Innovations - IHRSA

Upbeat in a Downbeat Economy
Luxurious amenities
reputation and an iconic Denver presence, abandoned
its landmark four-story home in the affluent Cherry Creek
section of the city for new quarters. “In October 2006, I
saw the leasing sign on the building, and that instant was
the real start of Pura Vida,” Madden recalls. “I loved that
building; it was a case of synchronicity.”
The location was decided upon not only without hesitation
but, also, without any demographic research, market
reports, feasibility studies, or competitive analysis. “Mad-
den is something of a maverick,” observes one colleague.
“He trusts himself and his own ideas and goes off his gut.”
“Truth be known,” Madden acknowledges, “I don’t do a
lot of research because I want to trust my own instincts.”
The name for the new venture materialized just as
serendipitously. During a trip to Costa Rica, Madden
became familiar with pura vida, a phrase that literally
means “pure life,” which is often used to describe the
country’s characteristically optimistic, upbeat, healthy,
and holistic attitude about life. “I came back from Costa
Rica, and had a tablet by my bed, and I wrote down all
of these names, seven or eight of them, and drew a circle
around Pura Vida,” Madden recalls. “Later, I shared the
names with an inner circle of people, and everyone
selected Pura Vida.”
32 Club Business International | APrIL 2010 | www.ihrsa.org
Auspiciously, pura vida also translates as “purified
life,” “full of life,” “This is living!” and “Cool!”
As he had with GATC, Madden relied on his own
vision, background, sensitivity, and the trusted network
of architects, designers, and builders developed during his
commercial real-estate days to bring Pura Vida to fruition.
The new 30,000-square-foot facility, capitalized at more
than $10 million, opened on April 15, 2008, just 18 months
after Madden had spotted the “For Lease” sign.
“It wasn’t good timing. We were opening Pura Vida just as
the recession was gripping the economy with its talons.”
Ron Pollard
The first and second floors of the building are devoted to
a reception area, locker rooms, and guest conference
rooms. The third floor, the fitness venue, contains a wide
variety of exercise equipment and indoor-cycling, groupexercise,
and Indo Row studios. The top floor, with its
dramatic views of the Denver skyline, accommodates the
club’s mind/body component: yoga, Pilates, and Technogym
Kinesis studios, and the 4,400-square-foot Vital Spa,
which, more than any other space in the facility, crystallizes
the pura vida concept.
An adjacent garage offers members free parking, an
unheard-of perk in Denver.
Unlike the launch of GATC, the advent of Pura Vida
involved something extra: the two decades of experience
Madden had acquired operating a sophisticated health