GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — From afar, it looks like any other basketball practice at MSA Sports Spot.
However, it's much more than that.
"The big thing is instead of an hour of being on a treadmill, come in here and have fun and still burn the same amount of calories," said Calvin University men's basketball coach, Bill Sall.
It's called Swish House and it's a new way of working out around the game of basketball.
"We make it nostalgic, we make it fun and it's team based," said Jonathon Dues, the co-founder and CEO of Swish House, "there are two parts that are team based shooting contests."
Dues, along with best friend Trevor Huffman, started Swish House back in 2019 out of Chicago.
Huffman was an All-MAC performer at Kent State while Dues was a standout at Hillsdale College where Bill Sall was an assistant in the early 2000s.
Now, all three have come together to help people stay active with a basketball in their hands.
"I packed on a few pounds and tried everything, I tried treadmills, cross-fit, I ran two half marathons and just didn't really dig any of it," Dues told FOX 17. "So, I thought gosh if people are showing up to boxing fitness class and spinning fitness class I figured I could start a basketball fitness class for anyone who loves the game."
The concept has grown to Traverse City and now Grand Rapids where Sall is helping to put on workouts along with Tyler Ingalls and Travis Schuba.
"We want you to be active for the whole hour that you're in here but we also incorporate some stretching and strength and try to get a little bit of skill but also base it on teamwork and friendship," Sall said.
The workouts are for any age and any skill level with some former college basketball players in attendance and others who haven't touched a basketball since middle school.
"The great thing about the class is it incorporates everybody from any level," added Sall.
Don Fowler played college basketball at Michigan Tech from 2008 to 2012 and is finding his love for the game again through Swish House.
"It has been a while since I've played basketball so I didn't just want to jump back into it and throw myself into the fire by playing five on five and running up and down the court and getting myself hurt," Fowler continued, "so this is nice. I love to come in here, shoot shots, meet a bunch of people and work up a sweat and burn a bunch of calories."
Kayla Louwsma played basketball for one year at Calvin University, her first workout was on Wednesday and she was thrilled with the results.
"I came out here just to get more of a workout in," Louwsma added, "I don't really like working out with weights and stuff, I like to work on my agility and handles and getting some shots up."
It's a high quality workout all while having fun around a sport that so many love.
"Most people are running two to three miles in every class which is an amazing fact," added Dues, "I personally would want to run two miles doing cool basketball drills than run outside in February in Michigan or in the summer in Michigan."
Swish House is expected to launch in Detroit later in 2021 which will be their fourth city.
You can find more information on Swish House and their workouts by clicking here.
