When you walk into Omni Training Facility, you feel the energy and a sense of belonging immediately. For founder Leah Egan, that feeling isn’t an accident. It’s the result of a lifetime spent watching people she loved face barriers they shouldn’t have had to face.
Leah grew up around friends and family members who used wheelchairs, and she saw firsthand how often they were excluded from sports, fitness and other community spaces. That experience shaped a lot: her decision to study recreation therapy at St. Cloud State, her passion for adaptive fitness, and eventually, her dream to build a gym where anyone — walking or rolling — could show up and feel welcome.
“Omni means all without limits,” she says. “That’s what we’re here to create.”
A gym built for everyone
Leah fell in love with CrossFit in college, but she quickly noticed a gap. Her friends with adaptive abilities didn’t have a place to train alongside her. When she brought her friend Brett, who has spina bifida, to a traditional CrossFit gym, she was told the coaches didn’t know how to train him.
That moment changed everything.
She started learning about adaptive equipment, inclusive coaching and ways to modify workouts so everyone could participate. Before long, she launched “WheelFit,” an adaptive fitness program that eventually grew into Omni Training Facility. Fast forward to 2026 and Omni has turned into a place where 100+ members train together, 10% of members have adaptive needs, 13 coaches and a small staff support the mission and people describe Omni as their happy place or even the reason they “kept going.”
A crisis that nearly closed the doors
For seven years, Omni operated out of a rented warehouse on Division Street. It wasn’t fancy, but it was home. Then the landlord began raising the rent and eventually started looking for buyers. The building almost sold three different times. The community was at risk of losing the one place built specifically for them.
Leah explored every option she could think of, including partnering with investors who would coown the building. But something didn’t sit right. She wanted to keep prices reasonable and protect the mission. She didn’t want to compromise the heart of Omni.
Then someone told her the words she needed to hear:
“Leah, you can do this.”
Enter Minnwest: Creative financing that saved a community space
A local builder who was quoting renovation work introduced Leah to Bri Knowles from Minnwest Bank. From the first meeting, held right inside the gym, Leah felt understood. Together, they built a creative financing structure that made the impossible possible.
To secure the building, Leah paired her personal and business finances in a way that only worked because Minnwest approached her situation holistically. She used a HELOC on her home to secure the down payment on the gym, while Minnwest structured the commercial mortgage to keep monthly payments sustainable for the gym. From there, the Minnwest team stepped in as true partners; they connected her with attorneys, local entrepreneurs and the right resources to navigate the purchase with confidence. They stayed by her side through every step of the process, right up to closing on February 15, 2025.
“Minnwest was amazing,” Leah says. “They helped me keep Omni alive.”
She moved Omni Properties LLC’s deposit account to Minnwest as well. It became a true partnership built on trust, creativity and shared values. Leah and the Minnwest Bank team have even volunteered together through Habitat for Humanity St. Cloud, underscoring their mutual passion of building strong and vibrant communities.
What Omni means to the community
To the community, Omni is more than a gym. It’s a second home; a place where people with different abilities train side by side, a hub for volunteers supporting Miracle League, Special Olympics, and adaptive sports and a space where members cheer each other on.
What’s next: Omni 2.0
The vision is growing.
Leah is looking at creating a second location. She also dreams of bringing back Omni Nordic, a sauna and cold plunge experience, but rebuilt in a more sustainable, low‑maintenance way to support member recovery.
There’s already a pickleball court, a hockey shooting area and team‑training space. Omni is becoming a full ecosystem for inclusive wellness. And Minnwest plans to be there for the next chapter, too.
A final thank you
Leah doesn’t take any of this for granted.
“Everything our members, our community and Minnwest have poured into this place — it all mattered,” she says. “Omni exists because people believed in us.”
