up. I like that, I admire that. I did the same with my company. My wife felt I should meet you personally since our stories are similar." he nodded to his female counterpart.
"Oh, this is your wife? I'm sorry, let me shake your hand. I mistook you for a V.P. or from the legal department."
"Enchanté Max..." she paused.
"Two Feathers, Max Two Feathers, pleased to meet you both."
"Tim, Cara's boyfriend works out here and raves about it. Since we are trying out a wellness program for our company, we wanted to give your business a shot. I'll be honest, we would have gone with a bigger name corporate gym, but Tim spoke highly about your place. Tell me, what separates you from your competition?"
"We specialize in our clients, our team builds a fitness goal for our customer's and follows up with them from time to time. For example, let's say you and your wife got a membership. I ask you what your goal is and you tell me you want to bench press 300 pounds. I put you in touch with our powerlifter coach. Now let's say your wife wants to try out yoga or pilates, we put her in touch with our instructors. When you meet with them, they'll ask what your ceiling and floor is. What is the max time you want to work out, what is the least time. If you stop checking in or fall below your average, they will call or text to ask if you need some motivation."
The couple looked at each other, nodding.
"What if I wanted to bench press 300 pounds? Asked Mrs. Williamson
"Then I would take you on as a personal client, because that would take a special mentorship."
"Can you bench press 300 pounds?" Interjected the CEO.
"Absolutely!"
"Prove it," she said, with a devilish smirk.
Max stood up, and raised his hand to the door. They headed out to the gym floor. "I'll meet you at the bench press.
When he arrived, the couple were waiting for him. Max was now in his workout clothes that included a muscle shirt. His body was a specimen of fitness and bodybuilding. They both were reminded of Dwayne Johnson. Both nodded at him as he warmed up. He did some quick jumping jacks to get his heart rate up, and did some crunches to warm up his core. Setting the weights on the bar, he got into position.
He started breathing in a controlled manner, his eyes focusing far away. Then he pulled the bar off the rack and bench pressed the 300 pounds ten times. He placed the bar on the rack and sat up.
The couple clapped and smiled, they had a child-like look of wonder in their eyes.
