Regimented, physical fitness in high-intensity environments has been a constant in Eliz Fulop’s life. This 29-year-old Hungarian immigrant grew up representing her home country in both cross-country skiing and biathlons. 

She went from competing in the World Cup for cross-country skiing and being on track to compete as a biathlete in the Olympics for Hungary to finding herself feeling lost in Cleveland, Ohio.  

Fulop moved to the U.S. in hopes to continue her skiing career in Colorado at CU Boulder. Yet, her immigrant status and lack of citizenship prevented her from being eligible for Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA.) Without financial support college was completely off the table. Not knowing what to do next, she made her way to Cleveland. 

Here she found something that gave her the same feeling of high-intensity fitness that skiing did: bodybuilding. A passion turned into a professional and Fulop started competing in competitions while being a personal trainer. 

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic she finally found her way to Colorado. She picked skiing back, but she didn’t leave bodybuilding behind. Fulop never quite found a gym that fit her routine and her goals for bodybuilding in Summit County, so she started going to gyms in Denver.

She would have loved to start her own. But, being a mother to a young child, a personal trainer and now also working in e-commerce left her not much time to even think about it — that is, until another misfortunate event hit her, or rather she hit it.

Fulop was in the park hitting rails when her ski tip caught something. She slammed against the rail and began spinning out. The experience left most of the major bones in her right leg broken.

Unable to do much else, this gave her the time to think. 

“I had nothing else to do. I was laying on the couch, and I’m like, ‘I’m gonna need a gym. I can’t keep going to Denver. I need one here,'” Fulop said. 

From here, she started to put out feelers. If she were to open a gym catered toward people with lives like hers, would it make it in Summit County? The discussions she had with other gym-goers in the area gave her an answer. It was a resounding yes. 

She started to make it happen and really hit luck when she found an open space on Airport Road in Breckenridge. 

Fulop opened Gnarly Fit on March 3.

Fulop said she was overwhelmed by how well her gym was received and actually had to make a last minute staff addition to the team to try and keep up with the demand. 

The pillars of Gnarly Fit are bodybuilding, mobility and strength. Fulop said she takes a holistic and individualized approach with the clients at her gym and that’s reflected in her staff’s specialities. 

Two of her coaches, Ian Osby and Dillon Wilson, have illustrious careers both coaching and being professional athletes. 

Wilson is a professional snowboarder sponsored by Burton, and Osby has held coaching positions at CU Boulder and Team Summit alongside being a private ski coach. 

Osby and Wilson have both had and seen their fair share of injuries in extreme sports. That’s what helps drive them to place emphasis on ensuring their athletes have the mobility and strength necessary for injury prevention. 

“Ian’s big thing is bulletproofing the body because he’s worked with so many kids that go off a jump in Peace Park and knuckle and tear their ACL,” Fulop said. 

She said she knew having this kind of expertise on staff would appeal to a community that loves high-impact sports such as skiing and mountain biking. 

On Fulop’s staff, it’s the women who rule the bodybuilding and transformation side of Gnarly Fit. 

Fulop’s friend Liz Schultheis moved from Denver to help get Gnarly Fit off the ground. She has experience competing in crossfit and Olympic lifting as well as being a bodybuilder and powerlifter. 

Fulop said Liz helps make the experience for clients more holistic given her knowledge in fitness and diet. She said the same thing goes for her other female coach, Frannie Fabio.

Fulop met Fabio in a gym where they were consistently the only two women for nearly a year. Finally after a year of seeing each other in the gym, Fulop approached Fabio and said, “Hey, you’ve got really nice glutes. We should be friends.”

Years later, Fabio would help Fulop when she was in a pinch given the high demand of the gym and lack of staff. Fulop said Fabio’s strength is helping people find individualized ways to meet their fitness goals in a sustainable manner. 

Fulop said, in Gnarly Fit, people can find state-of-the-art equipment that can’t be found many other places 

Gnarly Fit is open seven days a week from 5 a.m. to noon and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Prices for sessions and session packs range from $150 to $840. There are also session packages for a six week challenge ranging from $720 to $2,160 and add ons are available. 

Gnarly Fit is located at 1705 Airport Road Unit 5, and more information can be found at Getgnarlyfit.com/team-1 and Instagram.com/getgnarlyfit/.