A 24-hour Hamilton fitness centre that made it on the city's Fast 40 list for rapid revenue growth is concerned that it will lose its community feel and modest membership.

Bryan Smith, founder of Catalyst Specialized Personal Training, tripled the size of the now-5,000-square-foot space on Dundurn over the last six years and has added physio, massage and dietitian services for the approximately 100 members who pay $45 a month.

Catalyst is not a typical fitness experience. Hidden behind a strip plaza at the corner of Dundurn and Aberdeen, you won't find music pumping from speakers in a club-styled scene or weightlifters outfitted with ear buds bashing down dumbbells between sets and mouthing words to only songs they can hear.

"Everybody talks to everybody here," Smith said, adding that emphasis is placed on "rehab and feeling better" rather than getting buff. The age of members ranges from 40 to 60.

"It's a one-stop shop for people who want to be repaired."

Smith wants to avoid the circumstance that often prevails at larger clubs after the holidays when fitness-related New Year's resolutions are made and broken.

"I don't want to be living off people who don't come to the gym," he said.

It was an unusual turn that got him into the business. After moving from his New Brunswick home about a dozen years ago to start up a computer repair business in Hamilton, he shifted gears to become a fitness trainer.

One memorable day the owner asked him to join him for bite to eat.

"He took me out to lunch and said he didn't want to run it anymore — it was a surprising lunch," said Smith, who decided to take the plunge and purchase the business.

He has expanded to seven staff and memberships are growing sufficiently to be ranked on the city's list of fastest growing companies.

While the gym has been growing inside the building, Smith is cognizant of Catalyst's lack of streetscape frontage. He hopes that perhaps, down the road, he could add another unit to the gym that is visible from Dundurn.