It is more than a business. It is more than a family fitness center. It is a community. For Workout Anytime Family Fitness Center owner Daniel Bryant, it is a dream come true.

Located at Ga. Highway 74 and Milam Road since 2001, Bryant explained how he came to purchase the business just three months ago. A member since June 2005, the possibility to purchase the business came late last year when the owner decided to sell, Bryant said.

“I’ve always wanted to be in the industry and I figured it was the best way to get in shape if I owned one or worked in one,” Bryant said with a smile. “I had owned an air freight transportation business for 11 years and I was trying to get out of it for 10 years. It was an income and it was good to me, but I really didn’t enjoy it. I had no good eating habits and no exercise regimen. I asked myself for the past seven years what I would like to do. Owning a gym is the thing that kept coming to me.”

Bryant got his dream job and set out on the course to be an on-site owner who, by his reckoning, could benefit both from the workout equipment that fills the center and the attention of certified personal trainer Smiley Elmore.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve it, but everything is falling into place and I’m thankful for it,” Bryant said, beaming. “That includes with employees. Everything just fell into place. It’s been fantastic.”

Workout Anytime comprises nearly 5,000 square feet of equipment, including 10 treadmills, six ellipticals, three recumbent bicycles, free weights, steppers, a variety of weight machines and two tanning beds. Bryant said the center will receive new cardio equipment in the next few weeks, including four treadmills and ellipticals and a rowing machine. But it is the staff that make the difference and give the center its appeal.

“The staff are great,” Bryant said. “They are an excellent team.”

Bryant said that, like the members, he utilizes the center to meet his own fitness needs.

“You would think a gym owner would automatically be in shape because he owns the gym. But I’ve got weight to lose and I’ve lost 18 pounds. So I think it’s also a benefit that members can come in and see me working out, too. I’ve got the same goals as they have. We can all get out there and do it together and benefit.”

The approach and the intent at Workout Anytime are paying off. The center’s growing membership of area residents who can work out anytime, day or night, is proof of it, Bryant said. An example of that growth and the sense of community that continues to expand at Hwy. 74 and Milam Road is exemplified in one its members. Like so many others, Roberta Smith found Workout Anytime to be a place to keep fit and participate in the things that define a community. It is a place for people discuss their interests, whether politics, swapping recipes or any manner of conversation, she said.

“Obviously I’m here for health and fitness. But what I’ve discovered, and what a lot of people have discovered, is that it’s a place to hang out and socialize as well as work out,” Smith said. “And it’s not an isolated event. A lot of people come at pretty much the same time every day so you have a little community of people that you get to know and work out with.”

The look on Daniel Bryant’s face was unmistakable as he reflected on his brief three-months as member-turned-owner of Workout Anytime Family Fitness Center. It was one of pure delight.

“This is a dream come true in every way. I see the same people on a regular basis. I consider every member a friend,” Bryant commented with a grin. “So many people will come and sit in the office and talk. Knowing that when they walk through the door they are here to better themselves and knowing I had some small part in that, it just makes it that much more enjoyable. We’re a community of people who want to better themselves physically and mentally.”

Workout Anytime Family Fitness Center is located at the intersectioni of Hwy. 74 and Milam Road in Fairburn and can be contacted at (770) 969-0988.

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