SMOKEY POINT — Lenny Moskowitz has been running gyms since 1994, and opened the Gold’s Gyms in Marysville in 1996 and in Smokey Point in 2000, so after he heard that the owner to whom he’d sold those Gold’s Gyms in 2006 had gotten shut down in February of this year, he began considering a move back into his old stomping grounds in Smokey Point.

“I hadn’t had anything to do with those Gold’s Gyms since I sold them off seven years ago, but I caught wind of what had happened earlier this year,” said Moskowitz, as he surveyed the Smokey Point gym space that he hopes to have reopened, albeit under new management, by Saturday, June 1. “The landlord contacted me and asked me about reopening, but I didn’t want to go head-to-head with my friend, who owned the gym in Marysville that got a lot of traffic from that town’s Gold’s Gym after it closed. So, I talked him into letting me buy into his gym.”

Mike Jellison had opened Power Alley in Marysville roughly a decade ago as an indoor baseball facility, and now, both his facility in Suite D at 13315 38th Ave. NE in Marysville and Moskowitz’s facility at 3131 Smokey Point Dr. in Arlington will operate as branches of P A Fitness, whose initials are a tribute to “Power Alley,” as Moskowitz has entered into a partnership with Mike and his brother Rick Jellison.

“Everyone who was a member of Power Alley will be treated as an existing member of P A Fitness, and all of those memberships will be dual memberships, allowing them to use both sites,” Moskowitz said. “Besides their locations, what will distinguish them is how they serve their members. Here in Smokey Point, we’ll be focusing more on things like yoga and Zumba, while Marysville will be geared more toward cross-fit exercises. It’s the best of both worlds.”

Because the Jellisons also do commercial service repairs for exercise equipment, Moskowitz expects their gear will remain well-maintained, and he’s confident in his own track record of running successful gyms, with his most recent venture being Mountain Loop Fitness, which he originally opened as yet another Gold’s Gym location in Granite Falls in 2005.

“I don’t micromanage, but I’m aware and hands-on with what’s going on at my gyms,” Moskowitz said. “When you’re more present, you know better what’s needed. That’s the difference between small businesses and huge corporations.”

Moskowitz touted the Smokey Point P A Fitness’ group cycling program, which he noted that other area athletic clubs don’t have, and compared the P A Fitness membership price of $29 per month, with all classes included, to the $50 and even $80 a month that he expects people could find themselves paying for comparable services in the area.

“When you keep your overhead down, you can keep your rates down,” Moskowitz said. “Mike will keep our equipment running, and our fitness director here, Teresa Wirkalla, is the same one we had in 2000. She’s got every certification under the sun.”

P A Fitness will even be offering new members one week free, to try out the facilities’ services, which include personal training, tanning, child care and a nutrition bar at the Smokey Point location.

While Moskowitz was summarizing his services in the Smokey Point facility, he received a visit from Beverly Dertinger of Marysville.

“I remember signing up with you in 2000,” she told Moskowitz, before she tested out his gym equipment. “I’m happy you took this place back over. And will Teresa be back too? Oh my God, I’ll be so glad to see her again.”

For more information, call P A Fitness at 360-657-3488.