Chris Johnson looked over the newest branch of his gym with pride. It was the morning of opening day and he was surveying the scene from the front counter, a few elderly women were on the treadmills, a couple of bulky men were lifting in the free weights section and he listened to the instructor in the side room running the very first Yoga class. The facility was state of the art, and was a dazzling display of open space and natural lighting.
“Well, we did it!” Lisa said.
“Fucking oath we did!” Chris beamed and gave Lisa an excited high-five.
“Well it's official: Johnson’s Gym is now… finally... an international company!” She said grinning.
Chris was Australian and had always had a passion for fitness. He inherited the first branch of the gym, a little gym in the suburbs of Melbourne, when he was twenty-one as his father came into ill health. But Chris had a talent for business and, by his twenty-fourth birthday, had prospered so much that he could afford to open another branch of the gym. The company rose rapidly with him at the helm and new locations of "Johnson’s Gym" sprang up all over the country with great success. Now he stood at thirty-three years old, a wealthy and successful businessman already, in his crowing achievement: a new branch in Los Angeles.
"If only Dad could see it." He said still smiling.
"He'd be so proud." Lisa said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder.
Lisa Murphy was one of Chris’ oldest friends and his very first hire as the CEO of the company. They had known each other since they were born, their parents being close friends, and had a special bond. She was Chris’ right hand man for everything and had not even hesitated when he asked her for her help to make the move to America.
“How’s everything going?” A familiar voice interjected.
“Yeah it's going great Milo! How did it go in there, mate?” Chris greeted him warmly.
Ben ‘Milo’ Tate was another lifelong friend of Chris’ and his second right hand man. He went to school with Chris and Lisa, becoming friends with the pair in the fourth grade. He was a lifelong gym-rat and an all-round giant person, spending an ungodly amount of time working on his body. Ben had earned the nickname ‘Milo’ as he appeared in a commercial for the popular Australian drink in his early teens. He was Chris’ second hire as CEO and was a fiercely loyal human being. He had been running the Yoga session that had just finished.
“Yeah it went alright… Only a couple of people though.” Milo answered slightly dejected, “But it should improve, it is only the first day.” He added positively.
The four people that were in his class were slowly making their way out of the side room. There were two women who appeared to be in their early twenties and an elderly couple. The two young women smiled and waved at Milo as they left and their gazes lingered slightly on his hulking build. But the elderly couple talked for a moment and slowly approached the desk.
“Hello, we really loved the session! We paid for the session today, but we’re are thinking about getting a full membership.” The wife said.
“We aren’t sure though.” The husband added.
Chris warmly greeted the pair and offered several niceties before he gave them his best pitch, providing all the information they wanted, and finished with “Would you like to take the tour?”
They accepted and Chris lead them around the centre, showing them all the exercise equipment on the ground floor, the dedicated rooms for Yoga, spin classes and cross-fit. The husband, named Gary, looked decidedly unsure about the whole thing. It wasn’t until Chis showed them to the upstairs facilities that Gary had a change of heart. At Johnson’s Gym there were dedicated massage and physical therapy rooms that seemed to spark his interest.
But it wasn't until Chris had shown him downstairs that he knew he had made the sale. The downstairs area of the gym was the pool area, and was home to several pools, spas and showers as well as a few large, high end saunas.
“These saunas… are they… unisex?” Gary asked sheepishly, while his wife was out of earshot.
Chris smiled, “We have three rooms: one for men only, one only for women and one large communal unisex room.”
It was clear that Gary’s heart had changed drastically, and Chris was glad to sign up another two members to the LA branch of Johnson’s Gym.
Chris resumed his work at the front counter and kept his eye open for patrons in need.