The owner of Mike's Gym says he believes in hospitality - he even gives every member a key to the door.
Mike Donovan, the gym's owner, said the health club is the result of a personal collection of weights that just kept growing and growing, eventually finding a home in Albuquerque's northeast heights.
He said on average there are 150 memberships per month, many of whom are UNM students.
As the only private-key gym in Albuquerque, many students are attracted to its convenience, safety and hometown environment.
Kathleen O' Hea, a UNM business student, said there is such a mixture of people that she feels at ease with the clientele and has continued to work out there for the past 10 years.
"It is not like other gyms in town where you feel like you're in a bar, people are hitting on you, looking at what clothes you're wearing and aren't really working out," O'Hea said.
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Donovan said his "one location worldwide" has contributed to the gym clients' sense of community and has allowed him to know most everyone by first name.
Last year, he changed the name from Mike's Iron Gym, and now men and women alike are realizing that it is more of a conditioning gym than a power-lifting gym, he said, adding that 60 percent of the gym's memberships come from women.
The gym has also been working with UNM Continuing Education to provide a facility for women and senior citizens to take 5-week courses in beginning weight training. Joe Behrend, a personal trainer, has been instructing the courses at Mike's for the past eight years.
"I think UNM is happy to use Mike's facilities, so it works out well," Behrend said. "It is also gratifying to help women and seniors to feel comfortable and less intimated in a gym."
Because the gym has continued to add more cardiovascular and weight lifting machines since its inception, along with remodeled amenities including men's and women's showers, the gym has almost doubled in size, Donovan said.
He has also "decorated" his office with supplements and clothing for sale.
He said the busiest he sees the place is on Monday nights, but even then there are 14 people at the most.
"I think it's the perfect size," Donovan said. "Bigger isn't always better."
It is really more of a neighborhood gym, he said, where the members treat the place like home, picking up misplaced weights and cleaning up after themselves.
"The best thing is that it is not hectic all the time," he said.
Donovan avoids contracts by offering month-to-month memberships for $32.
"If you can afford a coke, you can afford to work out," he said.
Those looking to make a year commitment can sign up for $300 and receive a master key. The gym is open year-round from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.
"You feel like it is your own gym," O'Hea said. "You have a key, let yourself in and everybody treats it like home."
