This 21,000 sq ft gym has over 2,000 members

What’s up Gym World?

Evan Duncan and Taylor Metzger’s Recess Fitness Club looks like a $5M gym.

You’d think they had a PR team, top-tier designers, and deep pockets behind it. In reality, it was just two guys who started with almost nothing and figured it out themselves:

• Had to come up with $50,000 in less than a week (twice)

• 18 trainers bailed before the grand opening

• Their contractor was a fraud

Despite the setbacks, Recess opened in 2021. Today, it’s a 21,000 sq ft playground for group fitness and personal training, packed with sleek design, incredible natural lighting, and even a giant copper slide so you can literally slide into class. Every day, 750 people walk through the doors, and demand is so high that there’s still a waitlist to join.

It’s one of the best gyms in Dallas, and we had to find out how these guys pulled it off. So, we brought Evan on the pod to break it all down for us:

Here’s the story: 👇

The origins of Recess Fitness Club

Evan and Taylor met 11 years ago as personal trainers renting space in a gym. Both were running successful businesses—Taylor with Butchered Bodies and Evan with Tough Fitness.

But Evan wasn’t happy with the gym options out there. They were either cheap and overcrowded with no personality or expensive and exclusive. He wanted to create something unique on his own, so he started cold-calling investors and pitching ideas, but no one would lend him the money.

When COVID lockdowns hit in 2020, Evan and Taylor partnered up and turned Taylor’s backyard into an outdoor gym so their clients could keep training. It had:

• A giant tent and hand-washing stations to keep it COVID-safe

• PVC pipes with resistance bands for makeshift strength training

• Dumbbells for farmer’s carries in the grass

• An Airstream trailer to cool down after workouts

Evan and Taylor realized they worked well together and had created something special. The mix of natural light, music, and unconventional workouts made training fun—like being a kid at recess again.

Clients loved it, and when gyms reopened, many didn’t want to go back. But Evan and Taylor knew they couldn’t scale in a backyard. They had to find a way to bring that same energy into a real gym.

That’s how Recess Fitness Club’s concept was born. Now, they just needed a space.

Finding Recess Fitness Club a home

Evan and Taylor wanted a space bigger than the average coaching gym. They found a 7,000 sq ft facility, but the deal fell through. The same thing happened with an 11,000 sq ft space.

In December 2020, Taylor found a former 24 Hour Fitness that had shut down due to COVID. The massive windows and natural light made it the perfect fit for his and Evan’s vision of Recess.

But there was one problem—they didn’t have the money. They needed $50,000 by the end of the week to secure the space. Taylor got an EIDL loan (a COVID relief program for small businesses), while Evan:

• Used $15,000 from his college fund

• Asked his grandpa for $11,000 that had been set aside for a house downpayment

• Borrowed the rest from a client

Four days after touring the space, they signed a 10-year lease for 18,000 sq ft on the top floor of the building.

Luckily, 24 Hour Fitness left all their equipment behind, so Taylor and Evan bought it all for $10. The physician behind Recess RX also donated Rogue equipment to help them get started.

The gym still needed a revamp, so Taylor and Evan started by painting and upgrading the lighting themselves to save money.

They had a vision for the aesthetics and design but couldn’t afford major upgrades at the time. While it wasn’t glamorous, it got the job done, and Recess Fitness Club officially opened in March 2021.

Inside Recess Fitness Club today

It sounds like Evan and Taylor faced plenty of hurdles building Recess, but in just four years, the gym has grown to over 2,000 members—and there’s still a waitlist to join.

How they scaled so fast is a mystery, but it’s clear they did a few things right:

Branding

Recess Fitness Club is designed to bring back the best hour of the school day—recess. They’re intentional about their language, calling themselves “the ultimate playground” and leaning into the school theme throughout the gym.

For example, classes are called:

• Honor Roll – Full-body workout enhancing movement patterns

• Boarding School – Pilates-style training

• Dropout – Lower-body strength day

• School of Rock – Upper-body workout

• Grounded – Yoga, breathwork, and meditation

• Pep Rally – Power yoga

• Fire Drill – Dynamic leg-day pump

• Expelled – Full-body athletic conditioning

• Detention – Strength & cardio endurance

• Field Trip – HIIT

• Final Exam – Strength training

Even the coaches are listed as the "Class of 2025" on their website:

Their branding makes them memorable, fun, and different from the competition. Instead of feeling like just another gym, Recess creates an identity that makes members feel like they’re part of something special.

Aesthetics & cleanliness

Since opening, Taylor and Evan have made major upgrades to give the gym a clean, cool, and timeless look. They wanted it to feel like being outside at recess, so they added:

• Plenty of natural light and wood finishes

• Live moss walls in the bathrooms

• Swing sets

• A giant copper slide

Keeping the gym clean is just as important. A cleaning crew comes in every night, and according to Evan, members respect the cleanliness standards and do their part to keep the space tidy. Fellow Gym Worlder Kieran Williams takes a similar approach, using a strong gym culture to keep his spaces clean.

Offerings

Memberships at Recess range from $119 to $149 per month, depending on whether you choose month-to-month or commit to an annual contract.

All memberships include:

• 24/7 access

• Unlimited classes

• InBody Scan

• Amenities (saunas, cold plunges, TheraGun station)

And if you’re just dropping in, day passes are available too.

They also offer personal training, available in-house, in-home, virtual, or online.

But what really sets them apart is Recess RX, a health and wellness clinic run by Dr. Ian Ellis, a board-certified physician and certified personal trainer. It offers:

• GLP-1 medications (for weight loss)

• Hormone replacement therapy

• Peptide therapy

• Lab testing

• Doctor on-demand services

It’s rare to see a gym selling prescriptions or offering comprehensive health services like this. But with health and wellness trends growing, it could be something we see more of in the future.

Marketing

In the early days, Evan and Taylor did whatever it took to get people in the door and build awareness:

• Advertising on a billboard

• Getting their name on a trolley in town

• Spinning signs on the corner

• Riding a cargo bike on trails, trading cold water or a protein bar for a name and email

• DMing competitor’s followers

These days, most of Recess’s leads come from word of mouth. People talk about it because it stands out from every other gym.

The rest come from social media. Their content features fit, strong, and serious athletes, naturally attracting people who want the same results.

The short version

After running an outdoor gym during COVID, Evan and Taylor had the idea to create a gym that brings back the nostalgic feeling of recess.

That gym is Recess Fitness Club.

Getting there wasn’t easy, but now they run one of the best gyms in Dallas with over 2,000 members in just four years.

But even with Recess’s success, both have been in the industry long enough to know they won’t run a gym forever. Evan says at some point they’ll sell and move on to something new.

Fair enough.

For more on the biz, watch or listen to Evan’s full interview on Gym World.

ttyl,

j

📣 P.S. If you made it this far, tell a gym owner to subscribe to the Gym World newsletter.