Stepz looks for opening of largest club and end of NSW lockdown

Australian owned 24/7 gym franchise Stepz Fitness is looking forward to opening two new facilities as the NSW Government’s Coronavirus lockdown ends on 11th October, bringing the group’s footprint to 16 clubs.

Originally due to have opened in July, but stalled by the NSW lockdown that commenced in late June, the new gyms are in the Sydney suburb of Eastwood and Shellharbour in the NSW Illawarra region.

At 500 metre², the Shellharbour gym, in the Stockland Shellharbour Shopping Centre, will be the largest ever Stepz facility.

For franchisee Daniel Hotchkis, Shellharbour will be his second Stepz franchise, having operated the 300 metre² Stepz Dapto since 2019.

Hotchkis, who previously operated his personal training business from his garage, has driven Stepz Dapto to be the most successful gym in the group since its opening.

While opening of Stepz Shellharbour has been delayed by the lockdown, Stepz Fitness Managing Director and franchisor, Sam Waller explains “lockdown has given Daniel more time to deal with finalising the build process and to refine the product offering and he is now confident that he will repeat the success of his Dapto gym.

“When I met him, he was operating out of an un-airconditioned shed and is now our top franchisee. His community are so supportive of him and he is driving some amazing charity events.”

Waller acknowledges that “it has been hard to sign up members during lockdown but with 11th October approaching we are confident Stepz Shellharbour - where Daniel has already generated huge support and local interest – and all our clubs will bounce back.

“While in NSW we are waiting for clarification of how the one person per 4 metre² rule we be applied, having classes capped at 20 exercisers is not an issue an issue for us we keep our group fitness classes small and intimate.”

While waiting guidance on how the NSW Government will require facilities to operate with vaccine passports, Waller advises “we want to open in safest way possible and are appreciate their may be challenges and some push back with vaccine passports.

“We know our backend management systems from Vigyr will cope but also appreciate that social distancing will not go away so we are spacing how our gyms operate so members don’t feel cramped.”

With nine of the group’s current clubs in Queensland, Waller also acknowledges that “our Queensland clubs have been less affected by lockdowns. Which has given our group more stability than last year Looking forward, Waller is excited about how the industry will perform post-lockdown, concluding “Stepz Fitness is so confident in going all out in the health and fitness industry given the lockdowns and our belief that our members will flock back.”

For more information on Stepz Shellharbour go to www.stepzfitness.com.au/location/gym-shellharbour/

Images: The spacious layout of Stepz Shellharbour. Credit: Stepz Fitness.