'Veteran club' still pumping away

Stan Watkins is no stranger to hard work or competition.

The 60-year-old president of Kalispell Athletic Club has competed in triathlons for three decades.

He swims, he bikes, he runs. He skis and kayaks.

And he’s been working hard to keep one of Kalispell’s oldest gyms going as multimillion-dollar giants such as The Summit and The Wave have opened for business.

Watkins has owned Kalispell Athletic Club for 23 years.

Before that he said he was running a “rough” sort of bar and restaurant out in Eastern Montana.

Watkins was always athletic and active growing up and he wrestled at the University of Oregon.

He said he got his first gym membership while working at the bar to stay in shape and “be able to battle” if needed.

“I was the guy,” Watkins said of those days. “The bouncer, the peacemaker. Sometimes the troublemaker.”

Watkins said he had his sights set on Kalispell for some time. He moved here and bought the gym in 1989.

Over the last 10 years he has seen the rise of new gyms with massive facilities and the latest and greatest in fitness equipment. They have amassed thousands of members.

Meanwhile, Kalispell Athletic Club continues to battle away in its larger-than-it-looks building on West Reserve Drive.

Rather than try to engage the newer gyms in a facility or fitness equipment arms race, Kalispell Athletic Club has gone in its own direction, focusing on individual attention and customer service.

“One thing we try to emphasize is that we have all the basics: good machines and good equipment. It’s all first-class, no clunky stuff,” Watkins said. “You can go somewhere else and get a bit newer machine and atmosphere, but the workout is still the same.”

A marketing major in college, Watkins coined his club’s motto: “Big club feel, small club appeal.”

That means all the services of the bigger clubs with competitive membership rates that offer different plans for different schedules, needs and budgets.

It also means friendly, one-on-one attention.

The club’s trainer will help members assess their physical condition, craft a workout plan and do monthly follow-ups to see how it’s working.

That can be especially helpful for older “de-conditioned” people trying to lose weight or lower their blood pressure by doctor’s orders.

“We’ll bring you along nice and slow and comfortably,” Watkins said.

It can also help people who are new to the gym world and middle-aged people trying to get back in shape after years of inactivity.

“We want to give people some guidance so that they’re not just charging off into a weight room,” Watkins said.

“Guys especially will remember they used to be able to bench [press] 150 pounds when they were 18. But now that they’re 40, their bodies don’t remember that.”

Kalispell Athletic Club offers 35 hours a week of free classes for members. That includes aerobics and cardio-boxing and Zumba and lower-impact activities such as aquatic aerobics and yoga for people who don’t want to get their heart rates up quite so high.

The Tuesday night racquetball leagues continue to grow with more players always welcome, Watkins said.

And with the Flathead’s economic downturn cutting into disposable income for things such as gym memberships, the club has found some creative ways to keep busy.

It hosts classes the community college doesn’t have facilities for. The same goes for accommodating other instructors who need a place to rent.

“We have a gal who does a dance studio here,” Watkins said. “She prefers to rent our facility so she doesn’t have to negotiate a big heavy-duty lease.”

The club’s aerobics floor has been rented out for smoking cessation classes, for seminars on essential oils and for karate and judo lessons

It even hosted a church group for a while.

“If you want to sell or do something that doesn’t conflict with our business and lifestyle here, we’ve got a room for rent,” Watkins said.

After nearly 25 years in the business, Watkins figured by now he would be delegating more of his day-to-day duties.

“That’s not happening because the competition is just ferocious ... I’m working just as hard as I did when I got into the business.”

That said, he still enjoys going to work at the club.

“It’s really a fun business to be in. It’s positive and upbeat, as opposed to being an insurance agent and having someone come in after a car wreck or a flood,” Watkins said. “We see people coming in trying to improve their lives. It’s good in that sense.”

And work is being planned for later this summer, as Watkins continues to try to improve on his club.

“Every year we close for a full week at the end of the summer to do some tidying up. This year is going to be a little more ferocious ... We just need to catch up with these new facilities,” he said. “We’re the veteran club in an area of town where everything is brand new.”

For more information on the club or its services, call 752-2880 or go to www.kalispellathleticclub.net.

Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.