http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/4931696/

4/10/2009 3:52:31 PM

hahah i guess you can go for free now

but no wonder that you could go for 10 bucks a month no commitment, they tried to make some paper before the inevitable bounce

[Edited on April 10, 2009 at 3:56 PM. Reason : j]

4/10/2009 3:55:37 PM

Ever since they bought out the Golds they've managed to do this. I imagine the owners of the chain have gotten fantastically rich by changing the name, spending a few 10 thousands to upgrade a little bit of the equipment and get new faces in there and go on new member drives. Rinse and repeat.

I joined the Buck Jones location when it was a Golds. I was there a year or so and it changed its name to Beyond Fitness (like a lot of the others) and then a couple/few years later the name changed to Peak. As far as I know, it has been the same owners every time and they have a solid track record of doing membership drives and then failing to deliver on any sort of service.

4/10/2009 4:29:32 PM

^^ that's Planet fitness, not Peak fitness.

I used to go there, was like 25 a month. What a shitty gym. Who still charges yearly contracts anyway?

[Edited on April 10, 2009 at 4:30 PM. Reason : ^]

4/10/2009 4:29:36 PM

beyond fitness was just in business to cover up drug money. owner did some hard time for selling coke and the first thing he does out of jail is buy a business... sketch...

he fucked over the other tenant too by not paying the rent after collecting from them

4/10/2009 5:25:14 PM

The Apex location is already being converted over to another name. Can't remember what it is though.

4/10/2009 5:32:16 PM

Quote :

"that's Planet fitness, not Peak fitness."

At least here in SC Peak Fitness was doing just what he described.

4/10/2009 5:36:07 PM

It was in Raleigh too.

4/10/2009 5:55:34 PM

god damnit, i just signed for 2 years 2 weeks ago

guess im going to go back and get a refund

4/10/2009 10:46:11 PM

^ Hope you got ThatGoodLuck. Beyond Fitness was notorious for taking money and not providing service. Better hope Fail Boat is wrong about it being the same owners.

4/11/2009 12:36:11 AM

^^ How do you propose doing that? If you missed the thread title they filed for bankruptcy...

4/11/2009 2:19:27 PM

a chargeback from my bank, or should companies be allowed to sign up customers knowing they are going to go bankrupt 2 weeks later

what reasons would the bank have for not giving me my money back when i have a contract that says they provide X months of service for Y amount of money a month, they can have the 1/24Y ive already used

whats the loss on their part anyway they are clearing all their debt through a judge

4/11/2009 4:57:58 PM

just got off the phone with the fuquay location and he says he swears they are not closing or changing names and will honor all locations, the problem is we only got a membership there because of their locations in fuquay AND the surrounding areas (cary,apex,raleigh) since we'll be moving over the summer, i think i might go in and talk to Steve the manager and ask for a refund but tell him I'm willing to pay month to month if he'll appease me

for what it's worth the guy one the phone was very nice and when i asked for a refund he sounded really surprised, he said the fuquay location isnt owned or operated by the same people

4/11/2009 5:07:10 PM

just go up to random people and ask "so how are you doing in this economy??" it's a real ice breaker

4/11/2009 7:08:56 PM

Hmmm, this may finally be the push I need to start paying for Carmichael...

4/11/2009 7:58:51 PM

i've been very happy with planet fitness...$1 enrollment and $10/month, no contract, though they DO charge a crock $30 "rate guarantee" fee

$150/year for a gym i go to 5 days a week? not a bad deal...the one on jones franklin tends to be pretty busy, but i've never had trouble finding a machine i wanted

even if i only went 3 days a week, that's less than $1 for a 45-minute session...i hope they don't go under

[Edited on April 13, 2009 at 8:32 AM. Reason : .]

4/13/2009 8:31:33 AM

Hmm..anyone know what's up with the Peak on Duraleigh/Glenwood? I go there everyday...do I need to be looking for a new gym? (Planet is 1/4 mile from my house, so I'll likely join there if I need to)

4/13/2009 8:59:15 AM

^thats the one i go to, hope they don't close

4/13/2009 9:54:49 AM

the one in Apex went back to being KX fitness along with the one in Clayton. Kevin took them back since PEAK was behind on payments.

NBC 17 was at the Apex location this morning, I guess doing some shots and interviews for the news today.

4/13/2009 12:49:49 PM

hold the fuck up, people SIGN CONTRACTS for gym memberships??!?

you people will sign up for anything these days, shit

4/13/2009 3:23:21 PM

some people may feel a contract will help motivate them

they preach signing a contract with your goals when you sign up for personal training to help one stay focused, i believe that would translate similar to signing a contract to help one continue to attend the gym they're contracted to

4/13/2009 3:26:30 PM

Quote :

"some people may feel know a contract will help motivate them"

i'm not one of those people, but i know people who do it specifically for this reason...they can't bring themselves to waste the money they've spent, and so it motivates them to work out even if they don't want to

4/13/2009 3:31:27 PM

as long as it's voluntary. because i get the feeling from the people i know who go to Peak that it's just like a texting plan or some shit - they're just doing it to be cool

4/13/2009 3:52:35 PM

well I went to Peak on Duraleigh today and asked if they were going to close anytime soon, and the girl behind the counter said they were going to remain open, fwiw. also, when I left, I had a coupon from another gym on my truck windshield

4/13/2009 8:43:33 PM

you do realize that no one is going to give you an honest straight answer in fear of losing you to another gym.

4/13/2009 9:04:19 PM

^yes, I realize that. just sayin'.

4/13/2009 10:10:17 PM

Had an interview there at the one in Fuquay. Glad (SO glad) I didn't get the job then. Same shit happend to Beyond Fitness in 2007. They screwed over my ex sister-in-law by not giving her the paychecks she earned.

