Several fitness center businesses have operated on our current site since the mid 1980’s, and in February 2007, Michelle Brannon and John Cooney opened “Sunset Family Fitness” with expanded services that allow us to serve as a true community fitness center–with complete programs for youths, seniors, and parents with young children.
Michelle is the General Manager and Fitness Director running the day to day activities. As the Fitness Director, Michelle is the lead Group Fitness Instructor, with over 25 years of experience in a variety of group fitness disciplines, including, but not limited to, indoor cycling, cross training, circuit training, senior fitness, youth fitness, and other special populations.
In addition to holding a professional certificate in Group Fitness from the American Council on Exercise (ACE), Michelle is a ACE-Certified Personal Trainer with 10 years of experience specializing in post-rehabilitation programs, senior fitness, youth fitness, and general fitness and weight-loss. Personal Training is not only a great way to get started on the right foot, but also a way to create a comprehensive plan for both exercise and nutrition, as well as accountability in order to make the most of your membership.
John who is recently retired from 24 years of combined service in the Army Reserves and U.S. Coast Guard, is a certified American Red Cross instructor for CPR/AED, First Aid, and Sports Safety Training. John is also a certified technician for our gym equipment and maintains the equipment for optimal performance.
At Sunset Family Fitness, we strive to provide the best customer service to both our loyal members and frequent guests. Not only do we provide a family-friendly and comfortable atmosphere, we are continually improving our services and facilities to accommodate our growing membership. Our ultimate goal is to be the best fitness value on the north Oregon coast.
During the course 17 years in business, we have increased our studio classes from 5 classes per week to over 25 classes per week, including gym circuit, indoor cycling, yoga, Pilates, senior, youth, and cross-training classes. All, at no extra cost to our members!
We added our private workout room in July 2020 to create a safe space for those members with compromised health during the pandemic. We continue to maintain that space for those members that prefer a private space for their workouts.
We our youth members, we provide a Free Student Membership program subsidized by our non-profit arm, Fit To Be Teens, Inc., which we started in 2010. Fit To Be Teens, Inc. was organized to produce the Annual Seaside Beach Run — 5K/10K Races, 5K Walk, and Kids’ Sand Dash — to raise funds to support and promote fitness opportunities for teens age 13 and older throughout Clatsop County. Our tenure organizing this cherished community event lasted from 2009 (43rd Annual Seaside Beach Run) to 2019 (53rd Annual Seaside Beach Run). Due to the COVID pandemic, there was no event held in 2020; and we “passed the baton” to Sunset Empire Park & Recreation in 2021.