
Lifestyle
The Story of The Chicas Club
The Chicas Club space in Springfield, Missouri strives to empower women in their health journeys.
by Jordan Blomquist
Aug 2025

Strength, health and a whole lot of girl power—The Chicas Club (4032 W. Lark St., Suite A, Battlefield, Missouri) is building a welcoming, women-only fitness space that’s all about empowerment and community. It’s a 24/7-access gym offering daily classes like yoga, Zumba and HIIT workouts.
The aspiration for The Chicas Club began as a shared dream between co-owners Gabriela Verdugo-Johnson and Jennifer Hernandez Longoria. “I just had a vision of me encouraging other women,” Hernandez Longoria says. More than six years ago, she found herself in a toxic relationship. After leaving, the emotional weight lingered in the form of depression. Even into her new relationship, which led to marriage and the joy of children, Longoria still struggled with moments in her past. She turned to fitness and committed to Andy Frisella’s 75 Hard program. “It gave me confidence in myself,” she says. “Health and fitness got me out of that dark hole.” That transformation became the foundation for The Chicas Club. Hernandez Longoria brought the idea to Verdugo-Johnson, and they dove right in.
Verdugo-Johnson is a real estate agent and the president of the Hispanic Networking Group in the Ozarks, but her true passion lies in health and fitness. She always wanted to open a gym but thought of it as more of a post-retirement goal. “Jenny has had this idea for about two years, and she came up with the idea of an all-girls gym,” Verdugo-Johnson says. “I thought that was a very good idea—there’s nothing like that here.”
Verdugo-Johnson now leads classes like HIIT, Booty Camp and Chicas Camp, while Hernandez Longoria manages much of the business side. What they both love most is the relationships they’re building. They created The Chicas Club for women who have never stepped foot in a gym or who’ve avoided it out of intimidation. “I want women to feel confident,” she says. “When you walk into a room with confidence, you just have a different energy. When you look at yourself in the mirror and you like what you see, it just switches everything—not just physically but mentally.”
Hernandez Longoria and Verdugo-Johnson make it a priority to listen to their members. While they initially planned to offer fitness classes further down the road, demand was immediate, so they launched them early. When clients asked for smaller weights, they added those too. Verdugo-Johnson also offers all the members a free one-on-one so they can get familiar with the machines and equipment. “We don’t just charge a membership and say, ‘Now it’s on you,’” she says. “We’re going to be here to help you. We want a community.”
For more info head to @thechicasclub or call 417-212-4181.