BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT:

COSTA MESA — When Bernie Rubio moved into the building he intended to convert into a gym, there were two sizable bathrooms — one for men, one for women — that took up quite a bit of the floor space. The average gym owner, in that situation, might have had the bathrooms moved to widen the exercise area, or at least filled them with bodybuilding magazines and vending machines full of Powerade.

Rubio, on the other hand, enlisted his wife as co-decorator and filled the bathrooms with paintings, scented candles and even a bowl of dry rose petals for the women. To many who visit Fitness Authority at 1532 Old Newport Blvd., the cozy bathrooms serve as the first indication they’re not at a corporate gym anymore.

“It has that homeyness to it,” said Rubio, who serves as operator of the gym while his wife, Karen, acts as general manager. “All the amenities people are going to find at home, they’re going to find here.”

That homey touch doesn’t end with the bathrooms at Fitness Authority, which opened at the end of October. Rubio, who worked as a personal trainer at MetRx in Costa Mesa for 15 years before launching his own business, sought to create a gym where clients could feel as though they were working out in their living rooms.

That means, for one thing, people can bring their own music or DVDs to play on the sound system — and, for another, that they don’t have to wait to use the equipment. Fitness Authority contains 36 stations, including treadmills, bikes and weight machines, and with only four trainers, the queue is never long. Rubio keeps membership costs cheap, with $30 for a month, and between $40 and $75 per hour for training sessions. The gym doesn’t look like much from the outside — the building still lacks a sign — but Rubio said he trusted his reputation to get him by in the meantime.

“I’ve always conducted business on word of mouth,” he said. “I’ve never advertised. But now, with our business being so readily visible from Newport Boulevard, not only are we going to have a sign advertising what we do, but we’re going to maintain a reputation as a networking business.”

Christine Gall, a professor of anatomy and neurobiology at UCI, followed one of Rubio’s trainers to Fitness Authority from another location. She said she used to work out at 24 Hour Fitness and found the atmosphere at Fitness Authority more relaxing.

“I get to know the names of the trainers and the other people working out because we all have similar hours,” Gall said. “It’s different than a bigger gym where you don’t really look right or look left, and only concentrate on what you’re doing.

“This is more like ‘Cheers.’”

FITNESS AUTHORITY

LOCATION: 1532 Old Newport Blvd., Costa Mesa

HOURS: 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, closed Sunday

FOUNDERS: Bernie and Karen Rubio

SPECIALTY: Personal training with a personal touch

CONTACT: (949) 646-2029 or bernieblues@sbcglobal.net

MICHAEL MILLER may be reached at (714) 966-4617 or at michael.miller@latimes.com.