Cotati’s Energy Health Clubs wants to help locals reach their goals

In December, Forbes asked their readers about their New Year’s resolutions which concluded with a resounding agreement: most people are prioritizing the improvement of their physical well-being in 2024 and beyond. The poll shows 48% want to improve their fitness and 34% want to improve their mental health.

And many are targeted by online ads when scrolling through social media while others look for help locally.

In that poll, 43% also said they plan to utilize one of the many gyms in their neighborhood to achieve their fitness goals.

Since 1988, Energy Health Clubs in Cotati has been a go-to gym for many residents in the Rohnert Park-Cotati area.

Under local ownership and offering smaller, group-sized classes to help differentiate them from their competitors, Energy Health Clubs vows to give its members a more personable approach to physical fitness while offering support in a safe environment for those who could be intimidated by gym culture.

The business was founded by John Ford and has since expanded ownership over the years. David Chasin began working at the company roughly 16 years ago and has moved up from manager to become a co-owner in 2019.

Located just down the street from Sonoma State University in Cotati, Energy Health Clubs also employs college students throughout the year.

“When I started out, I was at the front desk. Then I was kind of a weekend manager,” Chasin said. “(It was) a lot of blood, sweat and tears, but totally worth it. I love this place and the members have been fantastic and the staff throughout the years … It’s kind of cool, the people that have come through here and to see their growth beyond this place.”

At 36 years old, with a baby on the way, Chasin appreciates the myriad class offerings, amenities and the members he meets both while working and while working out.

The former athlete said he’s recently taken to some of the more intense group classes that Energy Health Clubs offers so that he can keep up with the baby when it arrives — and indulge in a bit of the cheesecake that his wife tends to keep around the house when a craving hits.

Wide range of offerings

It’s no secret that larger gyms like 24 Hour Fitness have the flexibility to keep membership rates traditionally lower than locally owned clubs due to their massive membership bases, but that’s not to say that the top brass at Energy Health Clubs isn’t doing all they can to keep costs affordable.

Membership rates start at $60 per month, but there are incentives that help lower the month-to-month costs, like longer-term contracts that can lower the monthly rate for gym enthusiasts. There’s a new approach the staff has implemented this year to help keep resolutioners on track.

“We’ve actually decided this year that we’re going to do a membership that lowers your rates after your 12 month anniversary (with the club),” Chasin said. “So, once they’ve been here for 12 months, what we’ll do is drop their rates down $10 per month.”

Energy Health Clubs offers all you would expect from a traditional gym. There is an indoor pool, a hot tub, cardio equipment, electronic weight machines and free weights. Energy Health Clubs also offers a wide variety of fitness classes, from member favorites like Zumba and spin classes to heart rate-monitored workouts that help members target specific heart rates for more effective calorie monitoring.

There is also a sauna and steam room.

In the months preceding the pandemic, Energy Health Clubs also went through an extensive remodel which included newer machines, flooring and infrastructure upgrades.

Rolling with pandemic punches

The pandemic forced many smaller gyms to close during the statewide and countywide shutdowns. Some were able to offer social distance classes and workouts were moved outdoors. The California Fitness Alliance even filed a lawsuit charging the Newsom administration with unfairly targeting the industry as part of COVID-19 containment efforts and demanding that gyms be allowed to reopen.

During that time, the team at Energy Health Clubs invested in outdoor equipment and hosted workouts outside. The classes were mainly cardio-based aerobics and spin classes with free weights and kettlebells.

“COVID hit us hard, just as hard as 24 (Hour Fitness) coming into town and we’re building back now,” Chasin said. “We’re building back our coup of personal trainers, our classes. We haven’t even brought back our kids club yet — we used to have a kids club day care for our members — and those are things that we’re still building back because that was something that was extremely difficult to get through.”

Chasin credits loyal members with helping Energy Health Clubs survive.

“We’ve got some of the best members in the world that helped us through it,” Chasin said. “The staff we’ve had over the years, and especially during COVID, really just helped so much. I can’t say enough good things about the members and staff.”

Rich Relyea, a Sebastopol resident, has spent the majority of his life in and out of various gyms on the East and West coasts. He’s spent the better part of the last decade as a member Energy Health Clubs and enjoys its variety of equipment and the clean facility.

“What I look for is what kind of equipment they have, how much of it they have, how big of a space it is and then the rest is what you learn from being there,” Relyea said. “At Energy (Health Clubs), they have a great space, multiple levels and I can’t ever remember having to wait for anything, so there’s enough equipment there. The people that were in there, which were from young to old, were there for a purpose and you could see that.”

Finding your routine

Relyea, 77, continued at Energy Health Clubs up until the pandemic shutdowns. While many members were happy to support the staff and ownership at Energy Health Clubs during the lockdown by continuing to pay their monthly membership fees, Relyea took the opportunity to find a gym closer to his home.

His daughter continues to be a member at the Cotati gym. His wife, who enjoyed running long distances in years past, has recently considered joining due in large part to the gym’s indoor pool and the need for lower impact workouts.

With a surge of new members each January, Chasin knows how easily the New Year’s crowd can be dissuaded from returning to a more consistent workout routine.

“We always say that they (those new to the gym) should get the personal training package because there’s an accountability factor with you meeting with a trainer and it’ll expedite your health and fitness goals, too,” Chasin said. "If you’re paying for something every month or every year and it has everything to offer, you’re more likely to go in there and do it than you are to go in your garage and use a jump rope or dumbbells.”

To that end, a recent five-year study found that friends can play a major factor in an individual’s exercise routine, even going so far as to claim that exercise is “socially contagious.”

Through cutting-edge fitness instruction, a newly remodeled interior and incentives built into their memberships, Chasin and the team at Energy Health Clubs are hoping to help everyone turn their New Year’s resolutions into a reality.