EP 301: Four Military Veterans Rescue a Beloved Neighborhood Gym in North Fort Worth

What happens when four military veterans accidentally stumble upon the chance to save a beloved community gym? Mona Romo from At Fitness shares the inspiring story of how two veteran couples transformed a bankrupt North Fort Worth fitness center into something extraordinary - a place where community matters more than competition and everyone knows your name.

We explore the unique challenges facing local fitness businesses in an industry dominated by corporate chains and intimidating environments. Mona reveals how At Fitness breaks down the biggest barriers preventing people from starting their fitness journeys, creating welcoming spaces where your current fitness level doesn't determine your belonging. The conversation dives deep into effective marketing strategies that blend traditional methods with authentic community engagement, showing how word-of-mouth recommendations from genuine relationships often outperform expensive advertising campaigns.

From full daycare services to specialized military discounts, At Fitness demonstrates how understanding your community's specific needs drives both business success and meaningful impact. Mona discusses the balance between growth ambitions and maintaining the personal touch that makes small businesses special, offering valuable insights for entrepreneurs considering community-focused business models. The veteran ownership brings unique perspectives on leadership, service, and building trust that translates into exceptional customer care and operational excellence.

Whether you're interested in fitness, small business success stories, or military veteran entrepreneurship, this conversation offers inspiration and practical wisdom. Subscribe for more local business stories that prove the best companies grow from genuine community connections and shared values.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Sophia Yvette.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Are you in need of a full-scalefitness gym?
Well, one may be closer thanyou think.
Today I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,
mona Romo, with At Fitness.
Mona, how are you today?
I'm good.
Sophia, how are you?
I'm also doing good.

(00:31):
Now we are so excited to learnall about you and your business.
Can you start by telling ourlisteners a little bit about
your company?

Speaker 3 (00:42):
Sure.
So we are a full-size fitnesscenter.
We have been open for justabout three months and we're a
little bit different in nature.
We are not a corporation.
We are literally just twocouples All of us are military
veterans that got together andtook the opportunity to reopen a

(01:02):
kind of a beloved community gymwithin the North Fort Worth
area, bringing it back as ourown branded company called At
Fitness.

Speaker 2 (01:12):
And all of you together.
How did you decide to cometogether to create this business
?

Speaker 3 (01:19):
It was really kind of by accident.
So we my husband and I have aBrazilian jiu-jitsu gym here in
Fort Worth and one of ourstudents, who has become quite a
critical component in our worldover there, also has a
laundromat in this North FortWorth area and happened to cross
this gym that had gone bankruptafter COVID.
We learned a little bit aboutthis gym and how important it

(01:41):
was to the community and so,being the like-minded
individuals that we are, we gottogether and said, hey, let's
bring this thing back.
So it was a little bit byaccident, but it's been a really
good journey and we're learninga lot about the community
around us and truly theimportance of this particular
fitness gym to the area.

Speaker 2 (01:59):
And what is the most common myth or misconception
you've come across since openingyour gym?

Speaker 3 (02:05):
So I think the biggest thing is is that a lot
of people believe that they haveto be either incredibly fit to
walk through the doors of thegym or that the gym itself can
be a very intimidating place.
I think the best thing aboutthis gym and one of the reasons
that has been so important tothe community is that the people
around it is what makes thisgym a very successful place to
work and a place that feelscomfortable to come into.

(02:27):
Regardless of what shape you'rein, regardless of where you're
at on your fitness journey, itin itself is just a really good
community home.

Speaker 2 (02:36):
Now, Mona, we know marketing is the heart of every
business.
How do you currently marketyour business and who are your
potential clients?

Speaker 3 (02:47):
So I think our potential clients are definitely
the community.
There are a lot of big box gymsin the area and they all have
wonderful things to offer.
Some of them have, you know, alot of bells and whistles that
folks are looking for, etc.
But I think here our clienteleis those folks that are just
looking for not only a place toget a full workout in and meet

(03:07):
their own personal goals, but aplace that they can come in and
they know people, and so whenyou come into at fitness, you're
going to find a lot of peoplewho have been coming to this
location for years upon years,upon years, regardless of what
gym it was in the past, and soit's just a really good,
comfortable place to be.
As far as marketing, we aretrying to use some of the
traditional methods.
We're reaching out a lot on oursocial media platforms,

(03:29):
including Instagram, tiktok,facebook and a couple of other
different areas.
We're working through some ofthose old school methods of
flyers, stopping next door andsaying hi to our, and with that,
we are also relying on ourcommunity to spread the word,
and I would say, out of all ofthe marketing things that we're

(03:49):
using, believe it or not, thatcommunity spread in this area of
Fort Worth is huge and I thinkit's one of our biggest people
attractors thus far.

