My Gym built for kids

Kids of all ages were climbing the padded walls at the grand opening of the My Gym children’s fitness center.
Little ones walked along balance beams, climbed through colorful, padded tunnels and took turns going down slides. A rock wall awaited climbers.
Everybody was smiling, including staffers and moms and dads when the gym debuted on Oct. 25.
When the storefront at 6763 Main St. became available, owner Amanda Saltiel-Ayra knew she’d found a home for her business.
“I love Miami Lakes, the small-town feeling,” said Saltiel-Ayra, 29.
She moved to town from Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria struck the island in 2017, destroying her dance studio there, according to her website.
“This is what I love, I love working with kids,” Saltiel-Ayra said. “It’s my ultimate passion. It doesn’t feel like work.”
My Gym was founded in 1983, and grew to more than 600 locations around the world.
Saltiel-Ayra’s franchise is the 12th in South Florida.
It offers athletic programs for children as young as six weeks to the early teens.
It pledges to take kids “from first steps to handstands,” according to its website.
“It’s not just an indoor playground, it is structured classes,” said Saltiel-Ayra.
Exercises help children develop their mental and motor skills as they play with other kids and learn to share, she said.
There is an initiation fee of $75 and monthly fees of $90 for two classes per week, one structured, the other free play class.
The gym also offers birthday parties, parents’ nights and other activities.
My Gym is open daily:
Monday – Thursday, 9:15 a.m. – 7: 30 p.m. and Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 8:45 a.m. – 2 p.m.
For info: 305-790-9266 or visit mygym.com/miamilakes.