Derby Gyms and Fitness

Blackhawk Fitness, Powered by CrossFit Wichita

Pro Ski and Scuba, a PADI five-star IDC facility, shares the basics of breathing underwater in the two-hour Discover Scuba Diving Experience led by certified instructors with more than 25 years of combined experience. The controlled pool environment keeps things safe and simple for all involved as instructors acquaint students with provided dive equipment as well as aquatic dos and don'ts culled from their vast, ocean-like expanses of knowledge. During the 2.5-hour class, students practice ascents, descents, and anglerfish impressions. Although students aren't certified to dive after one class, the Discover Scuba Diving Experience’s skills can be credited toward PADI open-water certification should class-goers decide to pursue an underwater graduate degree. Those who prefer to dive in groups can bring along up to three friends, and kids ages eight to 12 can forgo conventional birthday parties for a celebration in Pro Ski and Scuba’s pool with up to eight friends and two adults. Birthday parties often span 2.5 hours, and for an additional $20, Pro Ski will provide a birthday cake and silverware.

Husband-and-wife duo David and Crystal Wells threw their mutual passion for fitness into the creation of Ring Side Fitness Center. They outfitted the gym with high white ceilings, a soft red floor and a boxing ring, corralling passionate students and leading them through boxing classes. In addition to teaching foundational footwork and techniques, David maintains professional status in MMA, and Crystal ranks as a professional figure competitor in the National Gym Association and National Physique Committee. They apply their professional experience toward building full-body workout plans, but stay in touch with the fitness limitations and aspirations of everyday people. As working parents, they make efficiency paramount—drop-in classes span 75 minutes and work the whole body, including the dorsal fin.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu instructor Marcio Laselva has a wealth of championships and nine years of teaching experience under his second-degree black belt. He helps his students hone their bodies and minds into sleek, sinewy machines with the help of a qualified and experienced team of instructors, which includes ISKA World Champion kickboxer Marcio Navarro. Far from being just a dojo for training hard-hitting fighters, the 20,000-square-foot, family-friendly gym helps athletes achieve all sorts of objectives, whether decreasing stress levels with calming yoga classes or learning to beat up the ocean with karate courses.

An intense yet addictive fighter fitness regimen lets laymen and women tone and build their bodies like MMA warriors, while capoeira classes seamlessly combine music, dance, and martial arts. Students learn a wide range of disciplines within the gym's welcoming walls, including the art of the fist and foot in tae kwon do lessons and master’s degrees in the sweet science with classes from 47-year boxing vet Johnny "Coach" Papin.