When your goals in life revolve around your health and fitness, it helps to partner with an expert coach who can help you achieve them—a coach who supports you at every stage of your journey and celebrates your wins with you. That’s the belief that propelled Jeff and Valerie Petit to open Denver Health and Fitness in Denver, North Carolina, in 2008. Today, they have two locations in Denver, NC.
Jeff thrives on helping other people thrive, whether they want to lose weight, gain muscle, hit the big lift, or become more mobile. Whatever their goal, he’s there with a plan and a promise to support their health journey.
In starting and growing this family business—which now includes daughter Brooke who serves as general manager—Jeff knew he needed a bank partner who would support their goals, who would be there with them through all the challenges of running a business, from getting it up and operating, to making payroll. The moment he set foot in North Carolina; he found Peoples Bank and never looked back.
“What I look for in a bank is longevity, integrity, and a willingness to listen to our goals and foster the relationship,” Jeff said. “There are going to be bumps in the road; are they going to be there to help us? Peoples Bank has been there with us every step of the way. They have been that true partner.”
Years ago, Jeff’s father, also an entrepreneur, advised his son that if he were to ever start his own business, he should work with one bank and create the relationship. Jeff took that advice to heart: “My dad was right. That advice has proven itself.”
The most difficult part about running a business, whether you’re a gym or a donut shop, is managing all the balls that are up in the air all at one time, Jeff explains. “We all have these same balls in the air. Everybody does. We're no different. I love that challenge. I really do. I love accomplishing and fixing and enduring those challenges.”
Those challenges are worth getting to do the work he loves to do every single day, like helping to improve the well-being of the members he serves and giving them the best experience they can possibly have while in his facility.
As general manager, Brooke interacts with members daily, offering support as they conquer their goals. “We get to see the ups and downs of their journeys, and we are truly more a part of it than you would think, because what we do and how we serve impacts their day-to-day in the clubs.”
She never imagined she’d make a career of it until she started seeing the impact their facility had on other people. That’s when she became certified as a personal trainer.
Denver Health and Fitness is about offering something for everybody, from weights to CrossFit to premium class offerings. The exceptional service and focus on customized solutions give it a boutique feel, but it also has all the offerings of a larger conglomerate club. Members get the best of both worlds.
“We are about driving value for our members,” Jeff said. “Fitness is not a luxury anymore. It's a necessity. And I think more and more people are waking up to that now.”
Their establishment is small enough to offer personalized service yet large enough to deliver everything the bigger clubs deliver. The same can be said of Peoples Bank. And that’s a big draw for Jeff: “People's Bank operates as a friend to me. I know I am not a number. I can call them up with a project idea or an issue and they address it immediately. This is a partner who believes in us. And I think that’s what our community here is about.”
