Business Spotlight: Dynamite Gymnastics

Michelle Carhart and her family who grew up in Kensington have built more than a gym in the Pike District, they’ve created a community rooted in movement, mentorship, and family values. Founded in 2009 in the Randolph Hills Shopping Center, Dynamite Gymnastics grew from a shared vision between Michelle, her mother, and siblings. Within just four months, the family transformed a found space into a thriving training center, combining Michelle’s leadership in operations and funding with her mother’s expertise in programming and coaching.

A former competitive gymnast, Michelle has spent most of her life in the sport transitioning from athlete to coach at a young age and later blending her passion for youth development with a professional background in education, law, and nonprofit leadership. Today, that experience shapes Dynamite’s philosophy: developing strong character matters just as much as building athletic skill.

Now employing more than 70 team members, 11 of whom are family members and former competitive gymnasts, Dynamite has expanded its footprint in the Pike District with The Agility Center in 2013, Bolt Parkour in 2016, and outside the Pike District off Shady Grove with Spark Gymnastics. Together, these spaces offer everything from traditional artistic gymnastics and trampoline & tumbling to ninja-style training and parkour, all designed around what kids enjoy most: jumping, climbing, swinging, and growing.

“Dynamite gyms were created based on what makes kids happy. They want to jump, climb and swing–we opened The Agility Center. They wanted to run, vault and flip–we opened Bolt Parkour. They wanted gymnastics further north–we opened Spark Gymnastics,” Michelle said.

At its core, Dynamite Gymnastics remains proudly family-owned and operated, guided by a simple principle, “We live by our mother’s philosophy: being a good person is more important than being good at things.”