Staying Strong in Zionsville

August 2017

Writer / Janelle Morrison

Body Outfitters announced they are moving from their studio on Cedar Street to a new location in Zionsville. We talked with owner Mark Moreland about the decision to move and why it was important to remain in Zionsville where Moreland and his family live.

Moreland opened his personal training studio in the heart of the village seven years ago. Body Outfitters offers its clients personal training, small group training, family workouts, nutrition counseling and sports specialists for the professional athlete preparing for the next level of competition.

“We are predominantly a personal training studio,” Moreland said. “About 85% of our business is one- on-one or two-on-one training sessions. We do have a group product that has a variety of intensity levels, but it is a smaller percentage of what we do. When we opened, there wasn’t anything in the village like us. Having grown up in this town, I had this idea that the people who owned stores and businesses here in town were like local celebrities to me as a small kid. I recognized that they worked hard and contributed to the town. I worked for the clock shop and other local businesses growing up, and so when I had the opportunity to open my business and try to contribute back to the town that raised me, I took it.”

As a testament to the town and the clients, Moreland said he had no intention of ever moving his studio out of town when he decided it was time to grow.

“A trend that I saw as a trainer and manager was creating career opportunities for people who wanted to make training their profession,” he said. “I’ve watched a lot of talented trainers who wanted to take care of people have to go get ‘real’ jobs when they got married and started their families because the industry didn’t support them unless they owned their own place. We said, ‘Can we figure out a business model that allows people to make enough money to stay in the industry?’ If they are ambitious enough, some trainers will stay with us long enough until they are ready to springboard and start their own thing. As we grew, we realized that this model really works. Ultimately, the clients had to decide if what we offer is valuable or not, and after seven years, the answer we got is yes.”

Moreland further explained that the goal is not just to grow the business but create opportunities for some of the trainers to move into some management positions within the new facility. He said, “The balance and the challenge that I love about this process is how to grow while remaining intimate and small. What makes our environment feel small and intimate is that our clients are getting results from a trainer that they trust and build chemistry with. From an owner’s point of view, I will always be a trainer first, take care of my employees second and grow my business third, in that order. It has to start with the clients and the service.”

Body Outfitters will be moving to the new location located in South Village on September 2017 . The new location will offer additional parking and more restroom and shower facilities while the cardio area will be doubled in size. Clients are able to utilize the cardio equipment, at no additional cost, whenever the studio is opened. Moreland emphasized that regardless if you train once a week or three times a week, the clients are invited and encouraged to use the cardio equipment at their leisure. Moreland will be hiring three more trainers when they move to the new location and mentioned that the clients will be able to take advantage of the connectivity to the fitness trail and ride or bike from the studio.

“I see a lot of advantages to moving to this location, especially as the area develops,” Moreland expressed.

For more information on Body Outfitters, visit bodyoutfitters.com.