10/03/2021
After 8.5 years, Stockyard will be closing our doors at the end of the month. I want to first and foremost thank our community, staff, and anyone who has come through our doors for all of your devotion and support. Without each of you, we wouldn’t be where we are today. We have watched you work towards your first squat, pull-up, muscle-up, obtain PRs, achieve lots of “firsts,” and so much more. We have watched you make friends, watched you build families, we’ve watched you grow as individuals, and watched you build a fantastic community. We couldn’t be more grateful for the last 8.5 years. This news undoubtedly comes as a bombshell, but our building abruptly sold this month.
You have all experienced your last billing cycle and will no longer be charged for your gym membership as we ride out our remaining days leading up to the end of this month. Friday, October 29th will be our last day of regular business/classes. In the meantime, from now until October 29, we will carry on with business as usual. Each of you, whether your membership expires early in the month or not, can continue to come to the gym until closing day.
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Please be easy with me, because as you can imagine, I am considerably unwell with the burden of writing these words. Behind this business decision is a human, someone with a great big heart who is wildly, emotionally tied to their “job” and to the people “inside” of it.
This is not easy. As a matter of fact, this is one of the toughest things I have ever faced because I am so emotionally vested in Stockyard, above all else. I can assure you that as hard as it is for you to read these words and to consider the changes that it brings about for you, that I am having an awfully tough time attempting to embrace the many changes that it means for me. Speaking of change and to give you a little perspective, when I started SY 8.5 years ago, Brady was just beginning kindergarten and Campbell was only 3 years old and in play school a few days a week. Some of you reading this message would remember that I was on literally every single class we had for 6 of our 8.5 years and that my children were a fixture in the gym, at times even falling asleep in my office where I would put them in my car and carry them home to their beds, only to return with them first thing in the morning. I always appreciated that they watched everyone doing the “hard things” in the gym to become the best versions of themselves. I also really appreciated that they witnessed their mom do ‘whatever it takes’ from scrubbing the toilets to coaching classes or running the books in order to keep the place moving forward. I hope they never forget those moments because it is that level of commitment to things in our lives that makes things flourish.
We have come a very long way since those first days, and I have such immense gratitude for Stockyard. More importantly, I am grateful for the people and the unique life experience to have been a part of something so truly special.
Thank you.
When the moment came about that I knew we would be closing our doors, I was crushed to say the least. Not only was I crushed, but we have not been given the luxury of time in this scenario, so it has not allowed for much doting or delaying on this inevitable announcement. If it feels abrupt to you, it is that. Many of you may not know, but while I own SY 100%, SY is only a tenant in our building. I own the building , as a minority owner of a separate business, alongside 4 additional owners. Two of my partners are in commercial real estate as their professions, and therefore we have had our building listed “for sale,” off and on the market essentially since we purchased it all these years ago. In years past, we would entertain any potential buyer that wanted to look at our space and they would come along sporadically but nothing obviously ever came of any of those. If the building were to have sold at that time we always had a contingency plan of available spaces where I could move SY. As recent as August 26th, I was meeting with appraisers as we were working on a refinance of the building, considering the decreased interest rates, again expecting continued longevity of our investment in the property. Fast forward a few weeks into September, we had a buyer come along, essentially out of nowhere, with a full price offer (and a very quick close). This buyer was someone who had looked at the building years ago actually and we hadn’t heard from them in all of that time in between. That was a completely unexpected turn that I did not anticipate. As a matter of fact, I received this news just before I had to walk in to the gym and face you with a smile carrying the heavy weight of this “secret” that would potentially drastically alter my future and yours. This offer was one that I couldn’t expect my partners to refuse, there was little that could be said to argue that this was good for that partnership even though I was well aware that it meant some significant heartbreak for me. As I mentioned earlier, we would always have this contingency plan of where I would move SY…..but in light of the fragility of owning a business in the boutique fitness space during a pandemic, the option of moving in to a new space on a lengthy lease term has become a risk that I’m unwilling to take. Although I do know that this is the right decision for me and for my family, right now I’m simply SAD.
The truth is, behind the scenes of our classes and the celebrations and love in the gym is a very black and white, numbers-driven business that has been successful for 8.5 years and there is a lot that goes in to that part that is essentially unseen when you enter our doors on a daily basis. Because it is numbers driven and backed by logic, it is odd to have SUCH an emotional tie to a business, but I do. It has been a passion project for me for all of these years, and I’m afraid I will be lost without it to be honest. When I first found out and was falling apart about it, I have to thank Shane (I have a lot to thank him for) for reminding me that not everyone gets to take this victory lap. It’s not often when they get to go out when things are great, often businesses close as a result of failure or hardship, and this is not the case here…for that, I am truly grateful.
I’m proud of Stockyard. I’m proud of you. I’m proud of each person that took a chance on walking through our doors.
Thank you.
I am sorry to break this news to you this morning. It’s beyond tough for me and I know it’s going to be tough news for you, too. My dearest friend reminded me of a quote from my favorite, Ted Lasso, and it feels overly appropriate to share with you. “I promise you, there is something worse than being sad. And that is being alone and being sad. Ain’t no one in this [room] alone.” We will get through these next days together, continuing to lift one another up, like we do. I will put forth every effort for these remaining days to be joyful and I promise to wear a smile for each one of you, no matter my own hurt inside. I don’t want the next days to feel like a funeral, we have too much that deserves celebrating.
I love you all very much. Again…and I can’t say it enough, THANK YOU.
Very strongly,
Lindsey
