Source: Ecore
Lahore, the capital city of the province of Punjab, is the second most populous city in the country of Pakistan. A prosperous cosmopolitan area, the people of Lahore also like to exercise; but there weren’t a lot of fitness clubs.
“I was always working out and thinking about exercise,” said Murad Ansari, CEO and owner of Matrix Fitness & Health. “I became obsessed with it. But there were no good gyms in my neighborhood. I had to drive 15 to 20 minutes, and other people had the same problem.”
To solve these issues, Ansari decided to leave his job in the engineering field and open his own 13,000-square-foot health club, Matrix Fitness & Health, in May. Ansari did his homework before beginning this project, which included what products to use in his facility including surfacing. “Through my contacts, I tried to find the best flooring in the world,” said Ansari. “I wanted it to be long-lasting, but my most basic concern was the smell.”
That’s because during Ansari’s travels around the world, he noticed many of the rubber surfaces in the fitness clubs he worked out in had a bad odor. “The gym is a closed space and you don’t want a bad smell,” said Ansari. During one of Ansari’s trips, he traveled to Toronto, Canada, where he worked out in a GoodLife Fitness. Impressed with the surfacing, which GoodLife uses in its 300 locations throughout Canada, he discovered it was Ecore Athletic.
As a result, Ansari selected three Ecore Athletic surfaces for his own gym. He installed 2,000 square feet of Performance Beast, a 10.5mm dual durometer system designed for heavy strength training, in the men’s weight room. He selected 2,000 square feet of Everlast, an 8mm thick performance roll for the women’s weight room and cardio area. And he specified 2,000 square feet of Performance Rally, another dual durometer system, for the studio which houses group classes like CrossFit, HIIT, yoga and dance. This surface absorbs the impact force related to aggressive functional training. Because all three of the products are made out of performance rubber, they also provide safety, ergonomic and acoustic benefits.
Ansari’s gym has been well received, and he had 325 members join in the first month. “We’ve had a great response,” said Ansari. “The customers really appreciate the extra cushioning in the surface, and one of the best things about this flooring is that there is no rubber smell!”
Ansari also appreciates the floors’ cleanability. “It’s super easy to clean and looks good,” said Ansari. “There is a lot of dirt in Pakistan. On this floor, the dirt doesn’t stick on the surface. You can mop it, and it comes off easily.”
So far, all the feedback has been positive. “Nobody else in Pakistan has used Ecore Athletic surfaces before, especially in this design and color,” said Ansari.
After experiencing such great success, Ansari is already planning to open a second gym later this year, and he plans to specify more Ecore Athletic surfacing.
