Two current players in the National Football League have teamed up to open a fitness club in their home state of Washington.
Tennessee Titans quarterback Jake Locker and Tampa Bay Buccaneers punter Michael Koenen opened the Locker Room on Monday in Ferndale, WA, the Bellingham (WA) Herald reported. Locker, who played at the University of Washington, and Koenen, who played at Western Washington University, partnered with a local coffee shop owner to purchase the Thrive Community Fitness center, the newspaper reported. Both players are Washington state natives.
Members at the fitness center will retain the same benefits at the Locker Room, which will include new equipment and classes and may eventually be open 24 hours a day, the Herald reported. A grand opening is scheduled in January. The fitness center currently has 30 employees.
Koenen and Locker plan to be at the fitness center regularly during the NFL offseason, working out and organizing football camps, Wes Herman, owner of The Woods Coffee and a partner in the Locker Room, told the newspaper.
"They have a tough schedule, but they both have a level of business sophistication that is very strong," Herman said.