The brick wall, part of the original structure from the former Koltes Lumber Building on East Main Street, sold them.
Kelly Haas and Tom Slaten had looked at five or six other spaces in Waunakee for their Orange Shoe Personal Fitness location before deciding on the Village Crossing. It had been the first location they visited, they said.
The open space had a dirt floor; they knew a build-out would ensue, but they loved the brick wall and liked the visible Main Street storefront.
Haas described a little about Orange Shoe Personal Fitness’ open concept, saying personal fitness began with boutique walled-off areas, but new trends are welcoming the open dimension.
“It fosters community among clients. We wanted clients talking together, knowing each other’s names,” Haas said. Clients can meet their friends at the fitness facility and motivate one another.
Orange Shoe takes a different tact with clients, specializing in functional fitness, Haas explained, training them to be “ready for anything life throws at you.”
That could be the spur-of-the-moment decision to run a 5K after a lapse in distance running, or an arduous hike while traveling.
For others, it could simply mean keeping up with energetic grandchildren.
Slaten was in the Army National Guard for 12 years and also can connect with military members.
Slaten and Haas are married just a year and became owner of the Waunakee Orange Shoe as a franchisee, purchasing it from Scott and Katie Michel, owners of the franchise holding. The Waunakee location is the seventh, with other individually owned Orange Shoe gyms in Chicago, Brookfield, Madison and Fitchburg.
Haas and Slaten met in 2014 in Janesville when Slaten was Haas’ personal CrossFit coach for about a year.
