Our client Kathy’s bespoke garden gym not only fulfils her own fitness needs, but has allowed her to grow a successful personal training business ‘The Boutique Gym’ from the bottom of her own garden in Whitstable, Kent. Kathy knew that she wanted to move on from her nursing career and had always dreamed of turning her passion for wellbeing and fitness into a vocation. With a clear vision in her mind, she contacted the team at eDEN and we helped her turn that vision into a reality, building a tailor-made garden gym with all the design and function she needed for her new business.
Kathy knew that she wanted a gym that felt different to the large, impersonal and often intimidating spaces that deter many people from exercise all together. She also knew that she wanted to build her space based on ‘gym-first’, rather than trying to force her gym equipment into a standard garden room. This bespoke project suited our experienced team perfectly, and we quickly got to work in designing a one-of-a-kind garden studio that met all of her criteria.
As it was important that clients could do bodyweight work, using the walls and ceiling as well as the floor, reinforcing this tailor-made garden gym was critical. eDEN increased the height of the garden room from the standard 2.5m up to 3m (managing the relevant planning applications on behalf of our client) which allowed our team to include the reinforcement necessary to take the weight of a person. One wall was reinforced for up to 300KGs, to allow for pull-ups and a TRX, as well as a set of battle ropes which are attached to the strengthened wall. The extra height also means a little more headroom and gave the studio a greater feeling of space, and the option to add taller gym machinery over time if required.
All the furniture and equipment within the studio are design-led and super high-spec, with a stunning wooden NOHrD water rower, vintage medicine ball and top-of-the-range wall-mounted TV and integrated sound-system creating a pleasing aesthetic and luxurious environment for Kathy’s customers. A glowing neon set of angel wings provide the finishing touch, and the perfect instagrammable backdrop for progress photos.
Kathy’s approach to her client’s fitness is tailor-made, with bespoke plans devised based on their initial consultation and personal goals. Kathy creates sustainable plans that fit with all areas of her client’s lives; her training in advanced nutrition allowing her to provide dietary plans which her clients can track via an app. Kathy tells us that she aims to use as much of the equipment in each hour session as possible, and the bodyweight exercises she incorporates into her classes allows clients to continue training between sessions with confidence. Each session always ends with a dedicated time to a cool-down with yogic stretching to ensure clients leave feeling calm and refreshed. Kathy also offers clients the use of her Peloton bike, which allows them to make use of digital spin classes if they so wish.
Kathy explains “People coming out of lockdown are shifting their priorities and want to get fitter and take care of themselves, but not necessarily in the traditional gym setting. My customers don’t want the gym to feel like a gym, it’s more of a retreat where they can focus on themselves for an hour. You can see the immediate relief when they see the space and realise it’s something different to what they were expecting.”
We asked Kathy what made her choose eDEN as her supplier for her garden gym project, and she told us “I needed a very personalised approach and, from the very first meeting, nothing seemed to phase Rachel. We wanted to build bespoke for a gym, not build a garden room and force the gym to fit with that. eDEN offered a very high specification that we knew we wanted, and the service and excellent correspondence along the way was really reassuring. The attention to detail is faultless, even down to the wires and leads all being hidden, which creates the exact aesthetic we wanted. The expenditure was well worth it, and considering it is used regularly by all the family (instead of expensive gym memberships) and also brings in an income, it really has given us fantastic value for money”.
We are so pleased to have helped Kathy bring her unique vision for her home gym space to life, and wish her all the success with The Boutique Gym, which you can find via their website, or on instagram @kathy_tritton_the_boutiquegym
To hear how we’ve helped other small business owners, take a look at our ‘Spotlight on Small Business campaign’ or contact our team for more information.
