ARLINGTON — Mount Pilchuck Ski & Sport in Arlington hosts five small businesses within its establishment, and will be having an open house on Jan. 4.
Since opening two years ago as a store specializing in outdoor snowboarding and skiing equipment, a coffee shop and the XYZ Studio have been included.
Bentley Marks, of Mount Pilchuck Ski & Sport, co-owns the building with his wife Lynn, and currently rents out the studio to Mount Pilchuck Spin City, Fit 4 Life and Your Image Studio.
Lynn Marks explained that the businesses are all related to outdoor and physical exercise.
Mount Pilchuck Ski & Sport sells snowboards, skis and other outdoor equipment related to snow.
“We have several patents in the snow sport industry,” Bentley Marks said.
As well as selling snowboard and ski kits, Mount Pilchuck Ski & Sport also provides rentals, waxing and maintenance tunings.
According to its co-owners, Mount Pilchuck Ski & Sport differentiates its craftsmanship in its patents from other mainstream chains by its attention to detail, such as making its boards and skis from hand-selected wood.
“I want the brake to work for you,” Bentley Marks said. “I don’t want to rig something together just to make it work.”
Bentley goes to great lengths to meet his customers’ needs.
“I went all the way down to Portland to get a piece of wood for a guy because a store said they were out of stock,” he said.
Mount Pilchuck Ski & Sport started adding other businesses to attract more customers, among them the “One of a Kind Espresso” on the south side of the building.
Bentley cited the community feel as one of the many advantages of small local businesses located in close proximity.
“They’re all local family community businesses, local to this area,” Bentley said. “It brings us back together.”
West of Mount Pilchuck Ski & Sport is the recently added XYZ Studio, featuring four suites. From the entryway, two rooms to the left are a spin bike class and a TRX class. On the right is a large empty room used for yoga and Zumba, and tucked further right behind that room is an esthetician studio for facials.
Debbie Terrell is the TRX instructor of the Fit 4 Life class in the XYZ Studio. TRX is a brand of suspension training, which consists of two bands connected to a wall, in which participants train against gravity to perform various calisthenics.
With the fitness class taking place in a smaller facility, Terrell believes it allows for a more interpersonal connection with clients.
“We’re more personal. We get to know our clients,” Terrell said. “We are their listeners.”
By listeners, Terrell meant that her clients often talk to her about personal matters they might not tell other people.
Combined with the endorphins from working out, and being able to vent on their stresses from life, Terrell’s clients often feel relieved psychologically, all while completing a rigorous workout.
“At the end of the workout, they feel great about themselves,” Terrell said. “They feel good about themselves because of the endorphins they get from the workout.”
Working with fewer clients within a confined space allows Terrell to accommodate and assist her students in a workout session.
“I have time to be with every single person,” Terrell said. “I can modify the workout to everyone, and not just one workout.”
Paige McLaren specializes in yoga, Zumba and other types of equipment free exercises, and she touted the advantages of having an esthetician to bring together the beautifying aspects.
“All women want to feel pretty, along with losing weight,” McLaren said.
Though the XYZ Studio may appear to be aimed toward a female demographic, its general value of fitness aims to appeal to both men and women.
“Couples will come in,” McLaren said.
Mount Pilchuck Ski & Sport’s open house will be Jan 4. from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 5200 172nd St. NE in Arlington.
