Gold's Gym in Norton Wants to be More than Just a Gym

Kris Vallincourt and Fraser Gunn purchased Gold’s Gym in Norton in November, and since then have been changing up their business model for the gym.

They worked together managing gyms in Rhode Island before setting out to make their own.

“I’ve always had a passion for health and fitness and I wanted to see if I could turn my hobby into a career,” Vallincourt said.

Vallincourt said they each brought their strengths to the business. He said that they both worked as managers for Gold’s Gyms in the past and he also worked as a branch manager at AAA. While they do have to adhere to Gold’s Gym’s corporate standards, they said they get to do whatever else they want to improve the health and fitness of their customers.

“Fraser’s actually brought on a new personal training department with new programs that track progress,” Vallincourt said.

Vallincourt said that the previous owners had used a third party personal training department, but he and Gunn felt that having their own in house personal trainers would be the right way to go.

Gunn said he started working in the United Kingdom as a personal trainer and a physical therapist.

“I was constantly injured playing hockey, so that’s why I became a physical therapist,” he said.

“We have a lot of happy members,” Vallincourt said. “We’ve actually had a lot of trainers from other organizations come over to our club because they wanted to be involved with the growing club.”

Gunn said that one of the new programs they will be introducing is Body Combat, which is a fitness-targeted martial art from New Zealand.

“We’re able to guarantee results from the research done in New Zealand,” he said. “We’re able to guarantee specific calorie burns for each class. We’re looking to guarantee results for our members.”

The pair said they want to be more involved in the community. They are currently partnered with Norton’s recently approved hockey team and will be training them for the 2013 season.

“We’re starting to reach out to do some sports and agility conditioning with the Norton hockey team,” Vallincourt said. “We’re doing programs in the summer so once they hit the ice they’re going to be quicker and stronger. We feel that not a lot of health clubs reach out to the community. We want to be known in Norton not just as a gym, but as health and fitness experts overall.”

Gold's Gym, located at 314 E. Main St., is open Monday through Friday 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.