Cheers to 13 Years of Axistence — and One Year of Our New Chapter

By: Nicole Alrubaiy

Today marks one year since Axistence changed hands — since Amir and I took a leap of faith and agreed to usher this 13-year-old gym and community into its next chapter. The year has been full of surprises. Some exciting. Some challenging. And quite a few that made me realize just how much we had taken on.

It started with the move from Axistence’s original home at 1950 S Quebec St. to our new space across the street at 1900 S Quince St.

When we were planning the move, Amir assured me that the members would want to help.

I told him he was crazy.

These are people who pay us to come to the gym. We could not possibly expect them to spend a weekend painting walls, moving rubber mats and hauling kettlebells.

I was very wrong.

I met about half of the Axistence membership that weekend as people showed up to paint, install rigs, move equipment and help us turn an empty space into our new gym home.

It was my first real glimpse of how much people care about this place.

And somewhere between moving mats and hanging rigs, I realized that we hadn’t just bought a small business. We had inherited stewardship of a community that meant a lot to a lot of people.

That feeling has only grown over the past year.

I’ve tried other strength programs and gyms over the years, but I’ve never experienced one where I felt this connected to both the coaches and the people working out next to me.

At Axistence, I’ve watched members share deeply personal parts of their lives, support each other through hard things, celebrate successes and choose to spend time together outside the gym — from happy hours to adventures in the mountains.

And I genuinely never dread coming to a workout.

Even when it’s Judy’s birthday and apparently the appropriate way to celebrate is 100 Curtis P’s for time.

Then, of course, there has been the other side of owning a gym.

Did we transfer that vendor account?

Why does the membership software say this person owes us money?

Do we need to put more money into the account this month?

And, memorably: Why are those lights SO BRIGHT?

Owning a small business has given us a tremendous appreciation for all the invisible work that goes into keeping a place like Axistence running.

We’re incredibly grateful to Dan and Ryan, Axistence’s previous owners, for helping us navigate so much of that transition — and to our members for giving us patience and grace through the inevitable hiccups.

We made it through Year One.

Now comes the part I’m especially excited about.

This next year is about helping Axistence grow — bringing more people into this community while protecting the things that have made it special for the past 13 years. It’s about getting stronger together, continuing to build friendships, trying new things, going on adventures and celebrating each other’s successes — both inside the gym and outside of it.

A year ago, I thought we were buying a gym.

Now I understand that we became caretakers of something much bigger than that.

Cheers to 13 years, Axistence.

And to whatever comes next.