South Reno Mom turned personal trainer builds her fitness brand at Evoke Fitness

For a long time, Mena Spodobalski was unhappy with her physical appearance.

Having given birth to two sons, she was a stay-at-home mom who felt she was overweight and out of shape.

“I bought a pair of pants and had a total mental breakdown in the fitting room,” she said.

Determined to get in better shape, she undertook a vigorous diet and workout regimen to reach her fitness goals.

Her friends and family took notice of her slimmer, toned body and began asking for advice. Spodobalski obliged and first got an inkling that fitness training was a worthwhile career path.

That passion also led to her buying a gym along the way.

Spodobalski sought out a personal trainer certification program sponsored by Gold’s Gym and eventually went to work for the health club chain.

Citing philosophical differences with Gold’s Gym, she gradually moved her personal training services to Maximum Results Inc., (MRI) a gym located in south Reno. A friend had referred Spodobalski to MRI’s owner, and they immediately hit it off.

In 2012, Spodobalski was presented with the opportunity to buy the gym, but was leery of taking on the financial commitment.

She fretted over the decision until her husband Rob, who works for Union Pacific Railroad, convinced her they should take the plunge.

“I was scared to death. I had so many ‘what ifs’ going through my mind,” Spodobalski said. “What if the insurance is too high? What if somebody sues us. What if the business fails and we owe so much money on our house? I was always doing that.

“My husband finally said, ‘What if it’s successful?’ ‘What if people come and they love it?’ He said, ‘I have a good stable job. If something happens we’ll figure it out.’”

After taking over MRI, rebranded it to Evoke Fitness.

“I wanted to change the name because I wanted to be fresh and have my own thing, so I sent surveys to clients and asked what they were looking for in a gym,” Spodobalski said. “One person said ‘You evoke passion in your fitness’ and I thought ‘Evoke? I love that name!’”

It was tough to cram all the amenities she wanted into the gym’s 7,000-square-foot space, so they figured it was time to expand the facility.

They took over the empty space next door and instantly doubled the gym’s size. Much like when she purchased the gym, the expansion gave her some anxiety. But her husband and clientele all agreed that the gym needed to expand.

The facility now features a basketball hoop, football training equipment and what is known around the complex as “The Steps to Nowhere,” a staircase that leads to a very small balcony high above the gym floor that is used by clients for a variety of creative workouts.

Several high school sports teams and individual athletes frequent the gym for conditioning or training drills.

Spodobalski tinkers with ever-evolving fitness programs, including adding a Pilates studio or kickboxing classes. A small room in the front of the gym is currently under renovation to turn into a Cross Fit for kids program. It also occasionally offers a 30-day body challenge, giving clients a chance to get as physically fit as possible in a short period of time.

Other ideas have come and gone, such as spin classes. She mentioned that since other businesses specialize in spin classes and the fact that class sizes were usually small, it was eliminated.

“Sometimes you just have to pick and choose what you want to have in the gym,” Spodobalski said.

Spodobalski has eight personal trainers who work as independent contractors. She tries to create a family-like atmosphere, believing it’s a critical element in the gym’s success.

“To be successful, I believe you can’t do it on your own. I know people who have tried but it doesn’t work; you can’t do it all,” she said. “We all care about each other and our well-being. I help them grow their business and they in turn help us grow our business.”

Spodobalski herself still does personal training. When she first started, she figured she’d be happy to have 10 or so clients, she now has risen to 50-60 clients.

Her husband, who still has his job with the railroad, will come in assist with maintenance issues that crop up from time to time. Even her sons, now teenagers, will help out for a few projects like when the gym floors need to be steam cleaned.

She handles all day-to-day operations, but would like to add some staff to handle the business side, so she can concentrate on her passion. Plus balancing the business side of the gym with the commitment of her family life can be challenging.

“When I’m here 10 hours a day every day, I have to play catch-up on the weekends,” she said. “My husband is just awesome. If I didn’t have that support it would make things so much harder.”

Early in her career as a personal trainer, a friend, Heather Reimer, a breast cancer survivor, started a nonprofit called “Each One Tell One” to help other women battling the disease remain physically fit. She asked Spodobalski to lend a hand.

“We started a ‘Breast Cancer 2 Bikini’ contest with 20 women, and trained them for six months. These were breast cancer survivors that may even be still going through treatment,” Spodobalski said. “We trained them how to take back their bodies. To do that for 20 people it was amazing.”

Spodobalski herself has competed in several bodybuilding and fitness competitions throughout Nevada and California. She has been on hiatus from competitions to tend to other aspects in her life, but is eager to get back into competitions.

Spodobalski often gets asked if Evoke Fitness has other locations, and has been approached with the idea of expanding. On April Fools Day, she posted a fake message on Evoke’s Facebook page announcing it would be opening soon in Sparks. She said the post generated so much excitement, she felt bad that she had to admit it was a hoax.

For Spodobalski, it reaffirmed to her that she had built a strong brand and expansion my be a possibility in the future.

For more information on Spodobalski and Evoke Fitness, go to www.evokefit.com.