Bellevue gym building community through fitness | Recreation feature
Published 3:36 pm Tuesday, June 25, 2013
For Nick Merrill and his wife Liz Strathy-Merrill, fitness and worldwide outreach projects go hand-in-hand.
The two Newport Shores residents (Liz is a Newport High School graduate as well) have previously completed endeavors that involved fundraising to construct eight wells in an African village, and last year ran from Vancouver, Wash. to Vancouver, B.C. over five days to construct an orphanage at a schoolhouse, again in Africa.
“I always feel like anytime you can give back, you should,” Liz said. “That has always been a part of me.”
When she and Nick decided to open a gym in Bellevue, they knew non-profit work would be part of the package there as well and could impact people much closer to home.
Inside the gym, longtime personal trainer Nick develops varying workouts that encompass cardio, strength training and core fitness exercises in addition to sport-specific activities. Liz said the hope is for BFit to become a community gathering place for those excited about fitness, regardless of income level.
“We want to bridge the gap between one-on-one training and the 50-person classes at the bigger gyms,” she said.
More importantly, the two are using the gym to impact the community through monthly fundraisers and partnerships.
The gym partnered with Food Lifeline the first month after opening, collecting donations at its downtown Bellevue location and rewarding clients for participating with free workouts or other incentives at the gym.
Eastside Baby Corner, which provides diapers to low-income families in the area, is this month’s partner and Liz said the couple are also in the process of developing a sponsorship program for underprivileged youth who are unable to afford the cost of training.
Liz said all of that plays into their idea of the gym as an integrated piece of the community and added the owner of Bungie, the company that developed the Halo franchise, has paid for employees to come to the gym for training sessions.
“We’ve always loved helping people through our runs,” Nick said. “This industry is all about helping people reach their goals and that is what has always motivated us.”
One of the Bungie employees the gym has been helping is Josh Eash, a 38-year-old Redmond resident who has been with Bungie for less than a year. Eash said he has never worked for a company as invested in the health of its employees, evidenced by the sponsorship to the gym and healthy food and drink options at the office.
“We sit all day in a dark room,” he said. “It is wonderful they care about our health and it makes me think about what I’m eating.”
Far from a workout fanatic, Eash said working with Merril and doing so in the company of his coworkers has provided more than enough motivation to put in the effort during the lunch hour workouts.
“He pushes us a lot harder than I would go on my own,” he said. “I wouldn’t train as hard as this, but in here, there is no excuse.”
BFit Bellevue is located at 11000 NE 10th St. in Bellevue. Visit them online or call 425-429-6952 for more information.
Nick Merrill demonstrates a technique at a station during a workout with Bungie employees. JOSH SUMAN, BELLEVUE REPORTER
