Gym Showers (business related topic)

[jerkitout]

Ok, so I'm in the process of setting up a much needed new gym in my hometown - its not all that big and I'm trying to keep costs down, naturally.

With regards to the locker room/washing facilities, I wont have much room and i want to keep costs down by bucking the trend of what most current gyms do and go back to old school open showers.

My question is - would Bradley showers be too much in this day and age?

I can buy two 6 person column showers and put them in a wet room - this is going to save me a lot of space and money, but i wonder if this sort of approach will alienate those who are used to private shower stalls, as is the norm these days

On the other hand, when you've got no option but to shower communally, will guys just get over themselves and use the showers?

The female locker room is another matter altogether...

 

[bokenboywales]

well i dont mind open showers at all mate, no need to be shy, end of the day we are all men, or supposed to be

 

[houtx48]

there are some places here in town that have them and people use them. for the most part you are washing the sweat off not trying to pick up a date.

 

[223790]

Ok, so I'm in the process of setting up a much needed new gym in my hometown - its not all that big and I'm trying to keep costs down, naturally.

With regards to the locker room/washing facilities, I wont have much room and i want to keep costs down by bucking the trend of what most current gyms do and go back to old school open showers.

My question is - would Bradley showers be too much in this day and age?

I can buy two 6 person column showers and put them in a wet room - this is going to save me a lot of space and money, but i wonder if this sort of approach will alienate those who are used to private shower stalls, as is the norm these days

On the other hand, when you've got no option but to shower communally, will guys just get over themselves and use the showers?

The female locker room is another matter altogether...

IMO, go with the open Bradley shower columns. I prefer them over stalls. When joining a gym, the first thing I check out is the locker room facilities. Stalls are a giant red flag to me. In my experience, gyms that offer ultra privacy attract an ultra unfriendly and uptight clientele.

Will guys get over themselves and use them? I absolutely think so. I remember when my shower room was under going much needed repairs last summer. The stalls were unavailable for use, so only the Bradley shower colums were available for use. Guys just went ahead and used them. The stalls have been nothing but trouble since they were installed in terms of maintenance and repair. The Bradleys are far more reliable, cost effective and efficient. I got really annoyed at my old gym that had stalls only because after a workout, I always had to wait in line at least guys long to have my shower. I have never had to wait in line to use a Bradley shower column. I have been using them for over 20 years now.

Best of luck with your gym! Keep us posted on your decision.

 

[xmarksbreakdownx]

This is tricky. I would assume most people on this site would be ok with it, but seeing as how this bussiness, I'm not sure about answering this. I say go for an all open shower and if it doesn't work out, hang a few curtins or something. Most men should be ok with it, and if not, they'll just shower at home.

 

[jerkitout]

IMO, go with the open Bradley shower columns. I prefer them over stalls. When joining a gym, the first thing I check out is the locker room facilities. Stalls are a giant red flag to me. In my experience, gyms that offer ultra privacy attract an ultra unfriendly and uptight clientele.

Will guys get over themselves and use them? I absolutely think so. I remember when my shower room was under going much needed repairs last summer. The stalls were unavailable for use, so only the Bradley shower colums were available for use. Guys just went ahead and used them. The stalls have been nothing but trouble since they were installed in terms of maintenance and repair. The Bradleys are far more reliable, cost effective and efficient. I got really annoyed at my old gym that had stalls only because after a workout, I always had to wait in line at least guys long to have my shower. I have never had to wait in line to use a Bradley shower column. I have been using them for over 20 years now.

Best of luck with your gym! Keep us posted on your decision.

Thanks for your feedback - I know what you mean by the ultra privacy thing - plus I cant stand shower curtains - they are so hard to keep clean! I've never actually used a Bradley shower though so I may need to find somewhere that currently has them and try them out

 

[D_Cock_Hudson]

Whilst I would be OK with this you need to be aware of your likely membership (for example are you in an area with a significant ethnic minority population). Sad but it is business.

 

[223790]

Thanks for your feedback - I know what you mean by the ultra privacy thing - plus I cant stand shower curtains - they are so hard to keep clean! I've never actually used a Bradley shower though so I may need to find somewhere that currently has them and try them out

That too my friend. Aside from being cramped, the stalls and curtains are always covered in mould. Yuck! An open shower room is far easier to keep clean for your clients.

 

[buzzrider7]

My gym has one open room with six shower heads (facing each other on opposing walls). I think it intimidates about 98% of the guys under 30. About half the men who use the showers are probably over 55, and the other half are maybe 30-55. Overall, though, I'd say that fewer than 20% of the men shower at the gym; I assume they feel put off by the open showers. (At my old gym, which had private stalls, I'd say closer to 70-80% of the guys showered). It is VERY common to see guys come out of the communal sauna (M/F mixed, clothing required), wipe themselves down with about 40 feet of paper towels from the auto dispenser to dry off, get dressed, and leave. I think the only guy under 30 I've ever seen shower there does so because he works there and usually works out before his shift. He showers in his underwear, and then does a towel dance to take them off when he's drying off to get dressed. ???
This is probably the more repressed, naked-fearing crowd of young men I've ever seen in my life.
So to answer your question, if your gym is targeting an under-30 crowd, I bet the Bradley showers will hardly ever be used. If it is an older crowd, then no problem.

