POCATELLO — After being passed into the hands of new owners, the gym formerly known as Fitness Inc. Health Club is getting a facelift.

Locals Audrey England and Trina Hall have purchased Pocatello’s original gym located at 1800 Garrett Way Suite 19, and they have plans to upgrade and update its facilities and equipment over time and maintain the gym community that has long flourished behind its walls.

“This was the original gym in Pocatello,” said England, a surgical technician who also coaches group fitness. “This was it, there were no box chains. And we want to let others know that it’s being updated, it can compete with those box chains, and it’s locally owned.”

England and Hall met at Pocatello Fit Body Boot Camp and remained with it until 2019 when they partnered together to open Elevate Fit Body Boot Camp. But it wasn’t until August of this year that they learned that Fitness Inc. Health Club was about to permanently close its doors and an offer was extended to them to purchase the gym.

The pair debated it and committed to the decision to manage a 55,000 square foot operation — 52,700 square feet larger than what they had currently been managing.

“We were actually looking to expand our other business when this place (became available),” said Hall, who serves in the U.S. Navy and practices physical therapy in town. “We never would have in a million years taken what we had developed and gotten a full-service gym, but the opportunity presented itself and we came in here knowing it’s going to be a very huge uphill climb.”

The pair changed the name from Fitness Inc. Health Club to Elevate Fitness Pocatello, a combination that honors both businesses, and they have plans to update many features of the gym that haven’t seen renovations since it was first built in the 1970s.

Already they’ve remodeled the “Kid Zone” room, which allows childcare for up to 15 children per hour, upgraded the flooring in the group fitness room, added new roofing, and are currently renovating the men’s locker room and updating its showers and hot tub.

For the next phase they plan to update the women’s locker area, the pool area, and install new flooring, as well as bring in new equipment. New signage has also been ordered, and once it’s installed and the exterior updates are completed, they plan to hold a grand opening.

“There is a lot to do with this building that requires repairs and upgrades and so we’ve just been taking one step at a time,” said Hall.

In addition to renovations, they’ve also brought two new businesses into the building, including Raw Canvas Beauty and Massage, which offers body contouring and electromagnetic muscle stimulation among other services, and Starlight Nutrition, which offers protein shakes and supplement drinks.

“We love it because we’re supporting the outside community and they’re local just like we are,” said England. “We’re passionate about that.”

With the change in ownership, which occurred in early August of this year, England and Hall also added an annual maintenance fee of $35 that will contribute towards new equipment that members specifically request for the gym.

“It’s still the lowest maintenance fee in the area,” said Hall, who explained the fee charge is renewed every January. “We’re already negotiating what we’ll bring into the gym with Gym Outfitters. We don’t want to give it away, but some of the requests that members have been wanting is what we’re really focusing on, and we’re excited to do that every year.”

Hall is also thrilled to be bringing back racquetball tournaments, with the first slated for Nov. 19. She explained the Turkey Shoot has an entry fee of $20 and will be sponsored by Pepsi, Bingham Healthcare, D.L. Evans Bank, Subway, Taco Bell, Puerta Vallarta Mexican Restaurant, and many others. The entry deadline is Nov. 16.

As the only gym located in Southeast Idaho that has five racquetball courts, it is able to manage larger tournaments like this one and the pair hope to bring many more to its courts in the near future.

“I’m personally excited about the racquetball tournaments and to bring that back to life,” said Hall. “The guys who are here and involved in it are just like a little family, and that is something that I have taken special interest in.”

Maintaining the current family-feel of the gym’s community is one of the reasons they committed to purchasing the gym.

“They were closing their doors and we were like, ‘This is a community we have created here,’” said Hall. “We didn’t want it to go away and the members were devastated. That’s when we put our heads together and thought, should we do this?”

Though the gym has passed into new hands, the pair explained they hope to continue to create an environment that allows its long-established community to meet on a weekly or even daily basis.

“We just hope we can prove, especially in the first year, that we’re here to make positive changes and want this building to thrive,” said Hall.

“I think it’s cool that two women are rocking this, and one of them is a veteran to boot, so I feel pretty honored to be able to do it together,” England added.