Gym Prepares Expansion to Greenfield

Amber Martinez was a competitive figure skater as a teenager. The death of her grandmother took a significant toll on her well-being causing her to gain 120 lbs during her figure skating career. Martinez struggled with her image, until at 17 years old, she chose to hold herself accountable and invested in a gym membership and a personal trainer.

The passion she showed at the gym became noticeable to the staff, and they offered her a job at the front desk. Martinez understood the responsibility of serving people. She ensured that she folded the best towels and greeted members with enthusiasm. Her position was more than working at a gym, she felt it was a privilege to help people live better lives.

Martinez has worked with Crunch Fitness since 1998. Since her front desk position, she’s been influenced by the community and developed personally and professionally through the brand. Martinez is now the Brand President and Operating Partner of Crunch Fitness, actively enforcing an inclusive culture and a sense of belonging at each gym.

“I can’t imagine being anywhere else. I’ve been allowed to serve my purpose.” Martinez said. “When you find what you’re meant to do, how do you leave that?”

On Saturday November 23^rd Crunch Fitness held their Founding Members Block Party in preparation for the grand opening of their Greenfield location, one of four locations being introduced to the Milwaukee area. Crunch partnered with over 50 local businesses and offered free Crunch items to welcome members to the gym and become part of the community.

Sebashtin Debauche, a freshman at UW-Milwaukee majoring in Pre-Medicine became one of the founding members at Crunch. He currently holds gym memberships at Planet Fitness and VASA, but wanted to give Crunch a try due to its proximity and relevance.

“I’m just hoping for a good atmosphere with it because you can have some gyms that can be dead and there’s nothing good about it,” Debauche said, “But then you can have a gym where there’s a lot of positivity, and it’s just the people at the end of the day.”

Debauche, among hundreds of others attended the block party meeting their personal trainers, seeing the layout of the gym and learning about the services that the businesses have to offer. Zumba instructors held demonstrations for members creating connections and experiencing the gym environment.

Some instructors and trainers that worked at Xperience Fitness prior were brought to Crunch Fitness to reconnect the community. Jamie Eslinger, Chief Marketing Officer at JEM Wellness met with new members and learned about their excitement for the gym and its amenities.

“We had people coming up and hugging their personal trainers that they used to work with,” Eslinger said. “I think that’s something that’s so special about what Crunch does. We don’t just build a gym; we build a community.”

The $5 million gym includes a high intensity interval training (HIIT) zone, personal training, group fitness, sauna, free weights, a relax and recovery room and many other amenities. Greenfield’s Crunch Fitness, located at 6251 S 27^th St is expected to open on December 14^th and will be open 24/7, excluding some holidays.