 

[deleted213967]

My question is - would Bradley showers be too much in this day and age?

In my experience, there are 2 types of guys:

1. Those who wouldn't dream of not showering immediately after strenuous exercise
   
2. Others (manbearpigs, a surprisingly large population, given the century)

Group 2 won't care what kind of showering facilities you offer and how much money you spend on them, since they will skip the shower anyway (supposedly to shower at home, many hours or days later, because "they don't sweat" and no-sweat people are impervious to body grime, environmental toxicity and pathogens).

Group 1 may even be thankful for the open showers, since they will shorten the lines and repel trolls (or at least their more egregious behavior). Some in that group may relent at first (I certainly did the first couple of times) but will "man up" and soon won't care.

What really matters to Group 1 is that the facility in general be kept clean at all times.

 

[deleted213967]

I nearly forgot. I belong to multiple nationwide US chains (not to mention independent gyms) since I travel a lot for work and have been working out almost every day since HS.

One of those chains started offering a new "class" of clubs with state-of-the-art facilities. The locker rooms are spacious, well-lit and include towel service. What's more, they feature private stalls so deep you could towel off and change in there (if you're one of those paranoid, ultra-self-conscious, body-dismorphic types).

Remarkably, this setup is not increasing the use of the showers. Even during rush hours, it is quite easy to find multiple vacant stalls, notwithstanding the 100s (yes, hundreds) of guys working out in the facility at that time.

 

[JohnDoeXXXm]

if you are creating a "budget" gym maybe guys would see the shower towers as an efficient use of their funds- and see it for what it is.

 

[patrick222]

My gym had two shower rooms, one with bradley ,one with wall mounted. Nobody used the bradleys, they were removed .

 

[ledroit]

Whilst I would be OK with this you need to be aware of your likely membership (for example are you in an area with a significant ethnic minority population). Sad but it is business.

That's the issue--market forces. Private showers will beat public ones any day of the week in Saudi Arabia, since pious men there are not supposed to be naked together (at least that's what I've been told). If you're opening a gym in a small town dominated by a fundamentalist right wing college in the US run by puritans, they'd probably say something of the same thing. Common sense is not always top priority in "religious" communities.

But if you are lucky enough to live in a practical, down to earth, no-nonsense community, why not market the gym as a no frills place, with a focus on the essentials that keeps overheads down?

That might appeal to males. If men can do without shower curtains, tassels and scented soaps in the military and in football camps, perhaps they might be reminded that there are more important things in life than avoiding the sight of a penis, at any cost and under all circumstances.

Clearly there is nothing more important in the entire universe than a penis, we would all agree. But how many men in fact would be turned to stone if they saw one on another guy? Why bother going to a gym if showering next to a naked guy would be enough to make you faint?

Maybe you need 3 shower rooms: "Women," "Guys who are terrified of dicks" and "Men."

 

[maxcok]

Though I wouldn't have a problem with the Bradleys myself, I'm sure lots of guys would be intimidated if that were the only option. The problem with pole showers as I see it is that it forces guys to face each other at a shared water source. That may be too intimate or too much for their sense of modesty, or maybe they just don't want to look at or interact with just anybody using the shower. I'm not modest about public nudity in the least, but I can relate to that second point.

Having made some study of how people relate to and interact in physical space, I'd suggest a compromise arrangement: showerheads along the perimeter walls like buzzrider described. That way fellas each have their own personal showerhead and can turn to face the wall if they want. Superficially it probably doesn't seem that much different in terms of sharing the space, but on a psychological level I think it's significant. If you have room for a couple of Bradleys, surely you have room for 10-12 or more heads on the walls if you design it right? Maybe you even have room for perimeter heads and a pole or two in the center? That was the arrangement at my university, and I thought it was great.

 

[Stanmeister]

I like the last suggestion. I do not like the individual stalls. Sometimes these come with unmovable shower heads, and you have to freeze to death when you first turn the shower on. I like gang showers. Just more comfortable. But have to admit that the under 35 crowd will probably not like these.

 

[D_CountVonBhigBohner]

I personally like the idea of having six by six or eight by eight shower heads (three or four on opposite walls). The issue I have with the Bradley system is that you are constantly splashed with other guys soap and dirty water.

 

[340382]

ledroit says it all!! i love it. 3 showers.

 

[open501s]

depends on the size of the gym. one small home town gym I've been to had 4 private dressing / showering / bathrooms. others have no shows; only a men's and women's bathroom / changing room.
Personally if I would do it; separate hot tub, steam room, sauna for men's and women's locker room - and open showers. but I couldn't pull it off.

 

[2damwild]

dude get the bradlys, if your trying to save money , your water bill , is going to be very cheep, those who do take a shower wont be in there all DAM day