Empire Fitness held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday for the grand opening of the new fitness center. Many people in the community came out to support this event as there was food, activities for kids and, most importantly, free classes available to the public.
Empire Fitness owner Labarron Smith and his business partner Michael Dowdell want to make this space an area for the community to learn about fitness and improve their performance. The gym provides many opportunities for this, including yoga classes, dance and fitness classes and other events that will be put on from time to time.
Smith said that he has a strong passion for fitness, and that he wanted to share it with the community. Opening up a fitness center was the perfect way to do so, he said.
“Fitness changed my life, and it’s helped me change other people’s life,” Smith said.
One tells his clients, “Getting in shape is the hardest and easiest things to do.”
Getting his clients to understand this is one of the reasons why fitness is so prominent in his life. All the steps Smith has taken on his own journey to success in the fitness world are steps he provides at Empire Fitness.
Meal prepping is another step to maintaining a healthy life, which is something that Smith provides in his gym. Aside from being a business partner to Smith, Dowdell is also the master behind the meal preps. “Crunch and Brunch” is a monthly event that Empire Fitness puts together, which Dowdell oversees.
At “Crunch and Brunch” clients are able to work out hard and then enjoy a meal as a reward. This is just one of the many events that is implemented at Empire Fitness.
After the fitness center takes off, one of Smith’s plans is to hopefully go back to his hometown in nearby Liberty County and give back to his community. He has been a part of an event called the Healthcare Fair, in which he will provide fitness classes to anyone in the community who wishes to participate.
He said he wanted to open a fitness center with a wider variety of activities is on his list of plans.
Smith says anyone looking to improve their mental health or start their fitness journey is more than welcome. Empire Fitness is located at 2810 Sharer Rd Unit 19. Be sure to follow Empire Fitness on Instagram where they post many updates as well as class times and prices.