This comes after another renting partner, Galley Sweet Shop, closed on Feb. 27 when owners and operators, Gayle and Doug Bruski, decided to retire.

Johnson took that opportunity to acquire the new space and turn SkellaFiT into a semi-private training location — meaning only a handful of members attend each session — for anyone wanting to “gain skills, strength, and capabilities that will improve our lives for years to come,” according to the SkellaFiT website.

“First order of business, when we did the gym expansion, was that we knocked down a wall, which married the two spaces,” Johnson said. “This larger space has allowed us to bring in other modalities that we haven’t been able to have in the gym before like Brazilian jiu-jitsu and pilates. So, semi-private training sessions are going to be happening in front of the building when you enter.”

Bryan Ghekiere will be the Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor, Kelly Hunter will be the pilates instructor, and Cole Meyer will teach boxing.

News Photo by Mike Gonzalez From left, Cristi Johnson, Jessie Fischer, Ellie Kindt, and Hank sit on extra floor padding at the front of SkellaFiT on Thursday.

With the expansion, Johnson also said that SkellaFiT is no longer exclusive to women and will open up to anyone who wants to join.

“My husband’s so excited to join jiu-jitsu,” Jessie Fischer, a member of SkellaFiT and its powerlifting team, said. “I had been a member of two gyms on and off for about 15 years, but I didn’t know what I was doing inside the gym. I was intimidated by the machines and weights, so I wanted to expand my knowledge and feel comfortable going to the gym and came here … I’ve made a lot of friends and teammates throughout the experience and I get to share the space with them.”

The smaller space that was previously the original gym is a training room for boxing with multiple punching bags hanging from the ceiling. One of the walls of the smaller space being gone allows gym members to move into the boxing room from the front rather than through the building’s back entrance.

With the wall gone, Johnson put in four new lifting stalls for training sessions. Johnson also has a room for SkellaFiT merchandise and equipment such as sweatshirts, gis for jiu-jitsu, boxing gloves, and more.

“I’m just hoping to help more people and I guess I’ll have the ability to do that now,” Ellie Kindt, a personal trainer with SkellaFiT, said. “Before, I was only doing one-on-one clients, so now I’ll be able to work with four people at a time. I think everyone that I’ve met so far is just so welcoming.”

News Photo by Mike Gonzalez From left, Ellie Kindt, Jessie Fischer, and Cristi Johnson talk about SkellaFiT and laugh at the front of the gym on Thursday.

On Monday at noon, SkellaFiT will be holding a grand re-opening of the gym with an open house to showcase the new equipment and space. Participants will be able to meet the trainers for each fitness program.

For anyone wanting to become a member of the gym or to see the weekly training schedule, visit the gym’s new website, SkellaFiT.com.

“People have a certain image in their mind of what fitness is supposed to look like,” Johnson said. “As women, we’re supposed to do a ton of cardio and try to shrink ourselves, and men are supposed to do the tough stuff and to bulk up. None of that exists here. Everybody’s here to improve their health and to get stronger. We’re opening this space to anybody interested in joining, which is a big change, but it’s going to be more inclusive – I think it will be better for everyone.”

News Photo by Mike Gonzalez Cristi Johnson, founder and owner of SkellaFiT, shows off the gym’s merchandise on Thursday.