Shifting leisure trends have sparked a rethink at a leading fitness site as it targets more sport specific members.
Feel the Burn
Burn Fitness is the rebranded facility that realised its twin-floor provision no longer catered for an evolving customer base demanding a more gym-oriented service.
In an extensive process of downsizing to purely first-floor facilities, Managing Director Dianne Bowles and her co-owners have refocused their offering at the Cleethorpes, North Lincolnshire site – shedding the luxury spa provision and huge changing rooms on the ground floor and re-equipping the gym and extending its range of exercise classes.
“People have less time to spend relaxing in a spa,” explains Dianne. “Fitness is the new necessity and therefore it did not make sense to maintain our existing downstairs facilities.”
Planned since January 2016, the transitional project embraced re-energising the gym with fresh equipment, removing toning tables and office space on the first floor to create new male and female changing rooms, each with dry sauna, upgrading the Spinning Arena and expanding studio space ready for providing Les Mills Grit classes, boxing circuits and fresh wall graphics.
From what was unwanted changing space downstairs has sprung provision geared to the club’s demographic. After combing the marketplace for suppliers, Dianne called in Crown Sports Lockers to help her realise the refocused vision.
Classic and charming appeal
Working with architects CDC, Crown conceived a classic look featuring Kronospan Tiepolo Walnut holdall lockers with matching doors fitted with digital locks, benches with hanging space above and cream vanity/grooming stations in female and male areas.
The colour scheme is mirrored in the power shower and toilet cubicles, also part of Crown’s contract, to create a coherent feel, rounded off with music piped through from the gym.
Member reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, Dianne reports, although teething problems emerged in the first days after opening. “Some members just couldn’t remember their four-digit locking code or sometimes even where their locker was located – mainly men I have to say but they have got the hang of it now.”
“It’s all part of our continuing investment to provide high quality provision focused more on sport specific training,” Dianne adds.
“We have a large cycling community and we want to attract triathletes here. Walking football is massive locally and we can cater for local cricket and rugby teams too.”
“Our staff are trained in nutrition and physiotherapy so can provide guidance and advice for our members as part of lifestyle packages designed to keep them on track and motivated to achieve their goals.”
December’s soft launch will be followed by more intensive marketing in the New Year to existing as well as student members as Burn Fitness moves into a new era of more dynamic, adaptive provision for an increasingly specialised customer base, while offering disabled users full access to some classy kit.
While most local gyms have also refurbished and have increased their prices, Burn Fitness is bucking the trend by dropping theirs – to a fixed monthly fee of just £19.99 for a year’s membership, or £35 for joint membership. A move surely set to swell the club’s already 2,000 following.