Fit to Print Volume 22, Issue 4 : December 2013 | Page 16
itness Incentive is
approaching its 30th
anniversary as a Babylon
Village icon, as a leader and
innovator in the fitness
industry, and as a still-vital
community institution. It's a
significant milestone in its
ongoing journey—and what
an amazing journey it's been! It is the
literal truth to state that generations of
Village and Town residents have passed
through its doors and had their lives
changed for the better. Children who
passed happy hours in the nursery as their
parents exercised are now adult members
themselves, and it is their children who
now play while mom and dad work out. FI
has always been a family gym—a quality in
which we have always taken great pride.
Each successive expansion, from the
single-room aerobics studio on Grove
place, to the multipurpose space on
Montauk Highway, to the full service
facility (encompassing both the multistudio gym and Incentives Organic Spa and
Salon) on Deer Park Avenue, has delivered
an ever-evolving selection of health and
fitness options to its members and guests.
It is with a great deal of pleasure that we
contemplate these past 30 years—always,
of course, with an eye on a future in
which the journey shall continue.
The expansions just mentioned, are, of
course, major milestones in their own
rights. But in the end, the locations are
just that: dots on a map, addresses,
structures constructed of steel and
masonry and glass. But the element that
has always established Fitness Incentive as
a unique and special place is the people.
This maxim is probably true of any
enterprise that endures, but we like to
think it is illustrated with particular truth
and vibrancy by Fitness Incentive, where
success can always be traced back to our
amazing members and the fantastic staff
that serves them. As custodians of the
business, we scrutinize the fitness industry
closely and know that what happens here,
at FI, is different. Fitness Incentive can
boast of having both members and staffers
who have been with us literally for
decades. This is unheard of industry-wide,
and speaks to the quality of what we do
and who we do it for, and the unparalleled
level of devotion delivered to FI . It
cannot be overstated: Fitness Incentive is,
and always has been, about people, and
we've been fortunate in that those who
16
provide the services and those who
receive them are the very best.
On a recent Wednesday evening at an
impromptu get-together, the talk at the
dinner table turned to the approaching
anniversary, and this in turn led to a
lively conversation about the gym from
its earliest days right up to the present.
Many memories, a few surprises, and a
lot of laughter was heard as the
reminiscences ranged hither and yon,
touching on the many, many highs and
even a couple of lows. Present were
the inestimable Cor and Ken, with
whom, of course, it all began those
many years ago, Jourdie, for whom the
gym has been a constant presence in
her life and to which she currently
delivers her considerable talents in
several capacities, Cathy Peacock, who
has been with the gym nearly from the
very first day and is among the most
popular and valued associates, her
husband, Steve, spin bike engineer
extraordinaire and your humble
reporter who, once the direction of the
talk became plain, had the rare
presence of mind to break out a
recording device and get it all down for
posterity.
Ken: Cathy, do you remember how you
and Cor met?
Cathy: It was a phone call. I called the
gym—the "studio" on Grove Place at
that time—because I had been working
out alone in my room pretending I was
an instructor. I'm actually a very shy
person, which Cor can acknowledge
because she'll remember me standing in
the back of the aerobics room, hiding
and saying nothing. But anyway, I ??[?Y ??? ??Y\X?H?[?]?[? ?YY?\? ? [\? X?\?[? ??YH??H?\? ? [\? ???[\? ] ?\?B??] \?K???[? ] ?YH ?\?H?\???\]Z\?[? ?X[ H?\ K??? X??Y?\8?% ??X? HY?\??? [??? B? ?Z[??% ?^Z[?? ??Y][??Z?H8?'I?H ???KB??H [?H?[?X\?YH?X?]\?HI?B?X][??^H[??\??[?I?H??[?? ??H]?\?Hx?'H???HY]?\? ?ZY ]8?%??[?I?H???H?H]\?HH?[?B??Y? 8?'[?H??? ?]?H[H??[???H] \?Hx?'B????]]\?]?H?Y[? B?[??\?][????\???[Y\??X[Y? [?B??[Y[X?\?]8?%?[?I?H???H?H]?\?HH???] N???H?[YH??[? ?] H ?????Y^\? ? L??U ? ?[???H ?\? Z?[??]?\?H?\?? ]?? ]Y? ???]?N??] YX\??] N?H ?\?Y??Z[?? ?^[? ?Y?\? [?H?[?Y ?????] ??[]?H?Y[? ?\?HX\? B?NN
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