Destination Fitness expands in Duluth

DULUTH —

Destination Fitness

is celebrating its expansion during an open house Saturday, Nov. 30 from 10 a.m. to noon. A grand opening will take place Jan. 4-5.

The family-owned and operated gym and wellness center is located at 4966 Rice Lake Road, near BoomTown Woodfire Bar & Grill.

A brand-new 11,000-square-foot building, called The Barn, triples the company’s footprint. By taking a “mind, body and soul” approach to business, Destination Fitness now hosts two dedicated gym spaces, along with an on-site wellness center and nutrition cafe.

Existing members were given a sneak peek of the new space this month. In December, its doors will officially open to new members and the general public.

Destination Fitness previously operated primarily from The Shed, a smaller adjacent building where adult fitness classes, personal training, homeschool physical education programs and youth sports training will continue to be held.

The aerial studio was relocated to The Barn to allow more personal training space in The Shed.

Jed Carlson / Duluth Media Group

The facility is just over a mile away from Duluth Indoor Sports Center, a separate gym which focuses primarily on tennis, pickleball, yoga, piyo and volleyball. Destination Fitness Owners Julie and Mike Hendrickson aim to serve as an all-in-one hub to set their business apart.

“I’m most excited to have a little bit more of a collaboration, and where everybody’s working together to have a one-stop-shop kind of a place,” Mike said.

Membership provides a la carte options, with military and senior discounts, and youth memberships with afternoon group workouts with a trainer.

“We have the athletes; their goals are to get stronger, faster,” Julie said. “We have older folks that come in who want to be able to play with their grandkids. For middle-aged adults — it’s typically weight loss.”

Jed Carlson / Duluth Media Group

The new 3,600-square-foot gym space provides 24-hour secure access to cardio equipment, free weights and weight machines. It also features restrooms, locker rooms, infrared saunas with towel services, a private personal training room and an aerial all-purpose studio for classes.

The new gym section is accessible to members only through a geo-fenced app, with a 10 p.m. curfew for ages 16 and under. The owners live on the premises.

“We just want to be as open to everybody as possible,” Julie said. “We’ve had a lot of people who are like, ‘Oh, good. I can put the kids to bed and come workout after, and not have to worry about it being closed.’”

The FitFuel Nutrition Cafe will serve Herbalife protein shakes and energizing teas from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

“We have a lot of evening stuff going on in here, and many times people leave the gym and they don’t have a plan for dinner, so they’re gonna make bad decisions or eat cereal,” Julie said. “The cafe will be open for people leaving class or after their after-work workout.”

The FitLife Wellness Center hosts six treatment rooms for eyelash extensions, esthetician services, or chiropractic, massage and physical therapy sessions. Destination Fitness partners with each practitioner as an independent contractor on a commission basis, and currently has an available room for an additional service provider.

Both Mike and Julie are certified in group fitness and personal training. Julie has obtained additional certification in yoga and kettlebell specialties, as well as senior fitness.

Jed Carlson / Duluth Media Group

Destination Fitness specializes in youth programming by providing all-sport training for everything from football to gymnastics.

“There’ll be a trainer here to help them with form as well as a program designed for them to get stronger over the course of the year,” Mike said.

The couple took a special interest in the next generation of athletes while their three children attended high school.

“At East High School, there was no weightlifting program there at all,” Mike said.

As former University of Minnesota Duluth athletes, the college sweethearts recognized a need to fulfill within their community.

“I would run programming for about 120 athletes down there, and we’d work out three days a week with strength training and agility training as well,” Mike said. “Then that morphed into, of course, other times, other groups of people coming up here.”

Although neither Mike or Julie have degrees in business, they’ve inherited the entrepreneurship gene from their business-owning parents.

“Entrepreneurship is born. It’s not taught,” Julie said, adding that her father’s company, Tim Anderson Construction, was instrumental in bringing their vision to fruition.

Jed Carlson / Duluth Media Group

Their adult children will be helping out as well — from working the shake shop counter to plowing the snow in the parking lot.

After earning a teaching degree from UMD, Julie got her start in the fitness industry as a personal trainer for the YMCA. One day, a client requested Julie come to her home to train because her child was sick.

“As a trainer from the Y, they don’t do that,” Julie said. “But it got me thinking, is there a need for that?”

Destination Fitness got its start when Julie began training clients in their homes and businesses, while her husband worked as a commercial truck driver to make ends meet. Eventually, their company formed a partnership with the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center — trading services for space.

Meanwhile, Mike Hendrickson obtained his personal training certification and they purchased their home. The property included the outbuilding that became The Shed.