A Dundee businessman has started Tiny Gyms, which aims to introduce pods full of equipment that can be privately booked in the city centre.
Fitness fanatic Mike Forbes has always wondered about why some of his friends didn’t share his passion for the gym.
Answers ranged from people feeling self-conscious to having to wait to get on to equipment.
“A lot of my friends think the gym is one of the worst things in the world and feel like people are staring at them,” he said.
“Others feel like they don’t know what they are doing or don’t like having to wait for the equipment they want.
“I wondered – ‘what if you had the space to yourself and no one was looking at you or getting in your way?’
“I want to remove unnecessary barriers to people living healthier lifestyles.”
Private pods might suit variety of customers
Mike has developed the concept of a small city centre pod with gym equipment which can be privately booked.
He has arranged a modular building company to supply the six by three metre pod and also equipment suppliers. Tech that would run the booking app is also in place.
He has recently started discussions with Dundee City Council about a possible location.
Mike, who previously worked as marketing director for Ace Aquatec, said: “I’m a born and bred Dundonian and I’d love to start this in my home city.
“There’s a lot of good stuff happening here and I want to be part of the positive developments.
“I want to get one going this year to prove the concept. If it does work then the idea would be to do multiple sites in multiple cities and reach as many people as possible.
“I have done a lot of research speaking to different people and everyone says the idea makes sense.
“I think there are a few different audiences who might have use for it. Parents with young children – they could take the pram into the gym if they needed to or meet up with other mums.
“I have also been speaking to other hotels in the city. I was surprised at how many hotels don’t have gyms, even the bigger ones.
“I’ve also spoken to personal trainers and had tonnes of positive feedback.”
How would Tiny Gyms work?
People would book the gym using an app. A code sent to the phone would unlock the pod, which will be available 24/7.
The pods will contain a treadmill, exercise bike and weights. They will have blinds to allow for privacy.
They would also be regularly cleaned, but people would be encouraged to treat them as they would something in their own home.
Ideally the pods would be put in areas that have CCTV coverage to mitigate the risk of theft.
Users will wear a personal safety device connects to a 24 hour emergency service in case of any difficulties.
Mike said the cost would be comparable to a yoga session. There would be a subscription plans and pay-as-you-go options.
Large ambitions for Tiny Gyms
Mike said he wants to start with a a city centre location, but said there is the possibility to expand to smaller communities.
He said: “We want to start in a city centre location to get as many people as possible to see it in the short term.
“Medium term we want to get into smaller towns or communities who perhaps don’t have a lot of gym access.
“It gives people in a smaller town something they might have had to drive for 20 or 30 minutes for before.
“I have the funding to get the first one up and running. If it goes well then I might look for external funding to scale.”
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