Meet Scott Simser and Chad Eberle, owners and two of the trainers at Rep1 Fitness; a personal training studio in Kitsilano. We touched base with Scott and Chad to hear more about their business, how it’s evolved over the past months, and what role Vancity’s products have played in supporting Rep1 through COVID.
Tell us a bit about Rep1 Fitness and how you got started.
We started Rep1 exactly 10 years ago this month, October of 2010; it’s our 10 year birthday! The company started small, with 5 personal trainers working out of our facility in Kitsilano. 3 years later, we expanded and almost doubled our floor space, and we’re now a personal training studio with over 8,000 sq ft. Because of the large size of Rep1, we’ve been able to add more services such as massage, nutrition, stretch therapy, and cycle coaching.
How has your business been impacted over the past few months?
Rep1 was firing on all cylinders going into the COVID shutdown. We quickly realized that staying open was not an option as we watched our client base rapidly decline in March of this year. We set new goals for online training (which we had never done before) and met that revenue expectation within the first month. The main core of our team stepped up in a big way and handled the COVID adversity with flying colours by keeping our customers engaged online. Obviously, like most businesses, we’ve had some attrition with staff and client base once we opened our doors again, but it was nothing we couldn’t handle… especially with the help from Vancity!
How has Vancity supported you in running your own business?
Our main contact worked tirelessly for us trying to get a loan before the federal government announced CEBA. Once the CEBA loan was announced, we were approved right away because of the government guarantee to the banks, and because we had also done all the paperwork already at Vancity.
Vancity didn’t stop there! We were also asking for more loan coverage because of our transition to a new stream of business revenue and because we thought we might need more financial support in case of a second COVID wave. Vancity opened up a new product called the Unity Pivot Loan, which we quickly jumped on. During this time, I talked to our main contact at Vancity, Paolo, more than I talked to my mom! I believe we were the first company to get the Pivot loan, and it’s great to know that we have some extra room to survive and thrive in this hard time.
Do you have any initiatives that you would like people to know about?
Our personal training facility is up and running with strict COVID protocols in place. We’ve always been by appointment only, but we now also have 15 minute gaps in between training sessions for cleaning. Also, our gym is divided into socially distanced stations with cleaning supplies at every spot. We’ve also had ZEROBLAST come in and do an antimicrobial spray throughout the facility that lasts for 3 months. If you’re looking for the safest place to train during this pandemic, we have the facility for you!
Where can people find you, and how can they get in touch?
Our website, www.rep1.ca, is a great way to reach out to us – or send us an email at workout@rep1.ca to start your fitness journey. If you’re looking to follow our team’s shenanigans, our Instagram account is the best way. Jump over to @rep1_fitness_inc!
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Vancity proudly supports small businesses at every stage through a number of initiatives. Learn more about our variety of products and services, including the ones mentioned above.
