Hidden Gems: Meet Dan Drummond of The Little Gym

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dan Drummond.

Hi Dan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Well, my trek to owning The Little Gym of Cave Creek is quite a winding road. I graduated from the US Air Force Academy in 1989 and preceded to stay in the Air Force for 10.5 years. My background in the Air Force was in Information Technology and then Intelligence. My last duty assignment was Chief of Information Warfare at the Pentagon. After exiting the Air Force, I spent the next 18 years in the Corporate world as a Marketer. Marketing gave me a great business foundation as I worked on brands such as Molson, Miller Lite, Spaghettios, Zicam, and finally head of marketing for P. F. Chang’s and Bar Louie. My last position as CMO for Bar Louie made my wife and I realize if we both stayed in the corporate grind, we would eventually need to leave Arizona. We looked at possible franchises, and I was introduced to the then CEO of The Little Gym and realized there were territories available in the Phoenix area. We took the plunge and decided I would embark down the road of entrepreneurialism and open The Little Gym of Cave Creek on September 9th, 2019.

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Thanks to many of our awesome families at The Little Gym. We persevered, reopened, and have since begun to thrive coming out of the COVID closure. The road has been very rocky, but the good news is we are still on the road. After opening in September 2019, we had to close our doors for 2+ months due to COVID in early 2020. We continue to have some lingering struggles with staffing and members coming in and out of membership as COVID spikes happened. It finally does seem we have weathered the worst, and as a result, I’m much smarter and much more confident about the business and the benefits The Little Gym provides for kids from 4 months to 12 years of age.

As you know, we’re big fans of The Little Gym. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about the brand?
The Little Gym is founded on 3 pillars: Get moving, Brain Boost, and Citizen Kid. We get the kids moving in every class and use gymnastics as our foundation. Music and brain boost activities are incorporated into the classes to challenge kids’ minds. Those activities can be perceptual-motor skill-based, learning colors, the alphabet, or a better understanding of the benefits of physical activity and growth for older kids. Lastly, we stress the Citizen Kid, which gives the self-confidence for kids to socialize, interact, share and respect each other. Our gymnastics classes are sanctioned by USAG (USA Gymnastics). We are not a competitive gym and always provide a positive, nurturing environment for the kids and parents. We gladly welcome all kids from 4 months to 12 years of age. Our instructors will build a child’s skills on an individual basis, so each kid has an opportunity to improve at their own pace. I am most proud of seeing kids grow each and every week. This expands well beyond their skill development as they grow confidence, self-esteem, and self-awareness and become well-rounded. Lastly, the relationships my staff and I have developed with the kids, parents, grandparents, and nannies are priceless. In my 30+ years of working, this is the most rewarding thing I have ever done. Creating a positive impact on such wonderful lives is priceless. We are also proud to announce we will open our 2nd location in Scottsdale (Raintree & Northsight) in Nov/Dec 2022.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
The friends that have come into The Little Gym of Cave Creek have been extremely supportive, encouraging, and just a delight to service. The sense of community and overall appreciation for us the community has expressed is wonderful. It has made the initial challenging years (due to COVID) much easier to navigate. We would not be open if it weren’t for the community welcoming us with open arms and routing for our continued success.

Pricing:

• Tuition is $99/month for 1 class/week
• Birthday Parties are offered starting at $300 for members
• Seasonal Camps are offered starting at $35 for 3 hours

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thelittlegym.com/cavecreekaz
• Instagram: @thelittlegymcavecreek
• Facebook: The Little Gym of Cave Creek