Today we’d like to introduce you to Eddie and Malia Montague.
Eddie and Malia, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Eddie played college baseball and then spent several years in the minor leagues. After he was done with his baseball career, his body hurt all over from the years of time spent in the gym lifting heavy weights, and the one-sided stress of hitting and throwing a baseball repeatedly. So, he started to work out differently. He got out of the gym and away from working out with weights and started doing bodyweight training and functional movement workouts. Pushups, pull-ups, squats, jumping, climbing, swinging, etc. Everything started to improve. He felt better, stronger, and healthier. Fast forward several years to having kids of our own who enjoyed watching the American ninja warrior TV show. Naturally, our kids wanted to try it out. But there was no place within a 50-mile radius of our house in Aledo. So, we drove to a few places and the kids loved it. Obstacle course gyms are exactly the type of vehicle to do these functional workouts that Eddie was doing and that was helping him live an active life. We decided to go for it!! The area needed something like this! We wanted to be able to provide a place for Fort Worth and Parker County to be able to come and cross train while having fun on obstacles just like they see on TV. Kids especially these days tend to specialize in a specific sport at a young age. They don’t play outside, climb trees, jump fences, or crawl around! So, they are a good baseball player or soccer player, but can’t do a single sit-up or pull up. It is more important to be a well-rounded athlete, especially during these important young years while your body is developing. We have provided a place that they can do all of that and train their whole body while having fun.
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?
We opened on May 11, 2018. Our business model is pretty straight forward. We provide open gym hours for people to drop in and come and play. We do birthday parties on the weekends and kids fitness/ninja classes on the weeknights. The community has been great supporting us and spreading the word about our new business. We are a husband and wife team that both work outside the home, have young kids, and now own a Ninja Gym! It’s been bumpy because we are learning on the fly what it looks like to be small business owners! The biggest obstacle we’ve had thus far is trying to encourage adults to come out and participate in the gym. We have a whole adult side(for ages 15+) that has been underutilized to this point. We’d love to get more high school and college-aged people in here to try it out. Many of them that have come have really surprised us with the ease which they are able to complete super challenging obstacles.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
We are an obstacle course gym that provides both children and adults the chance to test their strength, agility, flexibility, and grit on obstacles like they have seen on TV. We have approximately 30 obstacles on our kid’s side that are targeted for kids ages 4-14. We have popular obstacles like the ones on TV such as Warped Walls, a Spider Wall, a Salmon ladder, as well as many of our own creations. On the adult side. we have three warped walls that measure 12, 14, and 16 feet tall. We have some of the same obstacles as on the kids’ side plus floating doors, hanging bridges, angled steps, and many others. We offer great customer service with awesome ninja coaches that help to keep the kids safe while encouraging and teaching the kids proper techniques. We host birthday parties and other private events for people wanting to do team building, or just have fun. On weeknights, we have kids fitness classes with a unique curriculum that develops physical, mental and character strength. We have a 6:1 ratio of kids to coaches and they work on agility, strength, conditioning, and plyometrics to strengthen their bodies to be able to complete challenging obstacles and enhance their overall physical ability. Our entry wall has a verse from Proverbs 27:17 that says “As Iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” We strive to be a place that lifts others up, promotes community, teamwork, humility, and positive attitudes. When someone makes it up one of the difficult warped walls, the whole place breaks into cheering to congratulate the athlete. That makes me proud!
What were you like growing up?
Eddie worked hard at everything he did and had much success on and off the baseball field. He excelled academically, socially, and athletically. He was a hard worker, love all things sports related (baseball, soccer, hockey, etc.)
Malia was always very social, outgoing, and a natural leader. I mostly did things for fun, not to be successful on the field or in the classroom. She likes being outdoors, traveling, reading, and watching cooking shows.
Pricing:
- Kids 3-14 years – $15 for 2 hours of open gym play
- Adults 15+ – $15 for a day pass
- Ninja Classes for Kids – $80 per month
- Kids Birthday Parties – $300 for 1 hour and 45-minute birthday party
- Adult Monthly Membership – $50 for unlimited open gym
Contact Info:
- Address: 1305 Ranchers Legacy Trail, Suite 120
Fort Worth, TX 76126 - Website: www.humbleninjafitness.com
- Phone: 817-782-9887
- Email: info@humbleninjafitness.com
- Instagram: @humbleninjafit
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HumbleNinjaFit/
- Twitter: @humbleninjafit
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/humble-ninja-fitness-fort-worth
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.
