A gym that pays you to show up? This one in Downtown Boise does
Boise fitness trainer Brett Denton starts every day with a 22-ingredient smoothie.
He puts on the same gray outfit, sends a morning email to thousands of followers then proceeds to follow his daily, rigid routine.
His repetitive behavior copies the habits of genius inventors Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs.
“Every time you have to make a decision, it pulls from your willpower,” Denton said. “I stay structured to free my mind to make better decisions.”
Denton is a disciplined and driven small-business owner. He invented Kvell Fitness & Nutrition, a boutique gym experience like nothing else on the market because he creates all the workouts, no two days are alike and clients receive rebates and profit sharing opportunities just for showing up.
His 350 clients — Kvellians — are faithful. They voted him the 2019 Best of Treasure Valley “personal trainer” and Kvell’s the “best exercise studio.”
“The Kvell Crew is what makes Kvell so great,” he said.
Personal trainer Brett Denton
Denton graduated from Boise State University with a double major in exercise science. He walked on to the BSU football team and persevered as an eternal backup. His determination eventually earned him a scholarship his last season in 2006.
After graduation, he owned a six-figure student-loan debt and a job he didn’t like. And he was depressed because he wasn’t going to fulfill his dream of becoming a professional football player.
What made him feel better, was a focus on fitness. He started a boot camp in a 150-square foot room and his five clients trained for free.
As he saw the power of optimizing physical and mental capacity through proper training, he became an obsessed researcher of health, fitness and nutrition.
He buys books — lots of them. So many he doesn’t have time to read them all so he listens to them at double and triple speeds.
“It’s almost a weakness,” said his wife Sara.
He consults with the best in the business and uses his own body as an experiment.
No sugar for 90 days? No problem.
Alcohol? Never.
He’s tried all the diets — vegan, keto, paleo, gluten-free — to document the effects they have on his digestive system, metabolism and weight.
“He’s very regimented. Very driven,” said Sara. “He has a hard time understanding how others fail to have the self-discipline to reach their goals.”
Denton said he’s “super interested” in finding the optimal in human performance and not just in health and fitness but also mental performance. He memorizes the names of more than 300 Kvellians and greets them when they walk through the door.
This fall he published his first book, “Provoking Success,” https://www.amazon.com/Provoking-Success-Lessons-Principles-Purpose/dp/1978313098, and he plans to write a bunch more. The first was a collection from the daily advice he shares to an email list of more than 3,000.
“The primary focus of the book was to help others on their journey,” Denton said. “It also helps people understand my thought process.”
Denton’s Kvell has evolved over the years into a fitness and wellness program that “helps people be fit for everyday life.” Kvellians are typically professionals between the ages of 35-49 and range from Navy Seals to retired grandmothers.
“He’s intensely structured, stoic, measured and intentional,” said Kvell trainer Alyssa Wulf. “He challenges me to be better every day and that’s why I’m still here.”
He measures success not by weight loss in his clients but by seeing someone change not only their body but their behavior.
“That’s what excites me – when I see them become a different person,” Denton said.
His daily and free emails — never repeated — are on a variety of topics from how to set goals, shop for healthy groceries, build fitness “cheat” sheets and make smoothies.
“The issue with a brick-and-mortar location is that we’re limited in our reach,” Denton said.
In the 24 days of December, he delivered an email “gift” to his followers to “ensure you have the best, healthiest and fittest year of your life,” he said.
While he’s busy building his business, even considering a new second location, he and his wife plan to homeschool their two young sons.
“Sometimes he can be a regular dude who knows a lot about health and fitness,” Wulf said.
Exercise Studio Kvell Fitness & Nutrition
Kvell comes from the Yiddish words “to feel happy and proud especially in a community.”
The downtown studio near the Capitol is small — just 2,500 square feet — with no locker room, sauna, pool or cardio equipment. It has two body composition machines with the latest measuring technology (no skin pinching here). He encourages Kvellians to use it regularly so they can measure success … and failure.
Denton and two other coaches teach 46 classes a week in the mornings, afternoon and evening. The 45-minute class is packed with stretching, strength training and cardio. The workouts are precise and timely. Every second is accounted for and everything works — the music, videos and equipment.
Fred Willerup hates going to gyms. But now at age 50, he needs structure. “Kvell has done the impossible: getting this old gym-hater back in shape,” said Fred Willerup.
Each Kvell class has options for newcomers and veterans to workout side by side.
“I don’t think I’m the kind of person who will ever say I enjoy working out, but this comes as close as anything I have tried,” said Leslie Atkins Elliott.
Kvellians are rewarded for showing up at least 12 sessions a month with a $50 rebate and they become eligible for a monthly profit-sharing pot of about $1,000. About a third of 350 managed 12 sessions in November.
“No other gym wants you to show up,” Denton said. “We want people to show up because that’s the only way you improve your fitness.”
Kvell workouts are structured not only daily, but in three-week blocks.
“Showing up randomly is better than nothing but you won’t get the benefits if you don’t regularly stay on a structured plan,” Denton said.
Denton’s not a gym rat. He works out every day, but that could include a walk with his family. He’s focused on not just fitness but wellness.
“I do it for longevity and health,” Denton said. “I help people live the life they want.”
This story was originally published December 24, 2018 at 10:17 AM.