In the day and age of personalized everything, yet another personal-branded fitness studio has propelled itself into the fitness space. This one I like, though, first because they're in my 'hood and second because of their philosophy.
The Kevin Heaphy Fitness Studio opened in a vast 1st-floor converted warehouse space in Soho on May 24th. While stretching our limbs in the gloriously sparsely laid-out studio with clever color touches and comforts (like the orange daisies and chocolate-brown sofa) we sipped on vitally equally vibrant Juices by Melvin (http://newyorkmetro.com/restaurants/features/15920/) and fresh delicious handy hors d'oeuvres by MyBefana.com. Melvin was up front spinning the juicer while Chef Daniele was wrapping the wraps in back.
Fitness guru Kevin was helping others who wanted a more intoxicating fruit (that'd be wine from grapes) and his fiancé Valerie Leeds charmed everyone who entered with her big, warm gracious smile. She'd worked for a while in "dotcom" too, at DailyCandy, but has since moved into a far more rewarding space.
Among the many neighborhoodies and friends who came out to see about the workout, the most entertaining were designer Jay Shin and Jon Rothstein of The Hillary Step (http://thehillarystep.com/indexXpl.html), whom you can see perform yourself on September 22nd at the Baggott Inn.
I even took Valerie and Kevin up on their 1-week free workout offer and I must say it was fantastic. Working out each morning with a trainer for just 30-minutes works well with my schedule and each day they focused on something different. Their point was for me to gradually get stronger and toner and not feel like I had to have a "blow-out" 2-hour routine--something that'd be unrealistic for me and for most busy professionals. Of course, the fact that they'd let me bring my dog Teddy, who never had such a large playroom to run around chasing his ball in before, well—that was the clincher! Their payment plan is ala country club: you pay for points and then each workout counts as a "point" so you don't have to worry about money and all those pedestrian issues. You can just workout, enjoy the delicious juices, or luxuriate a Red Flower (redflower.com) product--in one the most amazing product lines I'd seen in a while. Gwan, check it out!
A chronicle of the people and events in technology, internet and media since 1997, mixed in with snapshots of musings and observations.
