Lahore, the capital city of the province of Punjab, is the second most populous city in the country of Pakistan. A prosperous cosmopolitan area, but there weren’t a lot of fitness clubs.

“I was always working out and thinking about exercise,” said Murad Ansari, CEO and owner of Matrix Fitness and Health. “I became obsessed with it. But there were no good gyms in my neighborhood. I had to drive 15-20 minutes, and other people had the same problem.”

To solve these issues, Ansari decided to leave his job in the engineering field and open his own 13,000-square-foot health club, Matrix Fitness and Health in May 2017. While researching, Ansari searched for products to use in his facility, including surfacing.

“Through my contacts, I tried to find the best flooring in the world,” said Ansari. “I wanted it to be long-lasting, but my most basic concern was the smell. The gym is a closed space and you don’t want a bad smell.”

During one of Ansari’s trips, he traveled to Toronto, Canada, where he visited GoodLife Fitness. Impressed with the surfacing, he discovered it was Ecore Athletic, which GoodLife uses in its 300 locations throughout Canada. As a result, Ansari selected three Ecore Athletic surfaces for his own gym.

He installed 2,000 square feet of Performance Beast, a 10.5mm dual durometer system designed for heavy strength training, in the men’s weight room. He selected 2,000 square feet of Everlast, an 8mm thick performance roll for the women’s weight room and cardio area. And he specified 2,000 square feet of Performance Rally, another dual durometer system, for the group-class studio, which houses classes like CrossFit, HIIT, yoga, and dance. This surface absorbs the impact force related to aggressive functional training. Because all three of the products are made out of performance rubber, they also provide safety, ergonomic, and acoustic benefits.

Ansari’s gym has been well received, and he had 325 members join in the first month.

“We’ve had a great response,” said Ansari. “The customers really appreciate the extra cushioning in the surface, and one of the best things about this flooring is that there is no rubber smell! It’s [also] super easy to clean and looks good. There is a lot of dirt in Pakistan. On this floor, the dirt doesn’t stick on the surface. You can mop it, and it comes off easily.”

After experiencing such great success, Ansari is already planning to open a second gym later this year, and he plans to specify more Ecore Athletic surfacing.

For more information, visit www.ecoreathletic.com.