4/13/2009 11:25:16 PM

well we signed a contract because it was 2 years, $250 AND it allows you to let one other person to come along so that comes out to $5/month a person and it works at all the peak (and kx now) locations

show me a gym that's cheaper...

4/14/2009 1:32:45 PM

at least 4 of the PEAKs in the area are closing for sure because they're all held by the group that filed for bankruptcy (pretty sure the McGregor one and one in downtown are)

Anyway, the sales manager at my gym told me about the special they're running and thought I'd throw it out there in this thread

if you "make the switch" to Lifestyle Family Fitness it's $0 enrollment, $20 processing fee, and then just $29.99/month

4/15/2009 11:01:21 PM

What sort of business model do these gyms run? They can't be a profitable enterprise, because it seems like we see them going under every few years - or getting bought out or restructured or whatever the fuck is going on with them.


Does it happen like this in other parts of the country, too?

4/16/2009 12:29:41 AM

The business model is to get as many memberships as possible, knowing that the majority of the members won't go to the gym.

Its free money. People pay for a service they don't actually use.

4/16/2009 3:17:08 AM

^^^ why would you be almost certain about specific locations closing?

this will be the 3rd or 4th name that my location has had since I've been going there, yet the doors have never closed. i don't see that trend changing anytime soon.

4/16/2009 9:10:42 AM

I think he meant "closing" as in "will no longer be a PEAK Fitness", rather than "closing" as in "there is no business there"

4/16/2009 2:02:25 PM

^this is partially true, however, I heard that as of yesterday some of them were already taking equipment out...not sure which ones though

4/16/2009 2:23:12 PM

Apparently, from what my roommate said, there is an eviction sign on the door of the Duraleigh location. guess I'll be looking for a new gym

4/18/2009 4:39:30 PM

for anyone that cares, I got this email email response this morning:

Quote :

"Mr. Carter, We apologize for incorrect information you were given. All members have been upgraded to Metro membership and have access to all Peak Fitness clubs including Gold's Gym on 6420 Glenwood Ave. We will be glad to provide you with addresses and phone numbers to Northridge and downtown clubs if you don't know where they are located. All clubs are within 6.52 miles. Sincerely, Member Service"

4/23/2009 2:38:50 PM

gyms suck.

4/23/2009 3:07:02 PM

I've been going to the Peak in Knightdale for a couple of months now. All seems fine there, but does anyone know if this location is in danger of closing? the wral link only says "some Peak Fitness health clubs"...

4/23/2009 11:35:18 PM

I'm a PEAK member, and they definitely have a chain on the door at the Duraleigh location.

I went to Planet Fitness yesterday and signed up there, since they're basically directly across from my house.

I'm guessing that I'm still going to be charged for my PEAK membership even though the location nearest me closed down? Who do I contact to cancel my membership?

4/24/2009 8:44:21 AM

so i show up to the Knightdale gym today, and sure enough, the place is EMPTY. some others were at the front door reading the poster on the door, saying they were just there last night and there were even people signing up as late as this past week. pretty messed up, but right on par with what some others said in this thread.

fortunately, planet fitness is picking up peak members' memberships and honoring them (coming in as a black card membership). i signed a 2 year contract with peak back in feb, and they said they would honor that as soon as our member info was in their system. no transfer fees or maintenance fees, which seems like a good deal. the planet manager told me that planet was not refunding any money, and that i would have to take that up with peak. so i guess in theory i could TRY to get any money back from peak, and still go to planet, but the chances of that happening are slim to none.

i worked out at the planet this evening after finding out about all this, and it was OK, though I preferred the peak environment a little better. in planet i feel like i'm in a willy wonka wet dream. it's much darker and more cramped.

5/7/2009 8:55:21 PM

Fuquay location still exists!

5/7/2009 9:24:31 PM

Lifestyle Family Fitness people

they have a special just for you former PEAK victims members

5/7/2009 11:05:41 PM

Quote :

"Fitness 19 people they have a special just for you former PEAK victims members"

5/8/2009 4:36:41 PM

Quote :

"Who do I contact to cancel my membership?"

I'm going to go with lifestyle thats off of Walnut/Buckjones in cary. Went there last week as a guest with a friend and i really like it. $29/month-to-month

5/8/2009 4:38:50 PM

^^ now some, not all, but some Fitness 19's are known to be cheap and dirty, no locker rooms, no showers, and no group fitness classes...I would guess you're talking about the one in Cary? Do they have those things. Just curious.

5/8/2009 5:02:35 PM

Which of you guys go to the Lifestyle Family Fitness in Cary? I work there...

but yea, Peak Fitness facilities are going down like crazy. I think 15 have closed in the past 6 weeks.

whoever mentioned the deal we are running earlier is right

$0 initiation, month-to-month for $29.

We have saunas, tanning, child care, etc. Not some bare bones facility like peak. And, when you join you get a free $150 gift card that can be used towards 4 personal training sessions or for specialty classes by Les Mills.

If anyone wants a free 7 day trial membership, just PM.

[Edited on May 30, 2009 at 7:30 PM. Reason : .]

5/30/2009 7:29:08 PM

^I didn't realize anyone else was on this site...of course you ARE new

5/30/2009 7:41:52 PM

I go to LFF, definitely recommend that gym. Fuck peak.

5/30/2009 9:31:22 PM

Since my PEAK membership is currently sitting at $17 a month and month-to-month I'm just going to sit on it for a while longer.

6/1/2009 4:22:50 PM

^^^^ With LFF, would i be able to use any of their gyms in the area? One is near home and another near work so Id like the option of using either to accommodate my schedule.

6/1/2009 4:40:37 PM