Business Profile: Epic Studios of New York, Brewster
North Salem resident Christina Lassen had been taking her children for gymnastics instruction at the gym located on Route 22 in Brewster, but the facility was slowly going downhill, she recalled last week.
“The place, sadly, had its own issues,” Lassen said. “There was really just this small percentage of students left.”
The facility eventually shut down and was not in operation for about five months. That is when Lassen decided to rehabilitate the gym.
“The businesswoman in me said how can we let this go? Our community needs it. The children need it and surely there has to be another option, especially with all the obesity issues and just the lack of extracurricular [activities] for children and a positive place for them,” Lassen said.
Lassen decided that instead of letting the facility remain empty she would bring it back to life.
Reopening the facility took much time and effort.
“We did spend two-and-a-half months totally sanitizing, demolding, replacing, triple coat of painting, upgrading and making this gym 100 percent safe, healthy, clean and well staffed prior to opening,” she said.
Epic Studios of New York has been in operation since March 2012.
“We’re out of the box. We always say that’s the Epic difference,” Lassen said.
One of the differences that distinguishes Epic Studios from other gyms is its business operations, Lassen said. “We have offices staff which is very separate from our inside the gym activities and the coaches,” she said.
Epic Studios provides a variety of programs for young children under three all the way up to adults in gymnastics, cheerleading and dance. Lassen stressed that Epic Studios offers gymnastics program for individuals with different ability and experience levels. “There’s a very small chance of being an Olympic star,” she said.
“The other Epic difference here is we have very, very, very talented gymnasts and we have very talented gymnasts that are just not as talented,” Lassen said. “But unlike other gyms, at Epic, everyone is epic.” Her business has helped build the self-confidence of youths, Lassen said.
Aside from classes, Epic Studios provides supervised open gym periods for both youths and adults.
Lassen said she is open to new program ideas from the public. For example, Epic recently provided a program for Black Belt karate adults who learned tumbling.
Lassen said all the staff members are all certified by USA Gymnastics. “You don’t find that everywhere,” she said.
Though Lassen devotes much of her time running Epic Studios, it is not her only job. She also works for a management company that owns several restaurants. .
Epic Studios is a family affair. Lassen, a single mother, is assisted by her daughter, Kayla, who is a trainer at the gym, and son, Ayden, who designed the Epic Studios Web site and provides tech support.
Lassen said did not purchase the gym with the intent of making a huge profit. Rather, she wanted a positive destination for local residents. “It makes me happy to see that the children are happy and the parents are happy,” Lassen said.
Epic Studios of New York is located 2031Route 22 in Brewster. For more information, call 845-519-8676, visit http://epicgym.net/index.html or send an e-mail to
epicstudios@live.com.
