The new Van Aken District
represents more than just another
business opportunity for GrooveRyde
owners Zosimo and Anjua Maximo.
It’s a chance for them to give back to
their hometown.
Residents of Shaker Heights, the
Maximos saw the mixed-use complex as the
ideal place to open their third and largest
fitness studio, and to expand upon their
unique, thriving operations in Cleveland
and Woodmere.
“We’ve got a great thing going in
Woodmere and downtown, but that’s not
where we live,” says Zosimo.
“We’re members of the Shaker
community, and we want to create that
same sense of kinship here. It’s something
that’s important to us, to contribute in
that way.”
Not that a 3,000-square-foot cycling
and general fitness center in Shaker
Heights isn’t also a smart investment. In
fact, it’s probably genius.
Fact is, despite its dense
population and relative affluence,
Shaker Heights has fewer fitness
options than some of its neighbors.
Meanwhile, at its Woodmere
location, GrooveRyde is practically
bursting at the seams. At certain
times of day there, the Maximos
have waiting lists for spaces in
their trademark cycling and boot
camp classes.
“There are a lot of rooftops here,
and not a lot of options,” Maximo
says. “I think Shaker has been
underserved in that sense, and it’s
why we fell in love with Van Aken.”
48 FALL 2018 | WWW.SHAKER.LIFE
There’s a simple reason GrooveRyde is so popular: It’s fun and intense. Whether you
take a cycling, boxing, boot camp, or yoga class, you can pretty much count on getting a
serious and complete workout.
Cycling, one of two primary offerings at the new Van Aken GrooveRyde, is no staid, sitand
pedal affair. A ride there will be a vibrant, dynamic, and rhythmic party. Participants
will be encouraged to pedal and move their bodies as one, in time with the music. (They
don’t call it GrooveRyde for nothing.)
That’s also the reason Maximo isn’t worried about other cycling studios in the area.
He sees GrooveRyde as unique, a concept attuned to national trends but unlike others in
Northeast Ohio. This new location also will be next door to a 24-hour gym for Upstairs at
Van Aken apartment residents. GrooveRyde will offer apartment residents complimentary
group exercise courses.
The other specialty offering at the Van Aken GrooveRyde will be Infrared Hot Barre, a
cross between a ballet barre workout, an Infrared sauna, and a hot yoga class. The room in
which it’s held will be warm, but the heat will be mild and bearable, Maximo promised.
“It’s creating more of an internal heat than an artificial, external heat,” he says.
One last GrooveRyde highlight: the City Pass. A membership at GrooveRyde is
essentially a license to travel, to move freely between the downtown, Woodmere, and Van
Aken locations. Not that anyone’s encouraging anyone to leave Shaker Heights.
“We naturally felt that this was a place where we were going to spend a lot of time,”
Maximo says of the Van Aken District. “We wanted to be a part of it.”
GROOVERYDE
Opening November 2018
3393 Tuttle Road
Email: info@grooveryde.com
Website: grooveryde.com
Facebook: @grooverydecleveland
GROOVERYDE
Photo for GrooveRyde by Alex Denver
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