Waukesha Gold's Gym members shocked by facility's impending closure: 'Where are we going to go?'

WAUKESHA - One by one, members walked up to manager Mark Fine as he stood behind the counter at Gold's Gym to express their shock, sadness or general dismay over the announcement that their fitness club was closing down.

There was Mark Heinzelmann, a long-time member who said the gym changed the lives of him and his wife. He was among the first to hear about the closing.

"I'm bonked. When my wife told me, I almost cried," Heinzelmann said.

There was Judy Carlson, whose 38-year-old developmentally disabled son, Dan, joined the gym to manage his health and continue to compete in the Special Olympics.

"He's been coming here for years, and Gold's Gym changed him as far as having him be more independent. ... The staff was never negative or never got tired of his questions or concerns or his ideas," Carlson said.

And there was Mark Travers, who joined even before the gym filled the main floor of the old Sentry supermarket building at Moreland Plaza, at the corner of Moreland Boulevard and Delafield Street, and fully opened in August 2009.

"I've been having little support groups for the past week," Travers said, gesturing to various places around the 40,000-square-foot facility. "You know, guys meeting in different spots, asking 'where are we going to go, what are we going to do, what's going on now?' I don't know. I don't have a plan."

Sudden notice

With one final smack of the weights, Gold's Gym, the local franchise of a long-time national fitness chain, will close its doors  Sunday, July 8.

Fine, the gym's first manager in 2009 who returned after a three-year assignment at Gold's downtown Milwaukee location, accepted members' gratitude and well-wishes with a firm handshake, but preferred not to delve into the details of why the gym was closing.

He would leave that task to one of the owners, Joe Harrison, who was expected to be at the gym on closing day to talk to anyone on hand.

Officially, in its notification to members, the franchisee, Moreland WI LLC, cited lease concerns.

"We have always tried to provide an optimal environment, with state-of-the-art amenities at Gold's Gym in Waukesha. Sadly, due to unsuccessful negotiations regarding our rent structure with our landlord, we have decided it is time to close the doors of this location," said the notice, which was posted on both entry doors and sent by email to members.

In the notice, the owners acknowledged the abruptness of the announcement — coming just six days ahead of the closing date. The reason, they stated, was last-ditch efforts to find another ownership group or major club chain to take over the location, or to find other alternatives for members, all of which proved unsuccessful.

Family of members

Rather than dwelling on such details, Fine focused on the words of the members who have sought him out about since the announcement first went out July 2 that the gym is indeed closing.

Some members wondered what role Xperience Fitness, which opened in 2015 in part of the old Kmart building on Sunset Drive, has played in a membership shift. (Fine acknowledged that Xperience reportedly has 13,000 members, compared to about 7,000 for Gold's at its peak.)

But Fine said it's hard to compare Xperience with Gold's as it concerns membership.

"It's not the same community that was built here," Fine said, calling its customers "a family" of members. "It's kind of like 'Cheers' here, where everybody knows your name."

Travers agreed.

"I was in a car accident, and for two months I was out and couldn't wait to get back here," Travers said. "Just seeing familiar faces, without knowing anything about their life stories, I considered them all my friends."