Downing's Gym — Local services in Corvallis

Before I dive into the reasoning for such a low-starred review, I want to be fair and mention that there are MANY amazing aspects of Downings as a gym - especially regarding the quality of equipment, flexibility of hours, kindness of employees and staff, incredible community of experience lifters, and ample knowledge available for lifters of any level to further their journey in powerlifting, bodybuilding, strong-man, or lifestyle improvement. I have met many amazing friends through this gym, many of which were always willing to answer my lifting-related questions and help me feel comfortable and connected to going to this gym. I have also had the pleasure of speaking with their many amazing employees that have always been helpful in providing aid to anything I may need. With this, there are truly no other gyms (from my own experience) in Corvallis that have such a wide variety of quality powerlifting and bodybuilding equipment as well as such a rich history in bodybuilding and lifting culture in general. The walls are painted with photos of famous lifters, as well as bodybuilders and powerlifters that have at one point in time called Downings home, and it was always such an inspiration for me to look around and see such accomplished individuals that motivated me to work harder to reach success like theirs.

Unfortunately, all of these incredible people and qualities are unjustly overshadowed by management that lacks compassion and care for their members. I have never seen a gym ban so many individuals, with little or sometimes no warning, and with reasons that are often unfair if they are given a reason at all. After witnessing my 4th friend be banned from this gym with minimal or completely unreasonable justifications, I made the decision to terminate my membership and request a conversation with the owners to speak about the situation and clear up some details that they possibly were unaware of as truthfully I believed this instance was a major misunderstanding. During this conversation, I was verbatim told that the owner did not care, and could ban whoever they wanted and owed no one an explanation and that I would be next. After that experience, I of course went through with terminating my membership.

I will mention that (to my inexperienced legal knowledge) the owners were within their full right to ban myself and other members for little to no reason as they are a private business and hold the right to refuse service to whomever they choose. I will also mention that 3 out of the 4 friends I have seen banned, I have only been given the story from their perspective, and that does make me biased as I could absolutely be missing key information that justifies the owners reactions to removing them. Though, with myself and my most recent friend example, I am positive this reaction was completely unfair and even in my attempts to raise a conversation I was denied and threatened to be removed from the premises for trespassing after challenging the owners decision. Though illegal or not, seeing a pattern in these business practices and lack of compassion towards members has led me to seek other gyms.

I will miss the amazing people I have met during my 3 years lifting at Downings. I appreciate all of the hard work and dedication the employees have shown towards the business. I do also want to thank the owners for building such an incredible establishment that provided me with quality equipment and opportunities to advance in my lifting career for the past 3 years.

It is so unfortunate that all of these amazing features are overshadowed by the owner’s lack of care for...

This is a long rant, just sharing my experience!

I’ll start by saying the gym itself is not that bad, in terms of what they have available, but the equipment that has seats are tore up on a lot of them so things look a little rough.

I started a membership in February of 2021, only to cancel before the 30 day mark in March 2021. I checked out Planet Fitness and saw that their prices, equipment and extra services were 10x better. I signed up for Planet Fitness and was able to get a refund for part of the Downing’s Gym membership since I canceled early enough.

I then got an email from Downing’s in April saying I would be charged on the 15th. I called the gym 5 days before the day I would be charged and was told they will cancel it and I should not be charged (although I should not have been anyways based on the original cancellation date). I later saw that I was charged in April. I called and they said that they can refund me and that it was definitely cancelled moving forward.

Fast forward to May. I got an email saying I would be charged on the 15th, so I called today (5/10/2021) asking for talk to a manager. The person on the phone said that he was in the bathroom and he could call back. I said I would call back myself.

I called back and was hung up on, not once, but twice. I called from a friends phone and they answered, in which I was able to talk to the manager then. I shared with him my emails and charges that I should not have been charged for, along with the upcoming charge that I should not have. The manager said that he has already canceled it and I asked to make sure cause I was told that the month before. He then got into an argumentative tone with me and literally said, “ we’re all humans and we make mistakes, I’m sure you’ve made mistakes too”. He continued to be rude during our conversation.

Long story short, this place has poor customer service. If you sign up and want to cancel, good luck! I suggest you place a stop payment with your bank because you’ll continue to be charged and have to deal with a manger who is unprofessional and rude to...

I notice there are no full reviews so I'll give it a go;

Other than the gyms at the local universities which offer exclusive access to students and faculty, Downing's is the only real gym in Corvallis. Downing's is closer to a hardcore gym like Metroflex than to a "fitness center" like Planet Fitness; offering two sets of dumbbells that go up to 150 pounds, powerlifting platforms which can be utilized for various Olympic lifts, 3 dedicated squat racks, 4 benches for bench press, about 10 benches for dumbbell work, and various cable apparatuses and machines. There are, in addition, many cardio machines. There are full locker rooms, as well, for your convenience. The staff are friendly and make you feel like you're more than just a mark.

That's what I like about Downing's. If I had to pin down several things for improvement (in my opinion) they'd be the following; the equipment isn't the newest. Several pieces of machinery have visible wear and tear in the form of rips in upholstery or sweat stains from many years of use. Some of the cable machines aren't lubed very well and can squeak terribly when in use with certain attachments. It'd also be nice if there was another full cable station, as during peak hours, it can be extremely difficult to get cable work in if you need or want to. However, I understand that gear is limited due to floor space.

In conclusion, Downing's is a full service, (just about) fully stocked gym that will cater to anyone, regardless of skill level; powerlifters, bodybuilders, physique competitors, average joes all come here. And while it's not the most up to date or the most fully loaded, Downing's Gym is still a great place...