|
Kosher Gym was a fitness club on Coney Island Avenue in the Midwood section of Flatbush, Brooklyn, that catered to Orthodox Jews in New York by, among other things, offering separate facilities for men and women. In 2008 the club was sold to Energize Fitness of Cheyenne, Wyoming, which then purchased another similar club in Lakewood, New York, Trim Gym, branding both as Energize in an attempt to create a national franchise. However, the company closed both locations a year after the acquisition. == History == David Moshe from Israel founded The Kosher Gym in 1999. He saw a need for Jewish and religious men and women to be healthy and fit, but these people would not go to "typical gyms” because of the immodest atmosphere according to Orthodox standards.〔Sharon Seitz, ("Neighborhood Report: Flatbush; At a Kosher Gym, Stamina, Not Skin, Is on Display" ), ''The New York Times'', March 3, 2002.〕 The Hebrew motto "a healthy mind and a healthy body" was painted on the walls.〔Zlati Meyer, ("Sports: ''Shvitzing'' to the Oldies: Why is this gym different from all other gyms?" ), ''New York magazine'', February 6, 2000.〕 Moshe called it Kosher Gym, a play on the word “כושר” which means fitness in Hebrew and also played along with the theme of being a "kosher" place to work out. It advertised as "the only kosher gym in the world".〔Francine Russo, ("Close-Up on Midwood" ), ''Village Voice'', November 2, 2002.〕 The Kosher Gym started in a renovated car garage on Coney Island in Brooklyn with separate hours for men and women. Only instrumental music was played, only CNN was showed on the club televisions, the fruit juice was kosher, frosted glass prevented passers-by from observing those working out inside,〔 and tapes of rabbinical lessons and "Jewish Techno" were available for members' use while working out.〔Max Gross, ("Exercising to a Rabbinic Beat: ‘Kosher Gym’ Caters to the Weight-Conscious Crowd in Brooklyn" ), ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', May 7, 2004.〕 In late 2002 Kosher Gym was experiencing financial difficulties and Moshe found an investor, a local businessman, Yehuda Fulda to purchase Kosher Gym. Fulda then reincorporated Kosher Gym as KG Fitness. He changed the focus to a health and fitness club and the logo from a set of dumbbells to a running man and leased a second building a block away at 1716 Coney Island that he built as a luxury all women's facility. This enabled the gym to flourish as it now had two independent full-time facilities. The all women's gym was enthusiastically received by the community and added thousands of new members to the gym, outgrowing the new facility. Less than 2 years later KG Fitness built a new facility for women over three times the size across the street from the men's facility. By 2007 KG fitness had grown to over 5,000 members, and Fulda decided that it would be more efficient to have one large facility with separate facilities for men and women. This would enable KG to consolidate a lot of its staff, and save money. In 2007 both facilities were moved to a large 25,000 square foot facility on McDonald Ave. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kosher Gym」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|