Moving Pains for Owner and Members of Local Women's Only Gym

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" applies not only to men, but also apparently to owners of exercise clubs who decide to switch locations.

"I thought I was doing the right thing by keeping the club open," said Lisa Brown, owner of Bodies R Us, which from its former location at 153 Perry Highway to 1000 West View Park Plaza.

"My former landlord raised the rent, and I had no choice but to move or go out of business," said Brown.

The gym's new location is in the southeast corner of West View Park Plaza, on the first floor of the 

But Brown admits some of her members aren't happy. 

"Some say they don't like the location, or they don't like the fact that there aren't any windows, or that we don't have carpeting," said Brown.

Brown said she is surprised by the reaction.

"We were able to move and keep every piece of equipment, and now with a more reasonable rent, I will be able to improve the service and the equipment," she said.

There have been 10 complaints to the Better Business Bureau of Pittsburgh in the past three years about Bodies R Us. Half of the complaints dealt with billing and collection issues, the other half were for problems with products and services. 

The gym not only has a new location, it has a new name, WOW, formerly Bodies R Us. (WOW is an acronym for Womens Only Workouts.)

"I figured with a fresh new location, we'd give it a fresh name, a fresh start," Brown said. "But everything else is the same, everyone's membership from Bodies R Us will be honored."

Brown admits the new space is smaller, by about 4,000 square feet, but she said her old location had a lot of unused space.

The move has not been seamless. Brown said Comcast had failed to provide a forwarding phone number from the old location. The gym's new number is 412-939-3336.

The gym's old website has not been updated yet, either. 

"We've emailed our webmaster, but the changes are still in the works," said Brown.

Brown said about a half a dozen members have quit because of the new location, but she has gained at least that many new members in women who work nearby and are thrilled to have a gym within walking distance.

"I'm sure things will settle down in a few weeks," said Brown. "And we are doing everything we can to make our members feel at home in our new home."

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