LAKE JACKSON — One of Isaac Newton’s most quoted laws of physics is that an object in motion will stay in motion. In the case of Family Fitness, the machines, foot traffic and fun have kept the place in constant motion for almost 26 years.
However, an outside force will bring them to a halt.
Family Fitness founder and owner Kay Aplin confirmed through a Facebook post Friday a rumor the fitness center would be closing its doors. The gym’s final day of operation will be Wednesday.
“The COVID-19 pandemic dealt a tremendous blow to the business,” Aplin wrote. “Since then, escalating overhead and property taxes, operating costs and coupled with changes in the health and fitness world have just proven too costly to overcome.”
The closure of Family Fitness marks the end of an era for many in the community who have come to see the gym as more than just a place to work out. Unlike other gyms, many members have come to appreciate Family Fitness for its “family” aspect, offering flexibility and child care for members and staff. People also have made lifelong friends and built a community among its members.
“I have always said Family Fitness was not just a gym, it’s a health club,” Aplin wrote. “For me, it has been my baby, and for all of those who have passed through Family Fitness’ doors, it has been a special community where we have grown together. It is hard to say goodbye.”
For Ariel Lara, the gym has been much more than a tool or background fixture of her life. It’s been a backbone in her coming of age, triumph and tribulations of her adult life.
“The people there have seen me grow up from a 17-year-old to a 31-year-old,” Lara said. “They have been there through every major event in my life. We’ve built a really solid friendship. It’s almost like being in the military — when you wake up and sweat together, you get pretty bonded.”
Hhe and her group of about 15 friends toured a new gym together Monday morning. They had met and bonded in a Family Fitness spin class and intended to keep the friendship and support system of accountability long after the facility’s closing. Although Lara will leave with a posse, it didn’t start that way.
Family Fitness offered Lara one of her first jobs. Being bilingual and a hard worker, she soon was promoted and charged with more responsibility. Aplin took her under her wing, coaching her on professionalism and power within the workplace.
“She helped me polish up professionally and personally,” Lara said. “Otherwise I’d still be wearing large hoop earrings. She was one of the first to introduce me to the red lipstick, which is the signature thing for me now. After I moved on, I always give Kay a nod in any of my stories for being one of the first ones to take a real chance on me.”
An early bird, Lara did in fact get the worm when it came to interpersonal relationships. She made lifelong friends and even met her husband at the gym. When she battled breast cancer and couldn’t exercise, she’d show up anyway, the routine and community being crucial to her mental and emotional recovery.
“There were times I couldn’t work out, but just waking up and getting to the gym was so important for my mental health,” Lara said
Friends from her 5 a.m. class, including her close friend Glenn Jones, were there to offer support.
“Glenn would come pick me up when I couldn’t drive myself to the gym after treatments or surgery,” she said.
These moments of support and solidarity highlight the deep bonds formed within the Family Fitness community.
“The community there, it feels like a safe place,” Kristina Davenport said. “There’s people there of all ages and different skill levels, and it just felt good.”
Davenport has been coming to Family Fitness on and off since she was in college. It has been constant through classes, changing seasons, career growth and family milestones.
“The community is great,” Davenport said. “I loved all the classes they offered. And it was at such a great rate. I don’t know if it was really disappointing. Specifically, the last two years have been focusing a lot on yoga, and I love their yoga classes. The group there is just really, great. There’s people there of all ages and different skill levels, and it just felt good.”
Davenport fell into a rhythm of attending yoga classes Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Davenport also enjoyed participating in special events, such as the couples yoga featured on Valentine’s Day that she did with her husband. She would look forward to the classes in a fun, encouraging environment.
When she found out the gym was closing, she was at a loss.
Davenport said that one of the best things about Family Fitness was the staff, especially the yoga instructors. However, just as important was the environment they cultivated.
“It felt like home,” Davenport said. “It felt like family. Everyone’s encouraging. It’s just a fun place to be.”
One of the instructors who worked on cultivating the familial atmosphere was Kevyn Trammell.
Trammell has been working as an instructor at Family Fitness for more than three years, teaching Body Pump Cycle and TRX classes. Although her time with Family Fitness is coming to a close, she continues to squeeze in every last moment she can.
“I just taught this morning,” Trammell said, “Family Fitness is just … it has a home feeling, especially because I didn’t know anybody when I moved here.”
A former YMCA instructor and Alvin ISD teacher, Trammell didn’t have a friend in Brazoria County when she came down to Lake Jackson. She teaches at other locations, but really loved Family Fitness because it reminded her of the warmth of her old YMCA. It wasn’t superficial, as she herself soon warmed up to the county though the gym and its friendly faces.
She contributed as much as she collected. Trammell’s classes not only provided physical fitness but also created a welcoming environment.
“The best aspect of working somewhere like Family Fitness is the community part of it, and just getting to know the people there,” Trammell said.
Morning, noon or night, she does her best to spread cheer, singing along as she works out, smiling when others follow her lead.
The closure of Family Fitness marks the end of an era for its patrons and Lake Jackson, but the lesson lives on in the people the establishment touched. The announcement has been met with an outpouring of gratitude and sadness from long-time members and staff. Knowing how many dread getting up to go to a gym, the outpouring of loss paints a picture of a community saddened by the thought of the final time they will leave though those familiar front doors.
“I want to thank you for your loyalty all of these years. I will always cherish the memories, and I hope you will too,” Aplin wrote.
The gym’s business office will remain open for the next two weeks to answer any questions from members and assist with the transition.
