Union Fitness — Local services in Pittsburgh

Member 2017-2024 June ‘17-Joined after moving from CA in 2016. I worked at Nova Place at the time the gym opened, I was going 5 days/week & commuted for years by bus at 4:45am from Highland Park to make their 6am classes all while knowing there was an LA Fitness a mile from my house charging a fraction of the cost- I stayed for the people, the culture and experience. While there were a number of mgmt restructures during my tenure, I never left due to them maintaining a consistent culture + commitment to having highly educated/experienced staffers who focused on morale & quality training. Feb’ ‘20- world shut down. I paid an advance to a non-UF bodybuilding trainer to help me prep for my first show - I was stuck with no gym. UF made equipment rentals available at no cost, hosted virtual trainings, and still checked in regularly to ensure my goals were being met. When the gyms opened back up, they’d stop in on my sessions, offer pointers & continued support. I doubt I would’ve kept at it for the entire YEAR of prep had it not been for them. ‘20 was also a year of civil unrest- UF didn’t shy away from supporting the community. Mgmt hosted an event where proceeds were donated to Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh & additionally made available discounted rates for those in the community who couldn’t afford the going rate. Same mgmt openly supported efforts of inclusivity by hosting annual Pride-themed bootcamps where even the UF’s logo was the LGBTQ+ flag. Since that mgmt’s exit I’ve seen nothing mirroring the same level of representation of any under-represented groups (which had been customary & called out in social media + blog posts). If UF was committed to being a non “big-box chain” that is “locally owned, independently operated” where investments being made “are guided solely by what serves our members—not corporate agendas” were true, you’d think there’d be a spotlight on the aforementioned given 25% of the North Side of the PGH neighborhood is black, & while notably smaller, 3% of PGH identifies as part of LGBTQ+.That manager furthermore hosted a number of member-centric fundraisers based on those in need- I specifically recall in 2019 a class being hosted for a member who was recovering from their brain cancer treatments.

I haven’t seen much tangible community outreach recently; the silence is loud.

May ‘21: Did well in my shows but my world was falling apart due to personal matters; while navigating those waters, UF was there. Coaches & members knew me on such a personal level that I felt I could share in my struggles & feel I wasn’t alone. Aug’ ‘21: things were better personally, I partnered with UF on some programming to help in my off season- they were great. Nov ‘21 my husband unexpectedly died. The rally of support I experienced was unreal. The gym MGR partnered with Bike PGH to do a benefit ride for my husband that my family will never forget. While not a full timeline, the above paints a picture of what caring for a community actually is. Responses to these reviews are well tailored & PC (kudos to mgmt responding- incredible integration of GenAI- the level of professionalism maintained while deflecting is unmatched), they’re unfortunate and put into question the honesty and integrity of those who chose to speak up.I anticipate consistency and will likely get the cannoned responses others got, perhaps about me not being a “recent” member, that “changes to a space I’ve cared about can feel personal and sometimes difficult to process”- blah blah blah- save the gaslighting. A business can choose to elevate whatever customer demographic they choose, but it’s convenient to avoid true community support when your business is managed by a corp foreign registered in DE. Don’t sell yourself as caring about the community when you were founded on principles of being a for-profit (Nova Place revitalization project of 2016)- Faros wants their $100M + investment back- make that the tagline. Changes are being made to align financial goals & serving a demographic of those whose pockets better represent...

I had previously expressed dissatisfaction with the availability of movable benches and the gym culture, and I am happy to say both are no longer pertinent.

First, it looks like the gym management went out and bought an additional bench or two, which has improved the availability of benches dramatically.

Second, on gym culture, I had a number of passive aggressive comments come my way which I chalked up to a group of regular patrons who are possessive of the equipment.

However, it turns out these weren't just random individual patrons. About a month back all of a sudden the usual gym crowd was maybe 1/3 of its typical size and none of the patrons who had made passive aggressive comments were in attendance. I had previously assumed all of these people were working adults and that their wearing of Pitt gear was just coincidental. However, assuming it wasn't a coincidence that all of them suddenly were absent I looked up Pitt powerlifting, found their instagram, and yup all of the people who acted passive aggressive are members of this powerlifting club. Not to mention their members made up 2/3 of the 5-7pm peak hour attendance.

