COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — This week’s Arnold Sports Festival brought people from all over the world for the festivities, and for local gyms, that meant an influx of people walking through their doors.

Sparked Society Gym on North High Street officially opened in October 2022, and in that short amount of time, the gym has grown rapidly in size.

Owner Aaron Thompson said this being his first time as a business owner with The Arnold in town, he didn’t know what to expect.

“I was unsure because this is kind of my first rodeo,” Thompson said. “I was kind of worried having a bunch of day passes and people trashing the gym.”

But as the weekend came to a close, Thompson said it was nothing but positive vibes.

“It’s been awesome,” he said. “Everyone was super nice, super cool, super respectful coming in.”

He said the gym sold more than 250 day passes during the four-day event, something Thompson said he couldn’t have done without the help of his gym’s members.

“A lot of people were pushing it on social media you know,” he said. “’Come to Sparked Society. Hit him up in town for a day pass if you’re in town.’”

One of those people was Kaitly Pallotto from Fort Collins, Colorado, who said she found out about the gym from a friend who found it on social media.

“He heard about it, we came over as quickly as we could and we love it,” Pallotto said. “You get to meet a lot of really cool people, hear a lot of stories, get a lot of connection, and then you go home and you’re motivated to do it again.”

And for Thompson, he’s excited for what’s to come.

“It felt rewarding just to know the word has spread so much,” he said. “I have to thank my members for pushing it on social media.”