From a gym on the main drag in Lennox Head, to a new home at Epiq and a second gym in Byron, Surfit is on a steep learning and growth trajectory – now celebrating their first year, Surfit gym Byron Bay is looking toward the future and many more years ahead.
Surfit owner Dave Westaway says the first year in the Byron location has been amazing. ‘We have developed an amazing community within our club.’
‘We have set up the gym with strict rules regarding privacy, hygiene and tidiness. We have banned tripods and filming, towels must be used, and shoes are to be worn at all times. We also heavily discourage the use of phones for anything other than workout-related activities.’
‘These rules aren’t popular with a handful of members, but it’s a welcome change to what many people experience in most gyms around the world.’
The vision and the reality
Westaway, who has operated the mothership Surfit gym for over a decade, says that the time between the vision and the reality of the Byron gym was about five years. ‘It’s great to have one of our gyms in Byron.’
‘I had one in Ballina before that, and I was a trainer in Sydney for 15 years before that. Over that five or six years there was never any suitable place. When this site came up it was very similar to our one in Lennox Head, which is in the shopping centre above Woolworths. So really, it was almost the same situation, and we pretty much did the same thing.’
Westaway says the Byron reality has exceeded the expectations of the original vision. ‘The community of people that we have here is great, like the seniors’ classes three days a week, it’s a nice, little, beautiful community event.’
A community-focused gym
‘We’re really strongly community-focused. We’re just creating communities within the community. It’s funny when we see people in here and they’re all in their own group – they make their own little social group. And couples! Prospective marriages have started in the gym. It’s nice.
‘We are also out in the community. We are sponsors of a couple of footy teams and we are involved with other events. We support locals – like the wildlife hospital fundraiser.
‘We’re really the only club here in Byron – we found that there was a need for a gym that was new and had great parking, especially on the bottom level – it’s always empty!’
Westaway says there are subtle difference between the Lennox and Byron gyms. ‘Lennox has a lot more classes. We really didn’t go much for classes here, it’s a different demographic. Lennox is a lot more family-orientated, and a bit older, but on average, realistically, the type of person that comes to use it is very similar.’
Celebratuing in March
Westaway says the Byron gym will be celebrating in March with membership deals and a spinning wheel for members with prizes from energy drinks to free memberships.
Westaway says the next 12 months will be about consolidation. ‘We’re really happy with how it’s all going. So after one year, to be able to just look back and say, “well, it’s come such a long way”, is great stuff. We’re really just lucky. We’ve got great staff and great members.’
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