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Natural leader joins Elevate Fitness team

Chris Derochie brings a long history of leadership, business acumen to Elevate in Trail and Rossland
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Elevate partner Chris Derochie and employee Elyse Vickers are thrilled to be part of building the new gym in Rossland. (Jim Bailey photo)

Born, raised, and invested in the community, Rossland’s Chris Derochie became a full partner of Elevate Fitness on Aug. 1.

Derochie joined forces with owners Dallas Calvin and Andrew van der Ham, and is excited about returning to his hometown to contribute to health and fitness in Rossland and Trail.

“It’s so good,” said Derochie.

“This is the first gym that I ever went to. I was in ninth grade when I first started going here and just to be able to come back and be able to put our own vision into practice and to make it a reality, to give people a space they deserve and want as far as a training facility, is very cool.”

A decade ago, Derochie served as captain of the Beaver Valley Nitehawks and he and teammate Calvin won a KIJHL title together in 2012. Derochie continued on as a student-athlete at Adrian College in Michigan, where he was co-captain of the varsity team and competed in the ACHA Div. 1 National Tournament four times, while graduating with a a business degree.

Since Elevate took over the former Better Life Fitness gym in Rossland this summer, they have made additional changes and renovations, including creating a space downstairs for group classes, upgrading equipment, and installing a fob system where members can access the gym at virtually all hours.

“I kind of knew it intuitively, but I didn’t realize how many shift workers were up here, so it (the fobs) kind of opens it up to their schedule,” said Derochie.

And those changes have paid off. “I don’t know the numbers exactly, but I would say probably at least a 25 per cent increase in the general membership,” said Derochie. “And you have the classes which are starting to get some good traction.”

The 30-year-old trainer and proprietor spends his days between the two Elevate gyms in Trail and one in Rossland. He envisions creating a gym where people are comfortable to come on their own, and has a “boutique feel”.

“Instruction is very hands on, and there seems to be a lot of excitement around the fact that they are to the point (45 minutes), that we offer multiple classes a day to accommodate schedules, and that there is already a great community of members forming around their attendance,” said Derochie.

What started as a training facility focusing on young athletes has now grown into a multi-location business involving Spin and CrossFit classes, gym memberships, kinesiology, high performance training, and physical rehabilitation.

The gyms are diverse in their offerings and in Rossland, Derochie hopes to continue with more upgrades and enhanced curb appeal.

“There’s a few esthetic things we’d still like to do. The outside is in need of a bit of a face lift, and there’s a few things inside we would like to do.”

Derochie says they intend to modify rooms upstairs at the Rossland gym and create a physical treatment area that offers physiotherapy and reactive neuromuscular training (RNT), an innovative training method that uses specific exercises to foster dynamic stability, and rehabilitation after an injury.

Between the three partners, their staff and three unique spaces, the Elevate franchise offers comprehensive training programs for all ages and abilities.

“It feels very energizing, and then I guess it comes together in this vision that Dallas, Andrew and I have,” said Derochie. “It’s a reality we all see, to provide the service and have the energy to keep pushing forward.”

For more information go to elevate-sport.ca.

Read: Elevate buys Better Life in Rossland



sports@trailtimes.ca

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Jim Bailey

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