Alaska's fitness industry: still healthy despite country's recession ills.

• Author: Colby, Nicole A. Bonham
• Position: HEALTH & FITNESS

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A combination of Alaska-centric forces is fueling continued stability in the state's health-fitness industry, business operators and economic analysts report.

Robert Brewster, president of The Alaska Club--the state's largest fitness-center operation with 18 locations across the 49th State and celebrating its 25th anniversary this year--identifies several factors at work behind the continued popularity and growth of the fitness industry in Alaska.

First, as economists have long noticed and reported, the effects of the national recession were slower to reach Alaska--and arguably have so far affected Alaskans less than in, for example, the Phoenix or Las Vegas markets. Second, indoor fitness plays a uniquely important role for weather-worn Alaskans. "Indoor fitness activity is more of a necessity in Alaska than some other parts of the country," Brewster says. As a result, "the consumer has had more loyalty to this particular expense in their personal budget." Whereas, in Lower 48 economies, where indoor fitness is more of a luxury item to be possibly reconsidered when times are tight; in Alaska, with its extreme weather conditions, the concept of spending time warm and dry indoors takes on additional value to the northern consumer, he says. "Ironically, when you live at the extremes, you have a good environment for indoor recreation," said Brewster.

Finally, The Alaska Club has benefited from the importance of indoor fitness activities in the context of the family. That club's membership is split nearly equally between single users and family memberships, Brewster reports. His comments are seconded by fitness operators around the state.

In Ketchikan, Angela Morin owns and operates Training Nutrition Attitude (T.N.A.) Fitness LLC, where she sees her membership activity and class attendance directly ebb and flow based on the Panhandle weather. In July and August, attendance was down as residents enjoyed the chance to get outside. In October, classes again fill to capacity.

"For here--Southeast--that's when our weather starts turning bad and that's when people start to go indoors," she says.

Similar to The Alaska Club, Morin has seen increased interest from entire families. When she started her operation in late 9009, mostly women filled her classes. "If anything, I've added more (classes and offerings) to try to fit everybody in," Morin says. "All classes are tailored so anybody and everybody can take them."

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