The early morning rush starts around 5:30 a.m. Soon the bright morning sun shines through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting silhouetted shadows of people working out across the polished concrete floor. This is the time of day when the truly ambitious are lacing up their workout shoes, taking a deep breath and pushing themselves toward better health.
And Wild Basin Fitness embraces our community’s active lifestyle, offering people in Steiner Ranch and surrounding areas custom training, exciting fitness events and a place to build a healthier body.
“It’s a fit community,” said Ryan Helms, manager and personal trainer at Wild Basin Fitness. “Here at Steiner Ranch, on any given day, even if the weather is absolutely terrible, you’ll see people out running. Most of our members don’t miss a beat. They put a lot of value in a healthy lifestyle. It’s a great place to have a gym.”
When Wild Basin Fitness co-owners Kirk and Julie Leavell and former Dell employees and civic leaders Tom and Alica Harrison opened the gym in Austin in 2006, Steiner Ranch was a perfect choice. The master-planned community had gone through a growth spurt in the 1990s and was on track for continued growth in the years to come.
“It was their idea to build a gym in their backyard,” Helms said. “They had already built a great community of fitness enthusiasts in Westlake. And Steiner was a logical place to build a top-notch facility that’s able to grow with the community.”
I think it’s businesses like Wild Basin Fitness that are key to the area’s growth and quality of life. Austin is a very fitness-minded city, and Steiner Ranch is perhaps even more focused on healthy lifestyles. So I think when you have really great facilities, expert staff and a community atmosphere available nearby, it’s a real benefit to the community.
My wife, Jamie, fell in love with Wild Basin Fitness’ atmosphere and dedication to quality health assistance. In fact, she loved it so much that she decided to be part of their team. It’s fantastic because she loves interacting with the members and watching them progress as their training goes on.
Jamie, who works at the front desk, is part of the Wild Basin Fitness family that regularly sponsors neighborhood sporting events and sports teams, including the Steiner Stars swim team.
“We try to be very involved with the kids in the community,” Helms said. “It makes a big difference when you can encourage fitness and a healthy lifestyle at a young age.”
While Wild Basin Fitness has about 1,000 members, Helms said that the gym fosters a lot of relationship building as members workout alongside each other and perhaps start talking about business or things going on in Steiner Ranch.
I know that the gym has helped Jamie and I meet some great new friends. I asked Ryan if a lot of people make new connections while working out.
“That’s what it’s all about,” he told me. “We bring people together to meet their goals, and that’s a pretty powerful atmosphere for connecting with new people and finding new inspiration.”
