Longtime gym instructor opens private swim venue in Rigby

RIGBY – After a long career as an award-winning gymnast and instructor, Dave Evans opened a venue north of Rigby where he started teaching gymnastics. Now, he has a second venture right next door.

Rigby Swim Venue opened last week at 17 North Landmark Lane. It offers swimming pools and a space for families to schedule a private party.

“We also do open swims,” Evans tells EastIdahoNews.com. “The website will show them different swim times and party times are available.”

The space is available in three-hour increments for a variety of occasions.

Evans first opened Flips Gymnastics and Tumbling in the building next door about 15 years ago. It provides gymnastics classes for children ages 6 and older. Renting the space for parties is something customers became interested in after the fact and that’s what led him to focus on that for the swimming business.

“There’s a need for it in the community and at the end of the day, it’s just fun,” says Evans.

Evans started teaching tumbling and gymnastics at age 15. He opened his first business, a bus he converted into The Tumble Cab, in 2001. The now-defunct Pocatello business taught tumble classes at daycare centers.

Within three months, Evans says he tripled his salary and eventually bought a gym in Pocatello.

Around 2010, he sold the gym in Pocatello and opened Flips in Rigby.

“I really like this area,” Evans says. “I was raised in Hamer.”

Evans’ interest in gymnastics stems back to his childhood when he played a clown in a Christmas play at school. His friend, who was also a clown, participated in gymnastics and his friends’ mom encouraged him to try gymnastics.

In high school, Evans went on to train with USA Gymnastics in Utah. Evans says it was one of the top 10 gyms in the nation at the time. He competed in multiple events as a young adult and won several state titles.

A wrist injury as a young adult ended his gymnastics career.

Although Evans was looking to retire, he noticed there was an interest in the party rental space and wanted to offer something for the community.

“Classes were my bread and butter (at Flips) and parties were an afterthought. This is the opposite,” he says.

Even though pool parties are the focus, Evans is open to offering swim lessons or just leasing the space for non-swimming parties.

“We want to be able to cater to all sorts of different things,” says Evans.

Call (208) 745-3025 to learn more. You can also visit the website.

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