Fitness coach Jesse Jones has opened a workout facility with a twist: He will kick you out if you don’t come.

“I’m going to make sure you’re finally getting what you pay for,” Jones said. “My passion is not for another three-month payment, my passion is reaching people’s goals. So, we’re making people accountable to reach their goals.”

Phenom1 Phitness Studio opened at 1360 N. Academy Blvd. in February, and Jones said he has asked two members to leave and put a third on notice for not following a training plan. At his place, every member must meet with a trainer, make a plan and then follow through. Or else.

His idea is exactly the opposite of the business model of many major gyms, which try to sign up as many people as possible to long-term contracts and then hope most people never show up.

“It’s a risk,” Jones admits. “I’ll say, ‘Save your money. Come see me in a few months when you’re serious.’ In the long run, I think I’ll win for it.”

Jones, 36, is a former arena league football player who studied to become a personal trainer when he retired to Colorado Springs five years ago. He’s gone from training clients in his basement to a 1,700-square-foot facility, to his new 4,341-square-foot space.

His greatest selling point might be himself. Charismatic and encouraging, Jones also happens to have a killer body.

He’s 6 feet 3 inches tall and 235 pounds of pure beefcake. Jones was a wide receiver in arena football; he’s strong and fast. He’s the kind of guy people gravitated to for advice at the gym anyway, so he turned it into a career.

“I could never work out for 30 minutes without somebody tapping me, saying ‘Hey can you help me?’”

One of those people was Lynne Wiora, 55, of Colorado Springs. Wiora saw Jones helping his sister work out at the YMCA five years ago, became his first paying client, and still uses Jones.

“He’s been the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” she gushed. “I was looking for a woman, but he knew his stuff so well that I thought, ‘this is the guy.’”

Jones is a renegade among personal trainers. He’s never worked for a large gym, preferring to train clients on his own. But that system has ticked off gyms that claim he’s stolen their clients under the guise of working out at their facilities.

It’s small wonder that he decided to turn the corporate gym model on its head when he opened his own place. The only question now is whether his experiment will actually work.

Details

For more information, call 594-4793 or go to www.phenom1studio.com. Phenom1 offers the usual machines and classes such as Nia, yoga, Zumba, Impact and martial arts.

Fitness trainer Jesse Jones worked Tuesday with Cheyenne Mountain High School volleyball player Natasha Ray at Phenom1 Phitness Studio, his fitness center. Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette