Family making gym dreams come true

by Nathan Arneal
Published 6/13/23

Johan and Andrea Williams met in a gym. Now, they hope their future lies in a gym.

Johan, Timber, Andrea and Kaia Williams stand in front of their fitness center that is set to open in July.

The couple are currently remodeling a space in the Datel Building – formerly occupied by Main Street Wellness and Dalton Chiropractic off the mini park – as they prepare to open 5 County Fitness sometime next month.

Johan Williams is a California native who came to Fremont to play football for Midland University, where he became an all-conference and honorable mention all-American defensive end. There he met Andrea Dvorak, a 2017 graduate of NBC and a member of the Warriors’ powerlifting team.

For Johan, who earned a degree in human performance with a concentration in strength and conditioning, running a gym has been a dream of his since he was little.

“I’ve had a lot of trials and tribulations in my life,” he said. “Before I met (Andrea), the one constant was the gym. That’s where my outlet was, I guess.”

Following college, Williams pursued pro football, working out at an NFL showcase, trying out for teams in the CFL and turning down an offer to play for a team in Germany. He then had a short stint on a NASCAR pit crew with Joe Gibbs Racing.

He and Andrea and their two young children have settled on an acreage east of North Bend. Johan works full time at Platte Valley Equipment near Clarkson, but he and Andrea are looking forward to spending their spare time at 5 County Fitness.

“We’re really, really excited for this,” Andrea Williams said. “Ideally, someday I’d love for it to be big enough so he could stay home and we could just do the gym together. Our kids could grow up and see that we started a business and did hard things.”

The plan is for the gym to be accessible by key card from 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week. Initially there will be no sign-up fee with $40 monthly membership dues. They plan to have equipment ranging from free weights and squat racks to cardio equipment like ellipticals, rowing machines and stationary bikes.

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