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The pulse of music permeates the air. Aerobics -- sweat and pain in leotards. Nearby a dozen Stairmasters churn incessantly. A basketball slaps against a backboard, high-fives exchanged amid a flurry of activity.
Within this tapestry of machines and muscles, serious money is being made. The club's owner is smiling, no longer worried about risks and red ink.
"A lot of people were surprised that I'd take the risk of starting 7 Flags," says owner LeMar Koethe. "But I always thought I could make it run. If you work long and hard enough, anything's possible."
A decade ago, when Koethe bought several acres of land in Clive, Northwest 100th Street -- which connects Hickman and University -- was only a dirt road. He managed to convince the state to pave it, promising he would be hiring a significant number of employees at his nearby facility.
Selling his shares in nine apartment complexes, Koethe raised the funds to open his business. He then invested $6 million to build the three-acre sports complex.
"It was initially hard to get going," Koethe says. "Eighty percent of new exercise facilities go out of business. To get people excited, I...