Club La Maison

     Tucked away within the confines of the socio-economic area known to eastern Pennsylvanians as  the "Main Line" sits Club La Maison. Recent renovations have seen the facade refaced, and the interior completely overhauled to have a more modern look. The brickwork is no

w noticeably darker brown. The monotonous design is obstructed by sleek glass window panels, sitting almost flush against the bricks, offering a view of the interior. The double doored entrance opens up to an expansive room containing the front desk, management offices, and a multipurpose room entitled The Turf Room. The walls have been painted a happy peach color, with accent walls containing blue, black and grey. Also within the building sits the front door to a Bounce Back fitness, a Physical Therapy Center. As you walk along the main stairwell leading to the weight rooms, pool and locker room a small courtyard garden appears adding a natural sight amongst the sea of machinery and steel. The gym accepts all castes and social statuses, as seen in the parking lot where the BMW and Audi symbol abound alongside Toyota Camrys and Ferrari's.

Members can be seen walking in and out throughout the day, averaging around 20 to 30 older women and gentlemen, with the occasional younger person walking in.

“Hello and Welcome to Club La Maison” is the standard issue greeting as you walk through the doors. The women standing behind the desk is wearing a blue Club La Maison with a pinned on name tag displaying “Devon”. Her shift which is from 6 am to 12 has her seeing many different faces and personalities. “Usually I see more than 200 members and guests, and we have to greet all of them.” Management has employed a requirement that the greeting has to be said to everyone when they walk in. Also the front desk team member must tell everyone to have a nice day as they are leaving. Checking people in is not their only job, “We also are responsible for filling the coffee, folding towels and keeping order on the main floor”. Cleaning crews are constantly keeping things clean but organization is the front desk’s forte.

The downstairs requires more “hands on” approach, which is the personal trainer's responsibility. Sitting in the polyester clad chairs inside the training office sits a thickset, smiling man. His shirt is more athletically inclined, due to the requirements of his job he must be able to freely move. As he gets up his name tag displaying Eric is visible. “What can I help you with” he asks, with a booming voice. Eric is one of many personal trainers that work at Club La Maison, but he is also the only one that is a sheriff's deputy. He doesn’t seem like someone that people would run away from, due to his rather muscular build. “Don’t let my other job scare you, I actually appreciate this job a lot more” he exclaims over sips of what can be presumed as caffeine enriched mass gainer. Being a sheriff's deputy does come with its downsides, among them are long hours and multiple work hazards. “I really enjoy being a deputy, but being a trainer is much more rewarding. I progress with my clients, I don't like to think of training as commanding someone to do something. I feel as though I am a sherpa, I know the route and have climbed the trail already but I will still do it together with my clients.” The trainers act as controllers for the weight rooms. They enforce the rules and ensure the gym remains organized, along with of course acting as personal trainers for clients.

“The Club” as members and employees refer to it, is ran similarly to any other business. The front desk and trainers act as front men, ensuring smooth operation on a day to day basis. The back end consists of management and owners, all of whom also can be called upon to take the job as a front desk member and some of them can be asked to act as personal trainers depending on the certifications. Jason is one such manager, due to his background as a personal trainer. Jason originally started working as a personal trainer seven years ago, and progressed to be the manager for that part of the business. He looks like he has been a trainer for more years than he has been, and definitely enjoys his job. “When I first started working here I figured I would go back to school like most trainers and get a higher paying degree, then quite and work in a real career. I would definitely not have thought that I would be a manager after just seven years.” Jason is in charge of not only the trainers but also the group exercise classes. He and many of the staff works out every night together after the gym closes “Late night workouts are the best, a lot of us live fairly close by so we will really make an effort to workout together. It helps with the team building.”

  A gym is like an ecosystem, it only thrives when everyone is happy for the most part. Their will be sharks, and their will be seals but as long as theirs a balance the gym remains healthy. Club La Maison caters to all whom seek greatness or who just want to work out. The attitude at the gym is displayed on a plaque in bright red in each room. It reads “Promote fitness through the body and the mind will follow suite.” Each of the employees represents this quality and the members take note. The Club is a home away from home and a fortress of solitude for most, because of the motto.