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Anytime Fitness Murray Bridge has been named Anytime Fitness Australia’s club of the year, recognised for its achievement ahead of more than 570 other gyms around the nation.

Announced at a gala event as part of the Anytime Fitness national franchisees conference in Hobart in October, the award recognised owners Kayla Fergusson and Bryce Jaensch, who had invested heavily in the gym and its culture since taking over in 2022.

Speaking to the Murray Bridge News about the gym’s welcoming and inclusive culture after receiving the award, Ferguson explained “one of my proudest metrics is that we were just over 30% female when we bought the gym, and over 50% of our members are female now.

“It goes to show how safe an environment it is, emotionally and physically.

“That was my main goal: to change the mindset around what a gym is.”

Fergusson and Jaensch had been regulars at the gym prior to taking on the franchise, but set out to make it welcoming for people of all ages, genders and fitness levels when they took on its operations.

Fergusson advised that, at the time, the gym had been full of bodybuilders and bros, an intimidating “men’s world”, recalling “I jokingly messaged (the previous owner) on Snapchat, asking if he’d sell.

“Then we made an offer, he said yes … it happened very quickly.”

Today, Anytime Fitness’ Murray Bridge team is all-female and all-local, from new manager Tahli Allen to staff members Dani Daish and Kara Reed.

Fergusson is grateful for the community’s support over the past two and a half years, adding “the people who trusted us when we came in and told them things were going to change”.

She is also proud to have seen members’ lives change for the better as a result of coming to the gym, going on to tell the Murray Bridge News “people think they sign up for the aesthetics - to lose weight or to get big muscles - but they quickly realise it’s for their mental health.

“You go in and clear your mind for 45 minutes to an hour.

“There’s also the social side of it: if you train at the same time every day, you make friends with the other people who are there at that time.

“For a lot of our older members, it might be the only social interaction they get during the day; and our staff are always up for a chat.”

Finalists in the Anytime Fitness awards were chosen based on hard data, including business growth and member satisfaction.

Images: Bryce Jaensch and Kayla Fergusson at Anytime Fitness Australia's 2024 gala event (top, credit: Anytime Fitness), the interior of Anytime Fitness Murray Bridge (middle, credit: Anytime Fitness/Facebook) and pair at the time of their taking on the Anytime Fitness Murray Bridge franchise in 2022 (below, credit: Anytime Fitness/Facebook).

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