Spunk Fitness Closes Abruptly

Spunk Fitness in Odenton closed its doors without warning on Tuesday night, with management citing slow growth in its membership.

The gym, which opened last year and was known for its $9.99 monthly memberships, will not reopen. Workers were seen moving equipment and furniture into trucks on Tuesday night, and management said they expected most of the space to be cleared out by morning.

“It’s just a numbers thing,” Spunk chief operating officer Benny Feehley said. “We did everything we possibly could to spark the membership growth. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen.”

Feehley said the gym had about 1,200 members, while other Spunk fitness franchises have 10,000 or more. Spunk operates other gyms in Ellicott City, Lutherville, and Rosedale, and two near Rochester, NY.

Feehley said the gym decided to close Tuesday night because it was the end of the monthly billing cycle, and no members were billed for next month. Each member who paid annual fees in October of 2010 will get refunds of $1.20. Members who paid annual fees in July of 2011 will get $28.93.

Members received no warning that the gym would be closing for good. Last week, a sign was posted indicating the gym would close early on Tuesday night, but there was no indication the closure was permanent.

Feehley offered no explanation as to why members weren't warned.

Spunk Fitness was in business for a little more than a year, taking over the spot once occupied by Premier Health & Fitness in the Odenton Shopping Center last summer. Premier also suffered from financial problems.

Feehley said the gym did have some talks with its landlord, Nellis Corp., about a change in lease terms, but the two sides were not able to reach an agreement that worked.

Feehley declined to say how much money the gym lost, but said that owners repeatedly paid money out of pocket to market and promote the business. Ultimately, he said he did not believe there were enough people in the area to support it.

“It’s just the demographics,” he said.