The Riekes Center

The staff at the Riekes Center has my most profound appreciation for the work they did this summer working with my nephew. He arrived in mid June to spend a summer recovering from some personal family tragedies. Even though we had no prior experience with them, the one condition for him spending the summer with us was that he go to the Riekes Center.
The Riekes Center gave our nephew support and guidance in ways my wife and I couldn’t fathom and on issues and thoughts we didn’t know he was having. We might have made a small difference in his life this summer but the Riekes Center was the key to what turned him around. We watched his daily change over the summer, we saw his enthusiasm grow as he came home and report on his day at the center, we saw him modify his behavior — based on advice which could only have come from the staff at the Riekes Center — and integrate himself into our home, we saw his insecurities change to confidence and abilities; all this showed us the value and benefits the Riekes Center provides. At the end of the summer, he left here a youth rebounding from the tragedies that befell his family rather than one crushed by them, a young man thinking of his future, one with a much greater confidence in himself and his own abilities. For this we are truly grateful to the staff of the Riekes Center.
Thank you, and congratulations all. Job well done.

My three girls have been in the Riekes Nature Awareness program for the past three years. I can’t say enough great things about the Riekes Center, the Natures Awareness Program and the staff. My children are being taught by the nicest, most knowledgeable, positive and caring people! The Natures Awareness Program has allowed my kids to truly engage with nature despite living in the middle of Silicon Valley. I got a kick out of my youngest (6 years) informing a ranger (from up in a tree) that she was «tree certified» while we were on a camping trip recently. Needless to say, the ranger was completely charmed and confided how impressed he was with how comfortable the kids were in a natural environment. I give the Riekes program full credit for helping the kids become so connected with nature.

This place looks like a great gym and community center. They have many things for you here besides the fitness side of things. Looks grate for kids and the creative people with their music and video photography classes. Why the one star? Let me tell you. My wife and I stopped by and got the tour and talked to a few staff members. They gave us the packages and we filled them out and handed them in the next day. I even offered to teach the film and video classes as I am a film maker and photographer They had indicated on the tour that they were looking for teachers in these areas. I was willing to volunteer So we signed up by filling out the application. We were told someone would call us to finish the registration process. A full week later my wife and I stopped by to find out why they had not called us. We were told the director was in a class but thy would have them call us when they got out. 5 days later someone called me and left a message. I called back and got voice mail so I left a message. Old other 4 to 5 days later they called me back. I had to tell him we were no longer interested in a gym that takes more then two weeks to registrar new members. That is totally unacceptable. The last gym I signed up for had me with a trainer and creating a work out the same day. What the serious fuck? I don’t do business with people that don’t seem to want my business. I told this to the guy on the phone but I don’t think he will let anyone in management know about this issue. So I am writing this review. The center is a good idea but fails in implementation.

The Riekes center helped me raise my 4 children. Now my grandchildren are attending. I love the programs and importantly the people who run them. Gary Riekes is amazing and has created the best place for kids in the Bay Area.

What a great place! All 3 of my sons — ages 32, 25 and 13 have taken advantage of what Riekes has to offer including workouts, music and sport-​specific training. It’s a hidden gem and I tell everyone I know who may benefit from going there to check it out.

Terrible place…

The homeschooling program is like no other. My child has thrived under the guidance of the Riekes Community. Thank you, Gary, for all you do and making the world a better place.

Best summer camps — it’s camps you always wished it could be! My daughter LOVED the nature awareness summer camps! She was able to roam freely and independently in nature in a «safe» way. The teachers are amazing — Anole, Marisa, Diamond, and Gideon. They make it FUN, creative, educational and hands-​on learning through and through. They are very respectful, kind and wise and allow the children to be who they are. In the Plant Lore camp, she hiked, learned all about which plants were safe to eat and which ones weren’t at Huddart Park, help make salve (part of the first aid kit), did crafts, played fun games, sang songs, made beautiful crafts, face painting, but the best part was seeing her and all the kids come out of the camp everyday blissed out immersing themselves in nature. In the Bay to Sea Menlo Park camp, everyday she was at a new destination all week — all amazing and beautiful places according to my daughter. She had access to water play/​swimming daily, discovered crawdads, made a dreamcatcher, played fun games, and learned all sorts of nature skills as well as safety skills. I am very impressed with Riekes Center!

