StretchLab’s Clients Can Tame Tension

Can’t touch your toes without pulling a hamstring? Health and wellness company StretchLab is franchising throughout Southern California to limber you up. Father-son franchise owners Byron and Tanner Elton opened the Valley region’s first StretchLab assisted stretching studio on McBean Parkway in Valencia this February, offering one-on-one sessions with trained “flexologists.” “The number one thing nobody does adequately is stretch,” said Byron Elton. “And nobody can stretch themselves like a professional can stretch you. They can get you in ranges and positions you just can’t get by yourself, and that’s the reason why we exist.” Membership costs $129 a month. Members can attend either four or eight sessions a month, for either 25 or 50 minutes at a time. The studio also holds group stretching sessions, though Elton said that’s still a small part of the business. StretchLab trades in proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation, a method of stretching with a partner who helps maximize flexibility by “pushing against the stretch,” triggering reflexive relaxations of a muscle. The technique has long been popular with professional athletes but has health benefits for people of all ages and body types. With it, physical therapy patients can recover ranges of motion following injuries; seniors can stay active and increase mobility; and desk-bound workers can keep their joints and muscles fresh. Plus, it just feels nice to get a good stretch. “Our youngest member is 10 years old. There are gymnasts and dancers. Our oldest members are in their nineties,” Byron Elton said. “We have over 200 members in two months, which is very encouraging.” He and Tanner are set to open three more StretchLab studios in the greater Los Angeles area this year, as well as two in downtown Seattle. The next will open in Culver City, but other locations have not been determined. The Eltons aren’t career health and wellness professionals — Byron had a long career in television and online media, while Tanner is currently head of U.S. advertising at Amazon.com Inc. But after a positive experience at the original StretchLab in Santa Monica, the two realized how stretching meshed with the rest of the fitness trend. Activities such as Pilates, yoga and cycling can be supplemented with deep stretching to accelerate recovery and muscle growth. When the original StretchLab owners sold to an Irvine company called Xponential Fitness, which sought to franchise the brand nationwide, the Eltons saw an opportunity. They became the brand’s first franchisees. StretchLab Valencia is located at 27093 McBean Parkway in Valencia.