With what started as a lifetime dream to open up a business, turned into reality for a father and son.
Back in the beginning of 2018, senior Michael Bartholomew and father Kenneth Bartholomew decided they were going to make the dream come to life. Kenneth Bartholomew soon after purchased a space in Valley to open up Lifestyle Fitness, a workout space with spin classes, different types of yoga and trainers specific to you and your needs..
“Starting up businesses require attention and departmental structure to be put in place regarding finance, accounting, legal, operational, IT, sales, marketing and more,” Ken Bartholomew said. “Additionally, to the business requirements, other practices must be put in place to assure smooth operation. Such as opening and closing procedures, new member start-up process, and customer expectations.”
After the building was purchased and all of the legalities were worked through, the gym opened after about a year of renovations. What was thought to be the end of the difficulties and stress, was just the beginning when historic floods hit in March of 2019.
“The gym opened on the heels of the 2019 flooding,” Kenneth Bartholomew said. “After the damage and reconstruction outside of the building, the pandemic hit. Starting a business in a worldwide epidemic added a new level of complexity that we weren’t prepared for but the gym and staff made it through and we are now having our best year.”
The flooding four years ago caused over $2 billion in damages around the city but Lifestyle was just missed by the record breaking amount of water flooding the streets. Fortunately the flooding and pandemic only stopped business for a short time. After a rocky start, the gym regained balance and has continued to grow since then within the staff and members. The gym has a limited staff full of trainers and workers who contribute to the business. Among the associates is Michael Bartholomew.
“I open the gym a lot during the weekdays,” Michael Bartholomew said. “I contribute to the gym by helping my dad out when he needs someone to work at the desk for him. The environment in the gym is pretty calm and I really enjoy checking in the members and talking to them as they come to workout.”
You can commonly find Michael Bartholomew either working the computers at the desk or in the gym with friends. Senior Brady Mar uses the gym and its other facilities often, as it is one of his favorite places to be.
“I love to go to Lifestyle and play basketball with my friends,” Mar said. “I try to make it out there as often as I can because it’s so different from the gym close to my house. Going out there is such a good refresher and I feel so welcomed as soon as I step through the front doors.”
No matter what the gym has gone through or how difficult the start-up was, Kenneth and Michael Bartholomew achieved their dream and opened a business that continues to go beyond members expectations, just as it was intended to.
