ROW, ROW, ROW YOUR ... GYM? 5th Row Lifting Company sees success in its initial years of biz, opening a second location and ideating a third.

“I haven’t ever found my ‘elevator pitch’ for what I do,” acknowledges Ryan Boos, owner of 5th Row Lifting Company in Eau Claire. Not long after opening his first gym, Boos says, he sought out advice from a former personal training client who was having success with her own yoga studio. She lent him a book she thought might be useful for his business.

“The very first page of the book says ‘define your target market,’ ” he recalls. That may be helpful advice for most entrepreneurs, but not for Boos: He doesn’t have a specific demographic or customer in mind for 5th Row Lifting. While Boos favors old-school weightlifting, he also wants his gyms to be approachable for people of all kinds, not just powerlifters and bodybuilders. Boos says 5th Row’s mix of weightlifting and cardio workouts has drawn clients of a wide range of ages and abilities.

“Right next to Matt, who’s squatting 400 pounds, there’s Judy, who’s 72 and just squatting her body weight,” he says, describing a typical scene at 5th Row.

Beginning early this year, 5th Row’s diverse clientele has had a second location to visit: 2111 Third St. on Eau Claire’s west side, which was most recently The Classic Garage, a 1950s-themed diner. The new gym is adjacent to the Cannery District, a former industrial neighborhood that is being rapidly redeveloped along the west bank of the Chippewa River.

“Whenever there’s been peaks and valleys, the members contribute to pulling us out of the valleys,” he said, notably during the worst of the pandemic in 2020.

The former restaurant – which before that was an auto repair shop — is now filled with fitness equipment, treadmills, free weights, and multi-use metal rigs that allow multiple members to exercise in different ways simultaneously.

Because the gym is outfitted with garage doors, members can use indoor and outdoor spaces when the weather permits. For example, concrete structures in the front of the building make good spots for elevated pushups.

“I always wanted to come to the west side, especially the Cannery District, but this wasn’t on the radar because it was a restaurant,” Boos says of the building. But after The Classic Garage closed and the building became available, Boos moved in and opened the new location in January.

Boos is excited to be near the Cannery District. Already the home of The Brewing Project and the Eau Claire Children’s Theatre, the neighborhood is expected to be the site of new apartment buildings and businesses in the near future. After having watched the redevelopment of downtown Eau Claire over the past few decades, Boos said he’s eager to see the momentum and growth take root on the west side of the Chippewa River as well.

Boos opened his first gym, Pinehurst Fitness, in 2014 on Eau Claire’s north side. The business was relocated to 3944 Anderson Drive and renamed 5th Row Lifting Co. in 2020.

“We quickly filled up at the north side location,” Boos said. And now, although the new west side location has only been open a few months, Boos is already pondering adding a third location, possibly closer to Chippewa Falls, to accommodate current and future members in that area. The (not very) secret to his success is building a sense of community and creating a small-gym feel. This has built loyalty among members, Boos says.

“Whenever there’s been peaks and valleys, the members contribute to pulling us out of the valleys,” he said, notably during the worst of the pandemic in 2020.

In fact, the name of the business is a reference to the close-knit feel Boos strives for: He relocated his original gym to a larger spot once the list of members reached the fifth row of a chalkboard. Boos is also inspired by the book The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, which popularized the “Rule of 150,” the sociological concept that organizations can begin to break down once they exceed 150 members, employees, or clients. Because of this, Boos’ goal is to keep his gyms relatively small to preserve the level of personal connection.

“There are only so many hours in a day,” he says, “but there are so many people to help.” Creating a new location allows the gym to take on new members and new trainers, Boos says, while also giving clients multiple locations to use. Members can take part in one-on-one fitness training, join group classes, or even access the gym 24 hours a day if they want to get a workout in alone.

“It’s like your house,” he explained of the new location. “You know the people.”

5th Row Lifting Co. • 3944 Anderson Drive and 2111 Third St., Eau Claire • (715) 429-0574 • 5throwlifting.com • look for 5thRowLiftingCompany on Facebook and Instagram