National franchise brand Blink Fitness reimagines your daily workout with ultra-modern amenities and on-the-fly workout plans. The new gym is located in the Shops at Timberlake and will celebrate its grand opening on Thursday, Sept. 12 with food trucks, games, raffles, exclusive membership deals and a visit from Super Bowl legend Michael McCrary.
Some quick background on Blink: The affordable gym chain was designed by luxury fitness club Equinox during the recession. Blink mirrors Equinox’s elite standards for employee performance and guest equipment at a more approachable price. Equinox also invested a substantial amount of money into the psychology of color and music to design Blink’s signature orange, green and blue space, all of which help to motivate and relax gym members.
Introducing Blink to the Beach is husband-and-wife duo Carlos and Laura Gavidia. The Florida residents pursued the fitness industry after five years of retirement and are anxious to get started in Tidewater. They’ve even recruited their son and daughter to help piece together the Holland Road space. “A family that works out together stays together,” say the Gavidias.
Unlike other gyms in the area, Blink is dedicated to integrating top-of-the-line technology into nearly every piece of equipment. A personalized mobile companion tracks your goals, offers tailored suggestions for improvement and provides step-by-step instruction for weighted machines. In addition, each of the 83 cardio machines including ellipticals, treadmills and bikes are outfitted with sizeable HD screens that allow you to stream your personal Netflix, Hulu, Spotify and Pandora accounts. You can even log into Facebook and Twitter to stay connected during your ride or run. Carlos explains that the machines are entirely void of RAM memory, so members’ data is immediately erased when the workout is completed.
Complementing the expansive cardio deck are a two-part weight room, dumbbell rack, stretch center anchored by a mural of suggested stretches and a hulking escape rack loaded with state-of-the-art rope, sandbags and the like.
Carlos explains that even more important than high quality equipment is a positive fitness environment. “We always put mood before muscle,” says Carlos. All Blink staff, otherwise known as Mood Lifters, are trained to greet and encourage guests with the utmost enthusiasm. The care is genuine, however, as Blink invests in only the most standup employees.
Blink offers three levels of membership—gray, green and blue. All include full access to the Holland Road gym with additional perks added at the blue and green levels.
Blink Fitness is located at 4239 Holland Road, Virginia Beach. The Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony kick off at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 12, followed by a community celebration from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Grace Silipigni
Grace Silipigni is an elementary school Spanish immersion teacher based in Virginia Beach and a regular contributor to Coastal Virginia Magazine, covering a wide range of topics such as health and wellness, education and learning, food and drink, happenings and events, travel and getaways and more.
