ROGERS PARK — A new Anytime Fitness gym officially opened Monday on Devon Avenue, a dream owner Rick Thompson has been trying to make happen for the past two years, he said.
"Fitness is my life's passion, and I've always wanted to own my own gym," Thompson said.
On Monday, that idea become a reality when the Devon Avenue location, Chicago's only Anytime Fitness, opened its doors.
The gym, 1344 W. Devon Ave., has adjacent parking with 24-hour security and member access, offers private showers, personal trainers, cardio and strength training equipment, and virtual classes.
Seniors, veterans, students, teachers, and firefighters and police officers are eligible for discounted memberships, which normally range from $36-60 per month. Memberships can be used at any Anytime Fitness location around the world.
Thompson is the vice president of talent scouting for a medical company downtown by day, and though he's worked in gyms before, said he has a "great," longtime general manager who runs and operates the business while he's at work.
Though he considers working out his passion now, he said it wasn't always that way.
As he was turning 30, Thompson said he was out of shape, tired, weak and unhappy with himself physically.
He began asking around looking for advice on how to get in shape, and eventually got involved in the world of fitness.
"I never looked back," Thompson said.
Then, a few years ago while on a trip in Ohio, Thompson said he stopped into an Anytime Fitness for a quick work out, but ended up meeting the owner and becoming interested in the prospect of opening his own branch.
Thompson said someday he'd love to be able to "leave the corporate world" and be able to live off his gym investment — a dream he said his current boss is aware and "fully supportive" of.
The gym is the latest development to blossom along a growing Devon Avenue, which now includes several new luxury residential properties, restaurant retail space, and the Heartland Health Center.
By late summer, the Cozy Corner pancake house should be open in the spot of the former Deluxe Diner, and though plans for a family-owned brew pub at 1221 W. Devon Ave. (topped with residential units) fell through — its developer said there was "high interest" in the space.
Aldermen Joe Moore (49th), Harry Osterman (48th) and Patrick O'Connor (50th), who all have a stake in Devon Avenue, gathered last summer to express their desire to see a transformed and revitalized corridor along Devon.
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