The Mineola village board has approved special use permits for a fitness studio and a tattoo removal facility to open their doors.
After the approvals last Wednesday night, One to One Fitness Studio, operated by Kavita Sachdev, will occupy a space in a building at 393 Sagamore Ave. owned by the Ruhof Corp. Disappearing Inc., a laser tattoo removal facility that originated in Boston, will open at 169 Mineola Blvd.
Sachdev, a personal trainer and muscle specialist from Massapequa, previously worked at Personal1 Fitness on Jericho Turnpike.
The business will host one client at a time and will be located in what was previously a conference room for Ruhof.
“It’s nice to be able to help people in the Mineola area and I’d like to continue,” Sachdev said during her presentation.
The board voted unanimously to approve the special use permit.
The second public hearing of the night was about Disappearing Inc.’s application presented by Rob Harris, the company’s president, founder and CEO. The Massachusetts native is seeking to open a seventh branch of his business, having one in Manhattan and five in Massachusetts.
Harris decided to become an entrepreneur two decades after graduating from the Wharton School and opened his first facility in 2013 in downtown Boston.
At the outset, Harris said he noticed something was missing. Everyone he was treating and servicing was all connected by something he himself could not relate to.
“I felt it was disingenuous to work with clients that all had one thing in common if I didn’t have that thing in common with them,” Harris said during his presentation.
To fix this, Harris got his first tattoo. He enjoyed it so much he got more, but one had a special caveat. As a mixture of both scientific and marketing inquiry, he received a tattoo along most of his thigh to experiment and discover the best methods of tattoo removal. The experience lasted over 10 sessions, but Harris was able to gain a better perspective and understand his products and technology.
“I wanted to do research on myself, and discover not only how to remove it, but the best ways to remove it,” he said.
The company’s original plans were not to be on the outskirts of New York City, but COVID meant a change in strategy. With lockdowns and quarantines in effect, Harris soon realized that Nassau County lacked a business similar to his. It was an area, specifically in Mineola, he saw as a recipe for success.
“I got my first customer literally walking out of my car today,” said Harris, responding to a question from Trustee Kevin Walsh.
When Disappearing Inc. opens in the coming months, Harris hopes to bring the same mantra he has to his six previous branches.
“I swore that if I ever opened my own business I would do it exceedingly morally, exceedingly ethically, and do it to benefit society,” he said. “Not every tattoo removal studio is a benefit to society, but there’s a lot of that and that is the joy I get from doing this business, is helping the people who need our help.”