Great place! I never been to a gym before this one, and here they have taught me everything from the ground up, and every time I come in I learn something new. Also the staff here is without a doubt the nicest handful of people you could possibly meet. Thank you Gary for doing what you are doing!

The Riekes Center is a unique, almost magical place.
I am a middle-​aged man who loves sports. I was a good athlete when younger, and more recently have coached several seasons each of children’s basketball, soccer and other sports. My family jokes that sports is my religion because I am so committed to them as a means of building character, confidence, and a sense of purpose in children.
I stumbled on the Riekes Center about a year ago and have subsequently become a big fan. The place is not a high-​end gym like Equinox; it cuts corners on décor, and you won’t see the latest fashions there. But it has everything one needs for basic or advanced training – including Olympic lifting platforms, super-​treadmills and other sophisticated equipment, an agility floor, sprinting facilities, and a basketball court. More important, it has extremely experienced and skillful trainers and coaches. Some of those guys are world-​class; all of them are way above average.
The most distinctive characteristic of the place, though, is the attitude instilled by the founder, Gary Riekes, and embodied by the staff he has assembled. It is not unusual to see a single trainer work with an NFL player, an MMA fighter or a prominent collegiate athlete one hour and then an elderly vet or a clumsy pre-​teen the next. Moreover the trainer treats the latter exactly like the former. The staff take every person seriously; they view their work as building human beings rather than athletes or artists or musicians. In decades of sports and dozens of gyms, I have never seen an institution with better values and more empathy.
If you visited the Center, you’d notice the difference immediately. The person leading the tour of the facilities would not be a polished salesman but rather a slightly awkward teenager. Why? Because Riekes thinks kids need to learn how to make presentations to adults. He’s looking at the whole person and his or her future needs, not at the sports pages in the local papers. If in the process of building that stronger, more confident, happier person the world gets another great athlete or artist, so much the better.

Love their music program!

Gary is one of the kind humans I have ever meet. The Riekes center is his lifes work/​dream and this place is great and will blow your mind

Thanks, Gary!
Keep up the GREAT work.

When I was a junior in high school I decided to start working out. Thank god my friends already went to Riekes, because if I had not began my fitness pursuit there I would not have such a well-​rounded and holistic approach to it now.
Riekes caters to younger athletes and gym-​goers; probably half its clientele are in high school or younger. The trainers, on the other hand, are extremely well-​trained themselves and most have advanced degrees. My own former trainer went on to become one of the head athlete trainers at Stanford.
Riekes taught me the value of smart, balanced training, so that in college I continued to apply those principals and ultimately was much more successful than the other meat heads who did bench presses and curls all day long.
I really owe Riekes a debt of gratitude. They are an anomaly. They’re also a non-​profit. Gary Riekes is on site most days and he inspires. If my kids decided they wanted to work out, I’d send ‘em here.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have been a member at Riekes for about 3 years. Firstly, it’s convenient since it’s next door to my workplace. In addition, all their memberships include personal training and workout plans not something I would normally spring for, but something that gives me that extra motivation to go and know I’m using my time well. They have a large variety of exercise equipment including hand bikes (very useful after my Achilles injury), batting cages, free weights and a nice indoor basketball court.
However, it’s far more than a gym. Riekes focuses on several aspects of «human enhancement» with music programs, dance practices, and nature studies. I have a few co-​workers who also exercise there and have seen other adults there as well, we are by far the minority. Riekes seems to be mostly populated by high school and younger members. They’re given the chance to partake in the variety of programs as listed above and really excel in whatever they’d like to do. However, I’ve also seen college and professional athletes training here on occasion so you know that the staff and training are top notch.
My main issue with it compared to a «normal» gym would be the hours. It’s only open until 8pm on weekdays, until 3pm on Sat, and closed on Sundays. Previous gyms I’d been at offered far greater flexibility in this regard.
However, knowing I’m training alongside elite athletes and helping to support such a great institution (Riekes is a 501 © (3) non-​profit organization) far outweigh that inconvenience. If you have the opportunity to participate at Riekes, I recommend it.