MUV Fitness to close downtown Spokane gym

MUV Fitness confirmed Friday that it is permanently closing its downtown Spokane gym by the end of the month.

Owner Jeff Carlson made the “difficult decision” to shutter the 20,000-square-foot gym at 808 W. Main Ave., Suite 200, on Nov. 1 due to dwindling membership as workers have not yet fully returned to offices in downtown Spokane, said Jamie Izaks, spokesman for MUV Fitness.

“Gym management and staff are sad because MUV downtown has built so many great relationships here, and the location downtown holds a special place in everyone’s hearts,” Izaks said. “MUV is doing everything in its power to ensure it stays in good standing with all of members. The hope is that they’ll stay with MUV, and visit other area gyms of ours.”

MUV’s north Spokane, South Hill and Spokane Valley gyms will remain open, Izaks said.

Members of MUV’s downtown Spokane gym are able to cancel memberships with no fees or transfer to one of the franchise’s three Spokane-area locations, Izaks said.

MUV Fitness, which provides cardio equipment, strength training, personal training and group fitness, is a subsidiary of Lynnwood-based MUV Brands.

Joel Tallman founded MUV Brands in 2014.

MUV Brands’ leadership team consists of Carlson, Tallman, Jack Tawney, John Burriss and Chip Schwerzel.

MUV Fitness operates 15 gyms in Oregon, Washington and South Carolina, according to the company’s website.

In 2014, Carlson and Schwerzel purchased four former Oz Fitness locations in Spokane and rebranded them to MUV Fitness that same year.

The two business owners previously operated Vision Quest gyms in Western Washington for more than a decade, according to newspaper archives.

Today, Carlson owns MUV’s north Spokane, South Hill and downtown Spokane gyms.

Carlson and Schwerzel co-own MUV’s Spokane Valley gym, according to data from the Washington state Department of Revenue.