The Howard County
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VOL.13, NO.8
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John Zahor, Robin Zahor and their son, Devin Zahor, recently purchased the Fitness Together gym in Ellicott City. The gym offers one-on-one personal training in private studios.
Wall Street,” John said. “We’re practical, praying people. There’s a little bit of risk, but I think we’ve studied it enough.”
A star trainer Devin Zahor is no stranger to the gym or to this particular studio. For more than eight years, he worked as a certified trainer there. His deep familiarity with the mechanics of the business, combined with his natural people skills, heartened his parents. “I thought this was something he can do
a good job with,” his mother said. “He knew the studio. He knew the clients.” Devin, who holds a psychology degree from UMBC, initially worked as a substance abuse counselor. Growing up in Ellicott City, Devin said he played sports “but wasn’t really into it.” Instead, he joined a gym to chisel a better self-image. “Part of me wanted to change my physical
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PHOTO COURTESY OF DEVIN ZAHOR
By Tony Glaros The prospect of owning a small business presented a tantalizing world of opportunities for the Zahor family. So, this spring, wielding a plan — eyes wide open — they stepped into the arena and bought an existing Fitness Together franchise not far from their home in Ellicott City. The Denver-based company, which specializes in personal fitness training conducted in private studios, operates 326 facilities in the U.S., five of them in Maryland. The Zahors’ son, Devin, 29, has been a personal trainer at the Ellicott City location for eight years. “It’s scary,” admitted Robin Zahor, 62, the new co-owner of the gym. “There are a lot of unknowns.” The inherent gamble aside, Robin and her husband, John, 58, along with Devin, are taking a reasoned, collaborative approach to ownership. Each brings a unique skill to the business. As a longtime registered nurse — she’s the former head surgical and scrub nurse at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Baltimore — Robin Zahor is also busy developing new fitness programs that nurture mind and body. She has taught brain training classes for years at senior centers in Howard County. John Zahor, an architectural engineer, works as assistant vice president for facilities management at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. While the couple are the legal owners of the franchise, they took the leap primarily as a way to help Devin secure his future in the personal fitness industry. “Devin’s really the face of the organization,” his father said proudly. “We’ve invested in Devin, and we’ve invested in ourselves instead of investing in
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