Downtown fitness facility changes ownership for second time

Near the end of last month, WODLIFE Fitness owner Olivia Amos was meeting with one of her coaches and instructors, Joanne Cogle, about a number of things.

“We were going over social media strategy and marketing when she just looked at me and asked if I would be interested in selling the business,” Amos said.

It was the right question at the right time, even though Amos had just purchased the business, formerly KPL Fitness, a few months earlier. Amos was in the process of opening a new downtown restaurant, and the concept had expanded, as had the demands on her time.

“I was not considering selling it, but then I thought that, given Joanne’s background, she was the perfect person,” Amos said. “I probably would not have sold it to anyone else.”

Cogle, a native of London Ontario, Canada, has lived in Columbus for eight years and is married to an Army Ranger. She owns Tri Columbus GA, an tri-athlete production company, that operates about 17 races a year, mostly in Columbus and Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain.

Cogle, 36 and a a former college softball player, is an elite endurance athlete, having successfully completed 17 Ironman competitions, which consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride and a 26.22-mile run. Cogle stresses that the gym will not just be for those who want to compete in extreme endurance activities.

“As much as people think being a triathlon is my hobby, my background is exercise science,” Cogle said. “My masters is in fitness management and sports studies. I worked at Fort Benning and ran their functional fitness facility out there. So, functional fitness and strength training is my background. Even though I have built my hobby as triathlons, I have always come back to functional fitness.”

The deal closed Dec. 31. Cogle plans to leave the name WODLIFE, which stands for Workout of the Day. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Cogle plans to add showers to the gym. She will also add classes, catering to those who exercise in the early-morning hours, lunch and after work. Currently there are about 65 members.

“We hope to grow that to 100,” she said.

Cogle is stepping into a competitive downtown fitness market, less than a block from the downtown YMCA and around the corner from Uncommon Athlete, also a functional fitness gym.

“When I moved here in 2009, there were small little pockets of fitness here and there,” she said. “Now, the community has developed into such an athletic community, that there’s plenty of business to go around.”

She jokes that her location in the 1200 block of Broadway is the perfect location. There is a Kilwin’s chocolate shop two doors down, a new restaurant, River & Rail, will be opening soon next door and Nonic, a gastropub, is across the street.

“All of that is job security for me,” she said.

This story was originally published January 17, 2017 at 5:24 PM with the headline "Downtown fitness facility changes ownership for second time."