This Iraq War veteran is opening a 24-hour fitness facility in Grafton. Here's why.
An Iraq War veteran starting a new fitness center in Grafton asserts that people's mental health is the most important issue "our country should be facing right now." He lost people in his unit when he served, lost more friends afterwards, and felt lost as he tried to find his path forward.
Jayson Wissmueller, a Grafton native and 2004 Grafton High School graduate, said it was fitness which saved his mental health.
Now, Wissmueller wants to help others. He is opening a 24-hour fitness center, Forged in Fire Fitness. He said the facility is going through its final inspection and he'll post updates on the company's Facebook page.
"Any small part I can play, any lives I can help, I am more than willing to," he said.
Wissmueller has endured many surgeries, dozens of dislocations and broken bones, and hundreds of stitches and staples. But none of it compared to the pain he experienced through his mental health struggles, he said.
But he found that exercising provides him with a boost that he can't get any other way.
"It is better than any medicine. It is a sense of accomplishment," he said of finishing a marathon.
So he spent the last two years drafting his business plan. He also became a certified CrossFit coach, an ACE certified personal trainer and a group fitness instructor.
"This has been my dream," he said.
Wissmueller said he's creating a culture, not just a business. It is a "culture based on support, strength, positivity and motivation," he said.
"Here, it doesn't matter what your background is. It doesn't matter what your past was, where you come from, or what your personal battles are," he said. "Forged in Fire Fitness is a community of people coming together with a common goal."
Using his mental health challenges to help others
Wissmueller said he wants to take lessons from his own mental health struggles and how fitness helped him to give others support.
While Wissmueller was in combat in Iraq, his son was born, and he could not hold him for eight months. When he returned home, he said it was a challenging time.
"I did not feel comfortable at all in public, around people, so I would drink. This all led to rock bottom in early 2009 when I had myself committed to an in-patient facility."
He said he lost unit brothers while overseas, had survivor's guilt because he "came home and others did not" and had "events that I can play clear as day in my head."
"It led to my mental health being a losing battle," he said.
Over the past 15 years, he said he lost more "brothers," some in the line of duty, others to illness, but most to suicide. And he said that's just from his Marine unit out of Milwaukee.
"The magnitude of that on a national scale is terrifying," he said. "There needs to be more unity, more recognition and more support for the countless people struggling with these issues," he said.
Wants members to feel like they 'belong to something'
He said Forged in Fire Fitness will be "a community of people coming together with a common goal."
He said he wants all members, no matter what mental health or other issues they are facing "to feel like you belong to something."
"I plan to do all I can for my members to feel safe, supported, and happy. I have equipment for every type of fitness routine, I have enough space to accomplish your workouts, and I also have areas to relax and to socialize. I'll have motivational signage everywhere," he said.
"I don't want anyone to ever have those feelings, and I can only hope that I can help at least one person heal and develop healthy weapons against those battles," he said.
What are the hours at Forged in Fire Fitness?
Each member will have an app to have access to the facility 24 hours. This app will make everything secure as Wissmueller will know who uses the facility at any given time. He and his son, Peyton, a current multi-sport athlete at Grafton High School, will staff the facility. Peyton will specialize in maintenance and keeping the equipment clean while Wissmueller will run all aspects of the facility and provide fitness advice.
The staffed hours are slated to be from 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday.
What kind of equipment will be there?
According to the Forged in Fire Fitness website, there will be state-of-the-art equipment and machinery. There will be machines for circuit training and weightlifting. There will be Nordic Track machines, free weights, rope trainers, tire-flip stations and boxing stations.
Wissmueller also said that four of the cardio machines will have flat screens where members can "run the national parks."
There will also be a state-of-the-art 3D body scanner. It will be discounted to members. According to the website, a member can get a full body composition reading to help track success and to set goals. Members will get a free scan when they sign up as well as a yearly scan.
If someone suggests any items that the gym does not have, Wissmueller said, "I will get it."
"I want to make sure we have the equipment."
How big is the gym?
The workout and the gym equipment space is about 4,500 square feet, Wissmueller said.
How do memberships work?
Wissmueller said that memberships will be on a month-to-month rather than a contract basis. For instance, a standard membership is $95 a month while a single day pass is $10. For youth ages 13 to 17, the membership is $45 a month. There will be discounts for current members of the military and for veterans and first responders.
What is the address?
Forged in Fire Fitness will be at 1306 6th Ave. in Grafton.
Where can I get more information?
For more information, visit https://www.fiffitness.net, www.facebook.com/wififfitness or call 262-323-2117.
Cathy Kozlowicz can be reached at 262-361-9132 or cathy.kozlowicz@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @kozlowicz_cathy.
More: 'No finish line': A Milwaukee man is running a 100-mile ultramarathon for Mel's Charities
THANK YOU: Subscribers' support makes this work possible. Help us share the knowledge by buying a gift subscription.
DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: An Iraq War veteran plans on opening Forged in Fire Fitness in Grafton
