Meet Chad and Julie Gentle of Commerce Fitness

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chad and Julie Gentle.

Looking back, the story behind Commerce Fitness is a series of stories which have threaded themselves together over the past twelve years. Imagine a beautiful tapestry hanging on a wall, then turn it over and see how the threads are interwoven. That is this gym. Twelve years ago, the owners of this gym met, fell in love at first sight, married one month later and moved from the metroplex to the small East Texas town of Commerce on a whim. Never ones to look before they leap, they left the city, bought a farm, built a house together, started a construction company and never looked back. God had different plans. He took them through hardships to make them stronger, taught them a trade that little did they know they would need to build the gym that He had waiting for them. That was us, Chad and Julie Gentle, and this is the Lord’s gym and we cannot take the credit for the miraculous series of events which led us here. When the door to our construction company slammed shut, the doors to Commerce Fitness blew wide open!

The gym is a 12,000 sq. ft. facility with state of the art equipment and has everything you could possibly need to step out on stage and compete. But even more important than that, this gym is filled with a sense of peace, a place of fellowship, a place where seniors come in and sit down to a cup of coffee after exercising, interacting with the younger members, where we all care for one another, forge friendships and give encouragement. The Lord tells us that a peaceful heart leads to a healthy body and that is our greatest goal for our members.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It was not always a smooth road. It was a fast paced wild ride for sure. We got the keys to this building that at one point was the towns original Walmart, on November 12, 2016 and opened for business on Jan. 14, 2017. We put in 8 solid weeks of 20 hour days and we literally worked till sunrise on opening day. We had plumbing disasters and stolen equipment off delivery trucks, but at the same time we had every need met and it all came together. When something went wrong or we had a specific need, it seems that very day someone would happen to walk in that could help us, whether it be a class instructor or someone who randomly knew this new software we couldn’t figure out, much less have the time to and needed to know before we could open the doors for business!

We’d love to hear more about your business.
This gym sets itself apart from the others. There is not another gym like this that we hear about. We work this gym from early morning until late each night. We are hands on owners that truly care about each member that walks in the door. We give our time to our members. We listen. There is never a time that we are too busy to help someone on the floor. We don’t hold our members to contracts because so often people fall on hard times. We do everything we can to work things out so they can continue to work out when they are short on money. We are family here. The decor has a Victorian touch with its chandelier and antique serving table where we have fresh coffee waiting for our members each day. We have a large sofa sectional with 6 flat screen TVs placed around the gym. We also have built an area for the kids where they have bean bags and their own TV. We have free classes for our members taught by a great instructor and another 2000 sq. ft. gym in the back set up for power lifters and cross trainers. So in all there is about 14,000 sq. ft. to work out in. We also offer tanning to our members at ten dollars a month for a level 5 bed! That is what sets up apart!

What were you like growing up?
We both grew up in happy families, but at the same time I think we both felt left out when it came to fitting in with friends, figuring out where we belonged. Maybe both a little reserved or shy, which is most likely why we both love weight lifting so much. We call it the selfish sport because it’s all about you and you can only cheat yourself! I’m 55 now and Chad is 42. I guess you could say we are still growing up and I’m happy to say that we have found some pretty good friends in this gym!

Pricing:

• $39.99 Single Membership
• $36.99 Family/ Corporate Discount
• $25.00 Student Discount

Contact Info:

• Address: 2204 Live Oak St.,
  Suite A, Commerce, TX 75428
• Website: commercefitnesstx.com
• Phone: 903-468-2683 or 903-468-2679
• Email: fit@commercefitnesstx.com
• Facebook: commercefitness

Image Credit:
Alexandra Legg Photography

Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.