Smaller, closer and more social?

Hannah Kovacs is a former competitive soccer player who got her fi tness certifi cation while working at a desk job in Toronto.

She partnered with Lululemon to offer free community classes, and developed her own app-based fi tness class — HIIT with Hannah (highintensity interval training) before leaving her job to become a full-time fi tness instructor. She opened Move East in November and is holding a grand opening on Saturday. WHO?

“What I love is having a room full of people that I can develop relationships with and get to know personally.” salt • Thursday, February 13, 2020

WHY BOUTIQUE WORKOUT LOCALES ARE DRAWING LOCALS

STORY BY } SaltWire Network

It’s a cold January morning, and Natalie MacMillan doesn’t feel like going to the gym. When she belonged to a big box gym downtown, the excuses piled up quickly: It’s inconvenient. It’s impersonal. It’s boring. “I just never went,” says MacMillan, a university student in Halifax. “The 20-minute walk was a real barrier for me, and the classes weren’t great.” Then she joined Move East, a new boutique gym in her neighbourhood, and the excuses stopped.

WHAT? The boutique fitness industry is booming in Atlantic Canada, with new small-scale gyms popping up across the region. The smaller studios emphasize group exercise and unique, specialized workouts often paired with carefully curated music playlists. Although competition is tough as the market becomes increasingly saturated, each gym tends to hone-in on a particular niche – like kickboxing, cycling, Pilates or yoga.

WHY? Boutique gyms offer a lifestyle that values community. They’re tapping into the so-called experience economy, a term coined in a Harvard Business Review article more than 20 years ago but increasingly used to describe millennial consumer trends. “We know from the research that individuals are more likely to stick to exercise if they exercise with others as it creates a sense of accountability,” says Lori Dithurbide, an assistant professor in kinesiology and sport psychology at Dalhousie University. She says smaller gyms may also provide members with a more personal approach and social atmosphere.

YES, BUT “A one-month membership ranges from roughly $120 to $180 at a small studio – about double the average of $60 to $75 charged by large chain gyms. “We’re trying to be as inclusive as we can with our classes and our pricing,” says Sonny Wilson, who recently opened up IronMatrix with Leanne McDow in Spryfield and Dartmouth and offers multiple membership options. “We want people to be there because they want to be there.”

Brett Bundale is a Halifax-based journalist with the SaltWire Network. A version of this article was originally published Jan. 23, 2020.