Matt and Michele Midnight have launched their own fitness business inside Iron-Bound Gym in New Town.
In November the Midnights, who live in Toano, offered classes through their business CrossFit 1607 — which had been operating out of their garage — in a gym for the first time. CrossFit incorporates activities people do on a daily basis, including throwing, pushing, pulling and squatting into an exercise mix.
“I started doing workouts out of my garage at home and I got really passionate about it,” Matt said.
Matt had been working as a personal trainer and wanted to expand; after training and completing a certification process, Matt and Michelle began teaching CrossFit. The couple worked with Scott Grafton, Iron-Bound Gym’s owner, on a rental agreement.
Matt’s brother, Garrett, is also a CrossFit coach for CrossFit 1607.
With the increased space, CrossFit 1607 is able to expand the number of clients they can serve. The classes can now take up to six participants per coach, which could be too limited if the classes prove popular.
“If we are going to grow correctly and have a really good following … then we find that to be a really good problem to have,” Matt said.
The CrossFit classes are not geared toward one particular age group; anyone who wants to participate is welcome. Matt and Michelle currently have clients between ages 18 and 70.
“We like to have really approachable demeanor when we share this with everybody,” Matt said. “I find a lot of the times people are really intimidated with CrossFit. … We approach it from a very approachable standpoint.”
To make CrossFit attainable for anyone, Iron-Bound Gym nonmembers and members can participate in the classes.
“It’s worked out very well. It’s actually integrated well,” Grafton said. He went on to say the partnership has been great so far, and CrossFit 1607 will continue to be part of Iron-Bound Gym for the foreseeable future.
For more information about CrossFit 1607, including a class schedule and pricing, visit its website.
