by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
What do you do when you lease space for a new fitness facility and discover that you have in the process inherited a 1,200-pound bank vault door?
If you’re Gold’s Gym Downtown, you make it part of the second-floor decor and then create a slogan that makes sense.
“When we got here, the door was old and rusty and just lying there in the middle of the floor,” said manager Stacie Hines. “The question was, ‘What do we do with it?’ We couldn’t get it out because not only would it not fit, but it exceeded the (weight) capacity of the elevator. We scrubbed off all the rust and painted it, then got six really big guys to stand it up so we could mount it in the wall. They didn’t mind – it was a chance for them to show off their muscles.”
Having the door as a permanent fixture in the free-weight area inspired the staff to come up with the slogan: “Fitness you can bank on.”
The Downtown location opened in February and Hines said the center has attracted many Downtown workers and residents, including many who joined Gold’s at the Baymeadows location but find it more convenient to work out in the West Forsyth Street location before, during or after their workday.
“We see a lot of Downtown residents plus firefighters, police officers and City Hall employees,” said Hines.