A little assist goes a long way 💪

Remember the Presidential Fitness Test from elementary school? If you’re reading this newsletter, the answer is most likely, yes. Evidently the program was replaced in 2013, but my daughter’s PE curriculum still includes a nearly identical version, so it’s very much a part of my life again.

Since I didn’t actually enjoy exercise of any form until my mid 30’s (thank you, Peloton), those fitness tests were somewhere between annoying and dreadful. I recall sit-and-reach being kinda fun, but I didn’t like the mile run, and I downright hated the pull-ups. Even when we got to do the remedial version, the “flexed-arm-hang,” I could never, ever seem to do it. I wasn’t alone. I’m pretty sure that only Abby Francisco and Meredith Buzas could ever do it, and that’s because they came out of the womb with ripped biceps.

So at some point later in life when I finally stepped foot inside a gym and saw someone using those rubber assistance bands that I learned the truth — that it was, in fact, not normal to just naturally have the ability to do pull-ups.

Well there’s no more appropriate analogy to tell the story of Julie Johnson and her gym, Fit Fusion, in Chesapeake, Virginia.

In the spring of 2025, we got an email from our friend Cole Werkheiser of Pembroke Realty. Cole is a true retail broker extraordinaire, representing property owners and tenants in Hampton Roads, Virginia. Cole represented the landlord for an attractive strip center in Chesapeake, and he had a tenant in need of the Pedal treatment. 

Cole explained that his tenant was Julie Johnson, owner of Fit Fusion, a popular gym that wanted to expand into the adjacent vacant space. Cole saw Fit Fusion’s current success and agreed that expansion could be a win-win deal. Knowing that he’d need to pitch his very particular property owner, Cole recommended that Julie engage Pedal to lead her through creating projections and a super compelling concept package.

Julie, a talented fitness professional, took over ownership of Fit Fusion in 2024. After more than a year of growth, Julie was itching to take over the adjacent vacant space and expand Fit Fusion’s offering into the growing wellness and recovery market. Julie’s vision was clear, and she’d spent a lot of time and effort on thinking through her new business plan. 

A true Pedal Retailer from the jump, Julie is very, very good at her craft, and while she can out run, out plank, out lift, and out coach the vast majority of the 23320 zip code, she’d never had to compete for a retail space…remember, she inherited her lease when she bought the business.

💪 She already had strength and advantage, but she needed a boost. She just needed a pull-up assistance band.

So we got to work with Julie’s existing business planning materials and put her plans through the ringer to ensure that the expanded business model worked operationally and economically. Even though the gym was already successful and paying rent consistently, the expansion would effectively create an entirely new business. Julie had to prove to her landlord that Fit Fusion Wellness was going to work.

We also developed a capital budget and construction timeline, so Julie would know how much money she’d need to connect the two spaces, how long the work would take, and when she could start paying more rent. 

Once we nailed down the operational model and ensured that the math would math, we articulated the plan in a beautiful, knock-your-socks-off pitch book that Julie could hand to Cole…and Cole could hand to his client.

The pitch worked. 

With some additional guidance on deal terms, Fit Fusion successfully negotiated its expansion into the space next door, and after enduring a truly trying buildout (good thing she’s tough), Julie finally celebrated the grand opening of Fit Fusion Wellness this fall. A little support goes a long way.

~

If you didn’t know that we work like that ☝️, now you do. In addition to our brokerage, Dream Space, and place-based programs, we offer hourly consulting for just about everything else. If there’s a lease or a landlord involved, we can help.