Today we’d like to introduce you to James Grace.
Today we’d like to introduce you to James Grace.
Hi James, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m a physical therapist and in 2012-2013 I completed a course that’s like an MBA for PTs. I met so many PTs who owned their own practices (I do not) and I was so inspired by them. I really wanted to start my own business! However, I didn’t want to start my own PT practice. I knew I couldn’t build it better than the one in which I already worked, and there’s no opportunity for much creativity in physical therapy- it’s too highly regulated. I wanted to start a company that was doing something differently. Whenever I drove past available commercial real estate, I thought, “what could I put there?” I wanted it to be something I was passionate about, but I didn’t know what. After marriage and our boy was born, one day, I was walking through our garage and saw all the hobbies I no longer had time to enjoy- my RC planes, golf clubs, beer brewing equipment, and other fun things. I thought, “who am I now? Is there anything I still do just for myself?” I realized I still loved weight training, so I began to double down on it, and I got more serious about training.
Embarrassingly, it took me a couple of years to make the connection–I wanted to start a business and I love weight lifting. It hit me hard and suddenly. I’d never worked in the fitness industry and I thought that gave me an advantage. I didn’t have any norms I was stuck on and I could bring a fresh perspective as a long-time consumer. I’d lifted for over 20 years in all kinds of gyms: commercial, military, deployment, college, and independent. I began writing down all the things I’d loved and hated about all the different kinds of gyms I’d visited. I started researching equipment costs and writing a business plan as a curiosity and before I knew it I had so much momentum I realized, “I’m doing this!” I brainstormed and talked to other lifters about how to fix known and unknown issues with gyms. How do I eliminate what I don’t like, emphasize what I do like, and create new ways to innovate the gym experience. I also wanted to create better jobs and source everything as locally as possible.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Planning and dreaming was fun. Executing wasn’t. Almost anything that could go wrong did. Construction delays, hiring employees then rehiring employees because of construction delays, construction went over budget, issues with the landlord, opening without marketing and advertising money because of construction going over budget and issues with the landlord. Just as we were picking up steam, the pandemic hit.
We celebrated our first anniversary of opening our doors during the lockdown in late March 2020. But, for every challenge, there was some offsetting blessing. Great word-of-mouth replaced advertising, most of our members remained members and paid their dues through the lockdown, I was showered with support from loyal lifters, I was able to keep our employees employed and paid through the lockdown, the SBA helped with our loan, our bank was amazing, supportive, and flexible (thank you PeopleFund!), and so on. So many times it just felt like the road rose to meet my feet.
As you know, we’re big fans of Iron Vault Gym. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I built my dream gym simply hoping there were enough people like me in the neighborhood. Iron Vault Gym (or FeV for short) is a barbell and free-weights gym. We’ve eliminated the annoyances of unspecialized gyms, customized space, have a lot of specialized equipment, and added service and lots of details and perks specific to the free-weight lifter. We bring together very like-minded members; everyone has at least weight training in common because nothing else goes on there- no yoga, no cardio cinema, no spin classes, etc. Nothing wrong at all with those things. If you love yoga, I bet you have a better experience at the yoga studio that only does yoga and was built by someone who loves yoga! We’re a barbell studio.
I’m most proud of the concept of the Spotter. Our employees are called Spotters. It solves multiple problems. We don’t have someone bored sitting behind a desk, it’s easy to justify paying them more because they do more, and members don’t have to ask a stranger to spot a lift. We have you covered in so many other ways too- free chalk, smelling salts, hair ties, a community use Theragun, and more. Anything we can do to maximize the lifting experience. 24/7 after-hours access for our members too; not everyone can lift during normal hours.
Do you have a favorite memory from childhood that you can share with us?
That’s tough, but one of my favorite childhood memories was when I was selected to play on a team representing our age group and the state of Alaska in a hockey tournament in California. We practiced together, did fundraising events, became good friends, took 2nd in the tournament, and went to Disneyland!
Contact Info:
- Email: james@ironvaultgym.com
- Website: www.ironvaultgym.com
- Instagram: @fevgym
- Facebook: @FeVGym
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/fev-iron-vault-gym-austin
