In Fayetteville, nestled within Fiesta Square, is a gym unlike any other in Northwest Arkansas.

Elevate Bungee Fitness, founded by Kayleigh Cooper, offers a unique low-impact, high-intensity workout experience that caters to individuals of all fitness levels. Unlike traditional gyms, Elevate Bungee Fitness provides a full-body workout using bungee cords attached to the ceiling, allowing participants to engage their muscles for strength, stability, flexibility, and cardio training — all while having fun.

“It’s great for people who have bad ankles, bad knees, bad joints,” Cooper said. “It’s not your normal natural fitness. It’s a fun form of fitness.”

For Cooper, Elevate Bungee Fitness was more than just a business idea — it was a personal necessity.

“I have a background in cheerleading and gymnastics, and I have bad knees and ankles from that,” she said. “So this seemed like a form of fitness that I could do. My mom also has a lot of health problems, and it was a form of fitness she could do, too. She was really excited to be able to try that with me.”

But bringing this innovative workout experience to Northwest Arkansas wasn’t without challenges.
But bringing this innovative workout experience to Northwest Arkansas wasn’t without challenges.

“We were starting kind of just post-COVID, and getting people back into a gym was really, really difficult,” Cooper recalled. “Getting funding for all that was really difficult — to convince people that, yeah, opening a gym at this time of life made sense.”

That’s where Communities Unlimited (CU) stepped in.

Through a connection with the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center (ASBTDC), Cooper learned about CU’s Lending Team. At the same time, with support from the Walton Family Foundation, CU established an evergreen loan fund to support entrepreneurs in Northwest Arkansas. Since 2020, CU has provided 55 loans to small businesses in the region totaling $910,361 in Washington and Benton counties, drawing from multiple funding sources. This includes 39 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans totaling $424,830 and 16 commercial loans totaling $485,801. Additionally, 10 loans totaling $118,160 were funded directly by the Walton Family Foundation.

That included Elevate Bungee Fitness, which closed on its loan with CU in April 2021 — just as the business was getting off the ground.
That included Elevate Bungee Fitness, which closed on its loan with CU in April 2021 — just as the business was getting off the ground.

Due to CU’s success in supporting small businesses in the region, the Walton Family Foundation renewed its grant in October 2024, awarding $800,000 over two years, evenly allocated between CU’s Entrepreneurship and Lending teams. This continued investment allows CU to support more businesses like Elevate Bungee Fitness, driving economic growth in the thriving Northwest Arkansas region – one of the fastest growing areas in the U.S.

“The loan that I got through Communities Unlimited is what generally helped me start,” Cooper said. “I had a little bit of savings, but the loan helped me get my equipment, mirrors, flooring, printers, and generally anything else you see in the location, including weights and bands. That’s what helped me build out the rest of my gym.”

At first, Elevate Bungee Fitness started small, offering just two classes a day with about four or five participants per session.
At first, Elevate Bungee Fitness started small, offering just two classes a day with about four or five participants per session.

“Now, we have four classes a day, generally packed out with about eight people per class, and we have three or four private group classes as well. So it’s grown a lot in the last four years.”

Elevate Bungee Fitness has grown not only in clientele but also in its team of instructors. “The majority of my instructors started out as clients,” Cooper said. “They stayed with us for a couple of years, and we turned them into instructors. It’s been really fun to build that group out.” Today, Cooper leads a team of five instructors, offering classes throughout the day and creating job opportunities along the way.

The success of Elevate Bungee Fitness is a testament to Cooper’s vision and determination, but also to the ongoing support she’s received from Communities Unlimited.

“I wouldn’t have even gotten off the ground, to be honest, without that money,” she admits.

"I absolutely recommend working with Communities Unlimited. The process was simple, and the communication was excellent."

“The team was knowledgeable, helping me understand not just how to use the funds, but why I needed them and how they could truly benefit my business. They don’t just hand you a check and send you on your way. It’s the ongoing support — every few months, someone checks in to ask, ‘How’s your business doing? Do you need any additional help? I really love that.”

Looking ahead, Cooper envisions expanding Elevate Bungee Fitness beyond Fayetteville.

“The original goal was to eventually open an additional location, maybe more north,” she said. “We’re going into year four, year five here at this location. We are a master training studio now. We’ve grown to work with Sling Bungee out of Oklahoma, and we help other studios open as well. We train other studios around the country.”

Cooper invites everyone to try Elevate Bungee Fitness, offering Northwest Arkansas a workout that’s both exhilarating and effective.