Finding community at the fitness club

MOSES LAKE — It’s not the kind of thing you might expect to see on a counter in a fitness club.

But there it is — the giant bowl of dark chocolate Hershey’s Kisses, each wrapped in purple, next to a sign celebrating “random acts of kindness.”

“Dark chocolate is good for your heart,” said Emmy Winzler, manager of Evolve Fitness in Moses Lake. “It’s to show our appreciation to our customers.”

It’s a busy place, Evolve Fitness, in the middle of a Saturday morning. People are running and climbing on treadmills and stair-steppers, lifting weights, riding hard on stationary bikes, moving, sweating, getting in shape or staying in shape.

Winzler likes it busy. It means she gets to do her job.

“I’ve been a fitness trainer for about 10 years, and I love every second of it,” she said. “I have a vision, to do something that is more than just a gym. I want to help the people in the community.”

“Saturday is family day; people come here with their kids and grandkids,” Winzler said. “I think it’s beautiful.”

Winzler describes herself as an unlikely coach, trainer and business manager. As a child, growing up in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, she said she wanted to be a doctor. She graduated from college with a degree in political science, and while doing an internship with a company that owned a string of gyms and fitness clubs across Vietnam, she said she “fell in love with the industry.”

“It’s what God had planned for me,” Winzler said. “To help people get healthy.”

Marriage and family brought her to Moses Lake, though she said she fell in love with the town too. She has managed Evolve Fitness, which is owned by her family, since it opened in 2014.

Winzler said the key to succeeding is to be safe and non-judgmental, to meet people where they are to both help and encourage them best, and to have a good staff.

“You have to create a judgment-free environment,” she explained. “You cannot fake it, and you cannot pretend.”

Evolve, which is open 24 hours, also has space for a good range of ages and abilities, Winzler said, having youth-certified personal trainers, classes for seniors and even the ability to work with physical therapists and clients in wheelchairs.

And all sorts of body shapes and sizes as well.

“Seventy-five percent of our clients are women,” she said. “It’s always harder for women to feel comfortable and safe. That’s nothing against men, but it’s harder to satisfy women clients.”

“This place is wonderful,” said Kathy Palmateer as she took a break from working out. “I was diagnosed diabetic two years ago, and my daughter, who is a trainer, said ‘Mom, you’re signing up for Evolve. You don’t have a choice.’”

“I lowered my A1C by one whole point, from 8.2 to 7.1, and lost a little weight, got in better shape,” she added. “So now I look forward to coming in here now, and I feel great about myself every time I walk out of here.”

Dan Bishop, owner of Bishop Spray Service, works with trainer Dale Kemper to “transform” his body — not just lose weight, but conserve and even build muscle mass.

“Since coming here, I’ve lost 80 pounds. I was pre-diabetic and now I’m not anymore. I love it. The trainers are great,” Bishop said.

Kemper, who has worked at Evolve since 2014, explains that body transformation is important because too often, the desire to lose weight also ends up “chewing up” muscle mass as well.

“It’s not just weight loss, but changing body composition,” Kemper said. “We may be more worried about reducing body fat percentage, and that may include more muscle mass.”

Palmateer’s daughter Meghan Meseburg, who sports a head of fading pink hair, has only been working as a personal trainer at Evolve since August 2019. But before that, she was a competitive bodybuilder, and she wanted to use her training to help other people get in shape and meet their goals.

And like her boss Winzler, she finds a camaraderie and community in the gym.

“Everybody here comes from different walks of life. We have doctors, lawyers, waitresses, teachers, so many ethnicities, all come together here for the same common purpose,” Meseburg said.

“We all help and encourage each other,” she added.

Winzler said it’s not so much about pushing people to something new as it is helping them find what is already in themselves, and then watching people not only get physically healthier but also more emotionally and even spiritually confident and strong.

“They already have it, we just show what is possible,” she said.

“I want everybody when they walk out of here, to feel amazing,” Winzler added. “I love that.”