Anytime Fitness: The 'Cheers' of Fitness

You don’t have to be a lifelong gym member to get into the fitness industry. Consider the case of Eric Skovronek, owner of Anytime Fitness on Tabor Road in Morris Plains.

“[I’ve been fit] just to the extent that I’ve been healthy all my life,” Skovronek said. “I’ve coached kids and played soccer myself, but I had never belonged to a gym before in my life.”

So, what drew Skovronek to open a brand-new fitness facility back in 2009?

“I was looking for a business [to start]," Skovronek recalled. "I left corporate America looking for a business, did my standard research and decided that a franchise was right for me. I wanted something that had a known success behind it. I went online and started looking at different franchises. These 24-hour fitness ones started to pop up.”

After some more research, Skovronek and his co-owner and wife Dodi decided that Anytime Fitness was a perfect fit for their franchising desires.

“They provided a lot of support, when I called them for information, they had everything I needed, and when I visited Anytime Fitness (locations) around, I had a very pleasant experience,” Skovronek said.

Since then, the business has grown steadily. Under the premise of friendly customer service and no-gimmick membership arrangements, Anytime Fitness has become what Skovronek proudly calls “the neighborhood gym” for those in the surrounding area.

“There’s a lot of coldness in the industry,” he said. "You’ve got these huge places where you come in, you park a million miles away and you have to deal with this huge place.

"As a smaller club, we have a friendlier culture. I like to say we’re the ‘Cheers’ of fitness, because I pretty much know everybody when they walk in the door. Culturally, I think we’re different from the traditional fitness center.”

Skovronek prides his center on its straightforward approach to dealing with new clients, as well.

“Every gym is different and has different things to offer, so there’s all these sale type of things to get you in,” Skovronek said. "I just didn’t like that, to be honest with you. I like to know exactly what I’m getting and what I’m paying. I guess we’re bucking the system a little bit; we don’t have a lot of gimmicks going on all the time. We’ve tried to make it a more professional atmosphere and environment, both from a membership perspective as well as an experience.”

Also assisting in this professional atmosphere is the facility’s upkeep. According to Skovronek, a clean atmosphere can go a long way in keeping clients satisfied.

“We know people feel uncomfortable in unclean facilities,” Skovronek said. “Therefore, we personally work very hard to keep our club immaculate.”

Skovronek told Patch that Anytime Fitness also plays an active role in the community, participating in volunteer events with local fire departments, parent-teacher organizations and youth sports leagues. The center has also hosted a blood drive in the past, which seems to be more successful each time out.

“Our last blood drive was a huge success,” Skovronek said. “We had twice as many pints collected as we usually do.”

In the end, the folks at Anytime Fitness hope to create a convenient and comfortable atmosphere for anyone looking to get fit in a relaxed setting.

“You’ve got to find the place that’s convenient to you—whether it be location, traffic, traffic patterns, parking or hours, it’s all got to be there—and you have to feel comfortable when you’re there".