Member Article

Fitness entrepreneur who invested £100k savings eyes expansion

Fitness entrepreneur John Famelton’s Inline Fitness Centre Ltd in Blaydon is fast approaching half its planned capacity, just four months after opening.

The 30 year-old invested £100k in his business after saving for four years, and now has nearly 100 members at the centre and plans to double the size of his Chainbridge Road premises, taking on more staff.

John’s career led him to work at the famous Australian Institute of Sport in Sydney and hold down two jobs on his return to the UK while building his business part-time and gaining extra qualifications.

The Leeds Metropolitan University Sports Sciences graduate even spent another £50k building a fitness suite extension at his Newcastle home so he could hold exercise classes while developing his overall business plan.

John’s technique takes in overall body and mind well-being, leading his centre to become expert in taking GP referrals for those fighting depression, obesity and other medical ailments.

John and his team – personal trainers Clare Young, Liam Anderson and Adam Colquhoun - even plan to go into schools and the community to teach children about wellness and obesity.

He said: “I have worked tremendously hard and have been meticulous with my savings to ensure that I had enough to invest.

“For years I took only a small wage and the rest I saved, and now I am in this wonderful building with great facilities.

“Membership is going very well but I plan to keep it to a very manageable level so that I can retain a very personal level of instruction and service.

“I want to get away from the idea of a gym or fitness centre being a place where people come to bulk up. This is very much about fitness and education on how mind and body can get in shape and stay in shape for a longer and happier life.

“Members have a full body fitness assessment which includes blood pressure reading, an analysis of body fat and even lung capacity. We show people how the gym should work with diet, nutrition and lifestyle and everyone is given one free personal training session.”

John started his business in 2007 by holding fitness classes in Bellingham town hall in Northumberland, using his car to ferry equipment around from his then home in Wark.

At the same time he was working full-time, fixing appointments for a plumbing firm in Newcastle and often travelling hundreds of miles a week for a recruitment company at offices around the country.

While doing that he also took a two-year part-time advanced fitness instruction course.

In 2009 he bought a three-bed semi in Fenham, Newcastle, and spent six months building the fitness suite which he used for holding group bookings.

Last summer, using his savings and with support from a silent partner, he took out a lease on the Chainbridge Road site, spending three months converting it into a fitness centre.

It has a 45-piece gym, a dance studio and holds 35 classes a week, including flexibility, bokwa, circuits, and spinning, with April being the launch month of outdoor boot camps and running clubs.

Within a year John hopes to have doubled the centre’s size by creating a health café, steam rooms and an extra training area.

An open weekend is being held on March 29 and March 30 to allow people to try the range of facilities free of charge and experience the friendly, welcoming atmosphere. Activities over the weekend include a range of fitness taster sessions, family fitness classes, beauty treatments, sports massages and nutrition Q & A’s.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .