Austin Fit Magazine April 2020: Home + Family Issue

Completely furnished with all types of equipment, a cold plunge and a sauna, this gym has everything a fitness junkie could ask for — all in one family’s yard.

What comes to mind when you think of a home gym? Is it a garage turned into a partial gym space? One-half fits actual fitness equipment, while the other half is filled with storage or space to park the car. Or maybe you think of a guest room with a spin bike or treadmill in the corner with a few light weights and a stability ball.

If that’s what you think of when it comes to home gyms, then “The Bunker’’ is anything but an ordinary home gym. Any home gym that has its own name probably isn’t.

The Bunker is a 510-squarefoot structure that sits a few feet to the side of Cal and Peyton Callahan’s home in Westlake Hills that has been turned into their own private home gym.

“The original plan was to use a section of their garage as a ‘home gym,’” says builder David Saenz, owner of Brindle Homes Inc. “When they were going over their requirements for the gym, the realization was they had more equipment than space in the garage.”

So, Saenz and the Callahans got to work creating a simple but nice project that would fit all of their equipment. Thus, they created The Bunker.

The Bunker also isn’t a home gym that barely gets used and where dust collects on the equipement. Both being part of the wellness community — Peyton as a wellness coach for women and Cal as host of The Great Unlearn podcast — it’s no surprise fitness is very much a part of their routine and lifestyle.

Cal says both he and Peyton use the gym at least four to five times a week and sit in the sauna almost every day. Their three active kids use it as well.

Though it is a home gym, the Callahans also use the space as an opportunity to share their love of fitness with others and to embrace health and fitness community. They enjoy inviting friends over to workout with them, and some even have permission to come use the gym on their own (whether the Callahans are home or away). They also have a spot on the side of their tub for their friends brave enough to take the cold plunge. The Bunker truly is not your ordinary home gym space.

“The Callahans are great clients — they allowed me to raise the bar (pun intended) with the level of quality and detail,” says Saenz.