First, what athletic team piles into an independent gym at peak hours? I was involved in college athletics, and we either used our own space or reserved another space in advance. I would never imagine packing into the school gym, nevertheless an independent gym whose clientele is going to be working adults with heavily constrained schedules. Now I understand why I saw a couple of people back in Jan/Feb who were clearly at aleast late 20s or early 30s come in and then leave exasperated there were no benches. These may have been (previously) regular patrons surprised to find their gym taken over by a college athletic team?

Second, it's an individual sport. They couldn't have spaced themselves out into a 5-7pm and 7-9pm block? That would have resolved all of the constraints with gym equipment. Most of them left by 7pm so it's not as though they were bumping up against closing hours. Given that they are students, I would expect that their schedule is flexible enough to accommodate that. All of this was aggravated by the fact that these people were there every day. I come in maybe 3 random days a week and the same Pitt powerlifters were always there, no matter what day. It was doubly aggravated by the fact that their workouts seemed to correlate. There were clear team bench days, squat days, etc.

On top of all that, to act like they own the place and make others feel unwelcome?

Fortunately for Union Fitness, the gym seems to be filling with people not associated with Pitt powerlifting over the last month since that group stopped coming in such overwhelming numbers. Pitt reopening gym facilities may make it a moot point going forward, but if they stick around I would recommend management sit down with them and stipulate how they better share the space. I am surprised that they were even allowed to come in as a group like that. My understanding is that most gyms exclude athletic teams coming as a monolithic group to avoid the exact situation I described above. Inevitably there's gonna be an us vs them sentiment that sours the...

6/20/25 edit to go from two-stars to one (as I've since cancelled my Wellness Plus membership based on their reply) and provide some additional context based on recent experiences and management's reply to my original review:

You know those trainers they referred to as "truly exceptional professionals who remain committed to supporting our members every day"? They fired one of them today. If that doesn't confirm that all of their other replies were hollow and meaningless, not sure what does.

Also, these one-star reviews are not a coordinated attack, but it's a lot easier for management to continue to avoid any responsibility or accountability for their actions by chalking them up as such. I don't even know half of the people that left the other negative reviews, but I do agree with them. We are adults that are capable of formulating our own opinions, and there are clearly several of us that have noticed the decline. Rather than taking a step back and evaluating, management has just chosen to accuse us of being the problem and disregarding our individual experiences as some group effort to discredit them.

I was also accused of a "targeted attack on staff via public platforms". I reached out for proof and was told it was because I mentioned that managers were gossiping about a paying member via e-mail. Not sure what type of mental gymnastics needs to be performed to twist that statement into me "attacking" staff, but I can't say I understand anything that's coming from management currently.

Also, what direction are you moving in? I certainly don't recall any communication to members about a new vision or direction the gym was planning to take, nor any outreach to said members to solicit feedback. Just another attempt to deflect accountability - add it to the list. I’ll be “generous” here and give two stars, solely because the trainers that are left are absolutely fantastic. I particularly work with CJ, Mary, and Meech and absolutely recommend them not only for their extensive knowledge in fitness and recovery, but overall engagement and personality. The classes they run are the only reason this gym has any semblance of community and “union” left.

As recent reviews have already stated, management is completely out of touch and squandering every last bit of reputation this gym formerly had. What was once a pillar of the community has rapidly diminished solely due to poor management. Union formerly frequently hosted meets and community events, all of which have seem to fall by the wayside. Vending machines have been removed without explanation leaving only water fountains behind. Community events are few and far between, if at all. Unique and specialized services such as physical therapy are being phased out in favor of office space. Refer to other recent reviews for a host of other issues that I don’t need to repeat.

Thanks to those employees left that actually do give their all to try to hold the community together.

FYI, if management would like to learn how to send emails gossiping about members WITHOUT copying said member on the thread, let me know if I can offer some...