Nothing says physical fitness more than playing arcade games, but actually, there’s now a place where you can get your sweat on and have a ton of fun. It brings new meaning to the saying “work hard, play harder.”
Cool arcade, huh? It’s inside of a gym!
Rick Berks, Youfit CEO: “People today don’t just come to the gym to work out. They look for an escape from their mundane job, or their spouse or their kids — or all those things. They come here to get away from that, and this is part of that.”
It’s appropriately called YouEscape, and it’s located on the first floor of the Youfit gym in Oakland Park.
You’ve got a selection of classic arcade games.
Rick Berks: “I think there’s about 60 games in each, about anything you can think of.”
We’re talking real classics, the best of the best, like Pac-Man, Donkey Kong and Frogger. There’s also a bunch of different pinball machines.
Rick Berks: “Actually, some of these came from my house. We’d have people over, and people liked them so much I decided, ‘You know? Let’s put a few of these in the gym and see if people in the gym like it.'”
Spoiler alert: They do!
Sabrina Bernal, gym goer: “I’ve never seen this done anywhere else before, and I think it’s really awesome! You’re up there, you’re going hard for the most part, and then you come down here, and it’s kind of a nice, relaxed, mellow place to be.”
Beth Metcalf, gym goer: “I think it’s awesome. I go up, I go hard up there and then come down here, I’ll drink my protein shake, play a couple games and head out.”
And that’s the point!
Rick Berks: “It’s kind of a reward. ‘I did my work, I’m gonna play a little bit, then I’m leaving.'”
While YouEscape is just at Youfit’s Oakland Park location, all you gamers out there shouldn’t give up hope for the future of gym gaming.
Rick Berks: “This is an experiment, so we’ll see how it goes, and if it gains popularity, we’ll do another.”
FOR MORE INFO:
Youfit Health Clubs
959 E. Commercial Blvd.
Oakland Park, FL 33334
(954) 414-1870
www.youfit.com/gym/oakland-park-commercial-blvd-7751
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