While new memberships typically spike at the beginning of each year, officials from two local gyms noted keeping current clients also remains a high priority.
“As much as I would want to gain more, the most important thing to me is making people stay consistent,” said Brad Reiss, general manager of Crunch Fitness inside the Marketplace at Steamtown in Scranton. “Every year we’re doing some type of project to keep it fresh and innovative and to keep the members happy. We’re always improving and that keeps people coming back.”
Community members work out at the Crunch Fitness in the Marketplace at Steamtown on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Reiss believes the community associated with the gym helped propel growth throughout the past several years.
“That’s the reason we’ve thrived,” he said. “You’re not just seen as a barcode number. We get to know you. I think out of the 4,000 members, I probably know 3,500 by their first name … that’s the culture we’ve developed. With the smoothie bar, it’s created the loitering aspect. You can bring your laptop, do some work, and hang out with the staff as you’re having your shake after your workout.”
Janet Fallon of Taylor echoed Reiss’ sentiments.
“I have to tell you, we’re one big family,” Fallon said.
Ryan Savka, director of sales for Odyssey Fitness on Coal Street in Wilkes-Barre, also stressed that the gym aims to retain current members as much as attracting new ones.
“A big focus for us is not only just getting new members, but it’s also the retention, keeping them at Odyssey and keeping them focused on their workouts,” he said. “We’re a family-owned business and a huge, huge community in terms of not just our staff helping people out, but our members also get really involved in helping people out as well.”
Savka added that participating in classes or teaming up with someone else can help keep your fitness journey on track.
“Working out with a buddy is great,” he said. “And, with the classes, it keeps the accountability.”
Reiss advises potential members to check their health insurance plans heading into 2026 to see if they qualify for a discount.
“We’re getting a lot of people in here at very low-cost options that help the members out and help us out,” he said. “It keeps people coming consistently.”
As Crunch continually evolves to meet the needs of its members, officials added $200,000 worth of new equipment in the last two months, Reiss said.
Community members work out at the Crunch Fitness in the Marketplace at Steamtown on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Ramon Hernandez works out at Crunch Fitness in the Marketplace at Steamtown on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. He celebrated his 85th birthday last week. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The Crunch Fitness in the Marketplace at Steamtown on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Community members work out at the Crunch Fitness in the Marketplace at Steamtown on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
“It was more strength training, but we also swapped out some of the older treadmills for the newest model,” he said. “We were able to optimize the functionality so it doesn’t feel cluttered. We had a bunch of big units that were underutilized. We decided to remove those and add equipment that people want. We listened to the members and added some new top-of-the-line pieces.”
Savka expressed high hopes for Odyssey in the new year as the facility added some new features.
“We’re coming off a great 2025 and we’re really excited for 2026,” he said. “New Year’s, January, February and March is our favorite time of the year. This is the time when we get a ton of new members and we get a lot of our old members coming back as well. We have a lot of new classes, new programs and new equipment for our boxing and sports performance areas. Our big addition this year was our huge Les Mills virtual classes. We have a big, 12-foot-by-7-foot 4K projector that comes down on our movie screen and plays classes all throughout the day.”
Crunch caters to its members in a number of ways, from free parking to a child care service.
“We eliminate the excuses,” Reiss said.