SOUTH SHORE — A Chatham-based personal trainer is opening a gym in South Shore.
Chicago BodyShop is set to open at 2049 E. 79th St. by the end of the year. The 1,800-square-foot gym will occupy the entire building, filling in a storefront along a strip of vacant buildings, owner Dionis Harvey said.
The gym will have treadmills, bikes, free weights, resistance bands and other traditional fitness equipment. Yoga, weekly tables with massage therapists and a sauna are also planned for the space.
Individual sessions at the BodyShop start at $50 for online training and $75 for in-person lessons, with discounts for multiple sessions. The initial assessment is $30 and takes a “full holistic approach” to fitness, Harvey said.
“Unique to our particular brand, each client has an assessment when they come in the door,” Harvey said. “We ask about everything: physical, emotional, mental health. We partner with TMH Behavioral Services, so if people need additional resources we can provide those.”
Harvey, a personal trainer and former Chicago Public Schools athletic director, sees the gym as the next logical step in a career built on fitness and education.
“The BodyShop was really the summation of my own brand and business-building,” Harvey said.
In addition to the personal training sessions, the gym will offer youth-focused programs — to build on Harvey’s work training an Amateur Athletic Union basketball team — and activities to get older people moving in a safe setting.
“We’ll provide a sunrise opportunity for seniors to come in and get some fitness education,” Harvey said. “We plan on doing a lot working with the community and different populations — not just personal training, but group fitness and fitness education, as well.”
Chicago BodyShop is set to open in the fourth quarter of this year, as Harvey is in the design phase for renovating the property, he said. The project will receive $250,000 from the latest round of Neighborhood Opportunity Fund grants.
The Chatham resident, who grew up near 87th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue, hopes his gym will motivate his neighbors to become “healthier, happier people — and hopefully, better community residents.”
“There’s definitely a need in that area for space where you can come and get a quality workout,” Harvey said. “It made me hone in on this area, not only because I’m from here, but because the need was here.”
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