Courtesy Photo On Tuesday, the Joshua Tree Studio and Spa is set up for a class. The Joshua Tree has partnered with many organizations in Alpena to bring the community together through yoga.

ALPENA — Alpena’s local fitness centers offer opportunities for community and healthy living no matter a person’s athletic ability. Fitness center owners in Alpena approach fitness from different perspectives to give their clients choices as to how they stay healthy and active.

Cristi “Skella” Johnson, owner of SkellaFit, fell in love with various types of fitness when she realized she had to start cross-training for roller derby.

Eventually, she settled on weightlifting and SkellaFit was born.

“I decided I wanted to spread that love with everyone else I knew,” Johnson said. “People would have a place where they could explore and try out different types of exercises.”

Johnson described SkellaFit as a place that approaches fitness differently. Though focused on weightlifting, SkellaFit also offers boxing, yoga, and pilates as other fitness options.

Johnson’s style of fitness focuses on the individual instead of creating a one-size-fits-all approach to health. Johnson explained that the fitness and diet culture has soured attitudes towards health and wellness.

“Marketing has been making people feel they are not good enough so they have to go to fitness,” Johnson said.

While creating SkellaFit, Johnson wanted to make sure her clients felt empowered and strong. Johnson said she wants people to consider themselves and their health as priorities, rather than always sacrificing their wellbeing for others.

“People don’t think they deserve it,” Johnson said.

Johnson believes that a major barrier preventing people from exploring fitness is that they want to take care of everyone else before they consider their own needs.

“Who takes care of you?” Johnson asked.

In all, Johnson approaches fitness from a holistic, empowered attitude.

“We need to stand in our power and go to a gym that embraces what we can do and do right by our bodies,” Johnson said.

Zane Kipfmiller, owner of Zen 24 Hour Fitness, started his fitness center because he wanted to have a space that catered to powerlifters.

Kipfmiller said he recognizes that there isn’t much for young people to do in Alpena, and Zen Fitness has become an outlet for that demographic to find community.

“Best thing about Zen is that it is a space for younger folks … Zen really gives them a place,” Kipfmiller said.

Zen Fitness also works closely with SkellaFit to bridge the two fitness centers together, enhancing the community of powerlifting in Alpena. Kipfmiller is also interested in starting a powerlifting club that will meet Saturdays for new and experienced lifters.

Additionally, Zen Fitness hosts powerlifting competitions twice a year and encourages healthy competition between members while maintaining an open, inviting space for new members.

Kipfmiller said that if you are nervous about going to a fitness center for the first time, don’t be worried about how other people view you.

“Hardest part of starting out is that a lot of people think there are a lot of eyes on you,” Kipfmiller said. “Over time, people always learn that nobody cares what you are doing … A lot of people will be in the zone.”

The Bay Athletic Club (BAC), currently located at the MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena but will move downtown in 2026, has established itself as a go-to spot for students, working parents, and retirees.

Trina Gray, owner of BAC, says that her father was the initial inspiration for the health club.

“An overworked, over-stressed professional who wasn’t taking care of his health and then had a heart attack,” Gray said. “The doctor said you have to work out.”

Gray explained that though her father had some misconceptions about working out and using health clubs, he began to enjoy the community the health club spaces gave him. Gray said that her father had a heart attack in his 50s and lived to be 83. She believes that fitness altered the trajectory of his life.

“He extended his life far beyond what I think his path was,” Gray said.

Further, Gray believes that BAC offers a unique opportunity for members to find community and social connections while staying active. She said that it gives working parents a place to keep friendships and connections.

“We find that working parents are kind of living a bit of a rat race and they are getting kids to school, going to work, going to kids activities,” Gray said. “And in that process, we’ve heard over the years that people start to lose sight of their own health, wellness, self-care, and social outlet.”

Retirees have also found BAC to be a place where they can start a new chapter for themselves.

“There are people who have been used to being active in a workplace, have busy schedules that are now going through this transition of who knows me, where do I show up, what’s my next chapter,” Gray said.

Gray believes that BAC offers them that community.

Joanna Cooper, owner of The Joshua Tree Studio and Spa, builds community through her co-op studio strategy, offering instructors the chance to be their own bosses.

“I wanted this to be an opportunity for instructors to have a space that they didn’t have to pay for,” Cooper said. “I want everyone to feel like this is their space and their studio.”

Joshua Tree has also partnered with several places in Alpena to bring together communities through movement and meditation.

Cooper explained that MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena helped fund a Teen Yoga Series and the studio has also partnered with the Sunrise Treatment and Recovery Centre.

Cooper found inspiration for the studio after her brother passed away four years ago. During that time, Cooper saw a lot of yoga studios closing because of COVID-19.

“I wanted somewhere to practice yoga because they were all closing,” Cooper said. “And I just felt like I needed to do something to give back to the community and to honor my brother in the same fashion.”

Cooper said she wanted to create a yoga studio where kids, young adults, and elderly people could practice different forms of yoga.

“I think we help people in the community not just with mobility, but also, like my students always say, that they leave feeling balanced,” Cooper said. “Not just in their bodies, but also in their minds. It’s their reset for the week.”

Located on Chisholm Street across from the downtown fish mural, Joshua Tree is just one of the many places where Alpena citizens can find health, wellness, and community.

The APlex is another option with plenty to choose from including its fitness center, tennis courts, martial arts classes, pickleball courts, and more.

The ACC Wellness Center is another option, located on Alpena Community College’s main campus. The center is open to students, faculty, staff, and community members for a fee.

Kayla Wikaryasz can be reached at 989-358-5688 or kwikaryasz@TheAlpenaNews.com.