STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — It’s easy to see the fresh coat of paint on the walls and the expanded fitness area when you walk through the doors of Mountain Fit, but it’s the vision behind the business that sets the new fitness studio apart, according to owner Rebecca Williams.

“We really wanted to make it more than just a fitness center,” said Williams, who owns the studio with husband, Drew Williams who is also director of operations for Point6. “We want to be a truly community-oriented place, so everybody that walks in the door, we know their names. We want to be a part of their lives, but above that, we’re just there for each other.”

The new 2,000-square-foot studio is located at 385 Anglers Drive in the former Sundance Studio. Williams said the new space utilizes the 1,000-square-foot dance area of the old business. The front of the studio, which used to house a massage room, kitchenette and entry area, has been completely renovated and turned into a 900-square-foot personal training studio.

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Williams has brought on 19 instructors to lead the studio’s 55 classes each week.

“So far, it’s been good, but I’ve only done a handful of them,” said Samantha Hollingshead just before she headed into the studio to take a surfboard class. “There is just so much offered. I wanted to try out the surfboard options, and she has Pilates classes, so I would like to try one of those.”

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The class schedule includes barre, Pilates, yoga, BodyPump, strength training, high-intensity interval training, Zumba and personal training options. The new studio also offers some unique classes including a MixxedFit class that combines dancing with boot camp toning and several surfboard classes that offer the ultimate core challenge.

“When my life trajectory made a quick turn five months ago, I had so many people say, ‘You’ve got to start your own place,'” Williams said. “So my husband and I sat down and just started envisioning what our dream fitness studio looks like. We asked ourselves what type of team we would want? What type of classes would we want? We also asked ourselves how we wanted to impact our community, and that was a really big piece.”

Mountain Fit is taking this sense of community seriously and plans to make a donation to a different nonprofit every month, starting with Routt County United Way. The fitness studio also will offer free classes for the nonprofit’s employees during the month.

That sense of community is something that makes Williams’ studio so inviting, said Marie Winter, who has lived in Steamboat Springs for 35 years and takes several classes a week.

“She’s always been one of those instructors and people who just welcomes everyone, no matter what your situation is — whether you have an injury, whether you’re out of shape, whatever it is,” Winter said. “She genuinely welcomes you with open arms and makes it super fun.

“It’s already become a community,” Winter added. “I’ve made so many new friends because of this place.”

Williams said she took her clientele into consideration when planning class schedules and selecting the exact classes she wanted to offer. She varies her lunchtime classes knowing she often gets the same students in those classes because lunch is the only time they have free.

Mountain Fit offers options ranging from four classes a month for $49 to an unlimited class or a membership — with a yearlong commitment — for $99 a month. There’s also a senior pass and a student pass for $69 a month. The drop-in cost per class is $15.

“The classes are very fun — there is singing, there is dancing, there is joking, and there is giggling, and yes, there’s groaning,” Winter said. “It’s so different from any other studio. It’s a place for you to go and get in a good mood and to shake the rest of your day off.”

To reach John F. Russell, call 970-871-4209, email jrussell@SteamboatPilot.com or follow him on Twitter @Framp1966.