2 This is the GoodLife.

Despite having opened a year late as a result of construction delays at Sudbury's Southridge Mall, business is booming at GoodLife Fitness.

A four-month pre-sales effort saw the club open to a 1,700 membership in December 2006, a number which has nearly doubled to 3,000 members in just three months.

"We've definitely exceeded all expectations the club has thrown at us, in terms of the number of members that we have, the success of our opening, and the positive feedback of our members," says Trevor Mielke, general manager.

"It's just been overwhelmingly positive thus far."

Having been listed as one of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies for five consecutive years, GoodLife Fitness allows its employees the opportunity to constantly improve themselves, Mielke says. With a structured series of incentives and training as well as opportunities to move up the corporate ladder, employees are given the chance to invest themselves in the company on a long-term basis.

This ability to grow professionally is important, given the 49 employees working at the Sudbury facility, says Mielke. This includes nine customer service representatives, group exercise leaders, as well as a variety of training and fitness instructors.

Mielke, who is originally from Scarborough, but has spent several years on Sudbury management teams for Winners Merchants Inc. and Future Shop, says a general change in attitudes towards maintaining a healthy lifestyle has helped to bolster the club's membership.

General controversies surrounding questionable fitness programs have given way to an awareness about how fitness regimes can eventually save money on healthcare, says Mielke. As an example, he points to the recent federal decision to give $500 vouchers to promote healthy programs for children.

"People are starting to see the benefits of becoming more physically active, and that's what we try to do in that we try to incorporate fitness into people's lifestyle as opposed to becoming bodybuilders. We want you to be fit and hit all your fitness goals, but we want you to maintain it so that it's not a six-month project, but something you continue for the rest of your life."

The fitness chain's 28-year history further serves to draw interest among Sudburians, who seek stability in their fitness clubs after years of witnessing numerous local facilities shut their doors soon after their opening, he says.

That sense of a need for a club with a strong business background led the chain to set up shop in Sudbury Its location in the Southridge Mall will serve as a mutually beneficial relationship, he says, as the mall's ongoing renovations will help boost membership, while existing members will make more extensive use of mall facilities.

At 22,000 square feet, the Sudbury facility is one of the largest among the London-based chain's 127 clubs across Canada, and includes 60 cardiovascular exercise machines, three lines of weight training machines, a freeweight section, a large group exercise area, a cycling studio and a child-minding service. Mielke says the facility's size is an attempt to offer convenience to its members so as to be the "third-most visited place" in their lives, next to their home and their job.

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Given the rapid development of its membership, Mielke says rumors abound around the potential construction of additional GoodLife facilities in the area.

"We're not at capacity by any means, though it's heading that way," he says. "If we get up over 5,000 members, they'll start looking at other options to build another club in Sudbury."

QUICK FACTS

GoodLife Fitness

Head office: London, ON

Founded: 1979

CEO: David Patchell-Evans

Employees: 4,000

www.goodlifefitness.com

By NICK STEWART

Northern Ontario Business