Nick and Liz Merrill opened Sweat Circuit (formerly known as Sweat Equity) in April 2018. Their flagship location is based in Bellevue, Washington. Back in 2018, the article highlighted that Nick and Liz “invested months and months getting to know their neighbors. They’ve been offering daily free workouts at Spreckels Park and getting involved in the community and have finally achieved their goal. They pre-sold memberships and have loyal fans who showed up to celebrate for their first classes.” It is this deep dive into the community that makes Sweat Circuit stand out, and what they aim to replicate in opening two new locations.
Sweat Circuit Del Mar is on track to open the weekend of August 6th. The second, Sweat Circuit Eastlake, is set to open over Labor Day weekend. These locations will differ from Coronado’s in a few ways. Liz describes the new gyms as “more room, lighter, brighter, bigger spaces.” They will include a designated check-in area. The one area Coronado has that the others will not is the outdoor workout setup. “We’ve learned a lot in these three years!” Liz laughs, “we are pouring our lessons forward to the locations.”
While the spaces will be different from Coronado (but near identical to each other), Liz promises that what’s on the inside will remain the same. “We will have the same great workout, we have advanced technology and we’ve learned which equipment is the right match for us. We are going green- no electricity needed.” Memberships will be shareable across locations.
Sweat Circuit Community
The gym boasts a great workout for patrons of all levels, but the secret sauce is the community they foster. Liz explains that she will oversee the location managers and Nick will be at each location one day a week. They have a position of Community Liaison that they are excited about.
To Coronado, Liz shares that she is, “so grateful for our existing clients and community for staying with us this past year. I knew with all my being that we would come back stronger. It’s rewarding to be back together and for our mental health to reconnect in person. I’m filled with gratitude that we get to do what we do and see people together again.”
Sweat Circuit Franchise Location Coming 2022
Sweat Circuit Bellevue, Coronado, Del Mar, and Eastlake are all owned by the Merrill family, but coming soon, expect to see more of their reach. Their first franchisee, Tacy, is set to open up in the Whitefish/Kalispell area of Montana.
Tacy began at the Bellevue location, renting space to do personal training. She admits, “to be honest, I was not a class girl. I liked one on one or by myself. I’d come in after they finished their class and Liz would say ‘When are you going to take a call’ and I would say ‘never.'” Eventually Liz wore her down and Tacy now considers herself a “Class Junkie.” Tacy transitioned to teaching classes at the gym and when she made the move to Montana she was distraught to not have Sweat Circuit around anymore, that’s when she knew she had to open one of her own.
As a trainer, Tacy knew she could open a variety of gyms, but it is Nick and Liz’s model she wants to emulate. “Liz and Nick created this program, they are the heart of it all. They are the most supportive cheerleaders you can have!” Looking forward to her own gym, Tacy shares the most rewarding part is, “being able to give back to the community. I want to create a gratitude program. I look forward to the health and fitness community that they don’t have [in that area of Montana].”
Sweat Circuit • 1007 Isabella Ave, Coronado
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