Josh Cronic, the founder and owner of Cronic Fitness in Madison County, plans to open a gym next to Lexington Auto Parts and across from Oglethorpe County High School in July.
“Oglethorpe County has never had a gym before really, same as Madison County,” Cronic said. “The population is considerably growing, so if I can pull in the high school and educational people, then I think that will be my golden ticket.”
Cronic, a 31-year-old from Madison County, started his Madison County location last year in a 3,300 square-foot gym with equipment purchased off of Facebook Marketplace.
His new location will be over 8,000 square feet with a full set of equipment purchased from an out-of-state gym closing.
“I actually wasn’t looking for something that big,” Cronic said. “It just kind of worked out with the rent and stuff that it turned into a bigger spot, and I got a really good deal on equipment. It’s going to be a really nice gym, actually better than the one I have (in Madison County).”
He plans for the gym to be open 24 hours, with a mobile app allowing customers to quickly set up or cancel appointments and gain access to the gym. Once the gym is running, he plans to have one-on-one training sessions and group fitness classes.
Cronic received an outpouring of support in late April when he posted in an Oglethorpe County Facebook group asking if there would be interest for a gym in the county.
The post garnered nearly 100 comments, some of which suggested potential locations.
“I couldn’t tell you how many people would appreciate a gym to work out in Oglethorpe instead of traveling to Athens,” one Facebook commenter wrote.
Less than a month later, the potential gym became a reality as Cronic posted confirmation that he had secured the location across from OCHS and was sourcing equipment, which received another round of comments.
“I’m excited to see these people finally have a gym close to them,” Cronic said about Oglethorpe County residents who drive to his gym on U.S. 29. “Personally, I’m excited about all of the equipment because I can fit a lot more in this space.”
Cronic said he’ll be able to start cleaning and setting up the space when the equipment arrives in the next two weeks. He hopes to start membership promotions in June.
“The closest gym is 15-20 minutes away, so this will save people a lot of time,” Cronic said. “I’m just excited to bring some fitness to Oglethorpe.”