Speaker 2 (03:57):
Now, have you ever thought of having your own
podcast?

Speaker 3 (04:01):
No, I haven't so.
We had talked about it in oneof our other businesses, our
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy, butwe hadn't really crossed that
path here.
So certainly we welcome theopportunity to get the word out
in any fashion, and this is agreat start.

Speaker 2 (04:15):
Certainly Now, outside of work, what do you all
like to do for fun?

Speaker 3 (04:21):
Well, there are four of us, so I can really only
speak to myself and my husband,which is just half of the
equation.
I'll try to put in a plug forMike and Ellie as well.
David and I we actuallyballroom dance, so aside from
the jujitsu and the gym somecorporate spaces that we are in

(04:41):
we try to dance as often as wecan.
Mike and Ellie they've got agreat thing with TB's laundromat
right next door to the gym, andI know that they are heavily
involved in coffee from Panamaand then things of that nature.
So we're kind of a diversecrowd over here.
We try to keep it fun and makesure that we're taking care of
the light side of things as wellas the business.

Speaker 2 (04:59):
Amazing.
Now, Mona, please tell ourlisteners one thing they should
remember about at-fitness.

Speaker 3 (05:09):
I think the biggest thing with at-fitness is, again
we are a community.
We are for veterans, looking toservice this area.
We want to grow, we want to be abig gym, we want to be
successful in this space for thelong term, but we don't want to
lose the community feel of whatwe do, and so when we're
talking about at-fitness, notonly is it just a comfortable
and friendly place to come inthe front desk staff if you've

(05:31):
been in here more than a coupleof times, they're going to know
who you are, they're going toknow your name and they're going
to welcome you in when you comein.
We do have a full daycarefacility here.
We are looking to expand ourhours in that area, but I think
that that's a nice little plugfor us as well, that not only
can you come in and get yourworkout for our ladies who have
kids at home during the day, etcetera, they've got a place to

(05:51):
come and work out with the momfriends.
And then we do have a fullsuite of group fitness
activities here that we arecontinuously expanding on as
well, and so we just want tomake sure that everybody knows
that there's a great deal tooffer here at At Fitness and we
would welcome you in at any timeto check us out with a free day
pass, just to make sure thatit's the right fit for you.

(06:12):
We're certain you're going tolike what you see when you walk
through the door now you saidyou all served in different
branches of the military.

Speaker 2 (06:21):
What branch did you serve in?

Speaker 3 (06:23):
so I was actually air force, as was my husband, and
then Mike and Ellie.
I believe Mike was Marines andEllie was Army, so we almost got
them all.
We also have a general managerwith us.
His name is David.
David was also Marines, and soyou know we love our military
community and our firstresponder community.
We do have special packagesavailable for that subset of the

(06:45):
community as well.

Speaker 2 (06:47):
Most definitely.
Thank you all for your time andthe service.
My older brother was actually aMarine, so that's pretty cool,
beautiful, and where can ourlisteners go at this time to
learn more about App Fitness?

Speaker 3 (07:05):
So certainly, you're always welcome to stop by.
I should put a plug in that weactually have our official grand
opening tomorrow.
So we are at 7410 North BeachStreet on the north side of Fort
Worth.
Our grand opening eventactually starts at 11 and our
ribbon cutting is at four.
So, because we are communitydriven, we have invited a number
of our local communitybusinesses to come out and

(07:28):
celebrate with us, and so we'veturned it into a little bit of
an all day event.
You'll see a number of vendorsout here with.
There will be a cold plunge outhere, there will be jewelry,
there will be some makeupproducts, there will be some gym
equipment and anything andeverything in between.
I think we've even got a foodtruck coming.
So please come celebrate withus.
The Hispanic Chamber ofCommerce will be out here at 4
pm to cut our ribbon with us.

(07:50):
We've got someone who willbreak out that celebration with
the national anthem, so join usif you can.
Otherwise, please check us outwwwatfitnesstxcom for more
information.

Speaker 2 (08:04):
Well, Mona, I really appreciate you being on the show
.
We wish you and your businessthe best moving forward.

Speaker 3 (08:12):
Thanks so much for having us, Sophia.

Speaker 1 (08:14):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to gnpfriscocom, toGNPFriscocom.
That's GNPFriscocom, or call469-221-9345.