by Albert Huang
Toys and fresh food lined the walls of Family Functional Fitness as over 30 people gathered to witness the fitness studio’s second location open in Cos Cob.
On December 18th Joshua Takacs, the founder of Family Functional Fitness, cut the red ribbon opening the doors to the second location alongside First Selectman Fred Camillo and Jade Harrell, the lead trainer of the Cos Cob location.
According to Takacs, Harrell holds a bachelor’s degree in exercise physiology and is a certified strength and conditioning specialist as well as a certified titleist golf performance specialist. Takacs says Harrell also specializes in clients with histories of injuries with over 30,000 hours in the field.
Takacs says all Family Functional Fitness trainers specialize in corrective exercise, athletic development, weight loss and gain, prenatal and postnatal exercise, and nutrition.
“Everybody that works with us has to maintain a level of certification. It requires a lot more to work with us but the results our clients get are so much better”
Takacs, lead trainer at the Old Greenwich location, said he’d always wanted to open his own business and his wife Carolina was the support mechanism and inspiration that pushed him to follow his dream.
Takacs and his wife decided to use the grand opening of the second location as a toy drive to donate to those in need.
“I didn’t come from an affluent family and I believe whenever you’re in a position to give back you should,” said Takacs. “All of these toys are going to our church and they have a big program where they give these toys to families in need around the county. I think it’s only right that we give back.”
Unlike other gyms and fitness centers, Family Functional Fitness has prospered throughout the pandemic. Takacs said they pivoted their model into “true private, so there’s nobody else in here. It’s trainer, client, and full focus towards that.”
Family Functional Fitness also cut group sessions and shortened training session times to ensure proper sanitation and ventilation between clients. Takacs says registration is open only for referrals at the moment due to overloaded schedules.
“It was a bit opposite for us compared to big commercial gyms because people now were more inclined to look into health and dive deeper with the pandemic going on. A lot of people got very serious about their health,” said Takacs.
“What makes us different is that we encompass everything that has to do with your life,” Takacs explained. “We come in kind of almost like a health concierge for your life. We want to be able to give you a map for your life to switch over to a healthier lifestyle.”
In his speech before the ribbon cutting, Camillo joked that the new fitness studio location is strategically placed between restaurants and bars.
“It’s exciting, we couldn’t have two better people here and so we’re wishing you many years of success,” said Camillo.
“We have some people here that were at the first ribbon cutting, so I’m hoping everybody is still here for the third, fourth and fifth maybe god willing,” said Takacs as he held the scissors up to the ribbon. “Hopefully this is not the last ribbon we’re cutting!”
For more information on Family Functional Fitness, go to familyfunctionalfitness.com
