Solo60 is a gym you can call home because it’s your own. We are a technology company at heart that transforms unused retail and office space into beautiful, smart micro-gyms in prime locations to book on-demand and workout solo, with friends or train clients from 60 minutes. (That’s right, a whole gym to yourself!)
Currently, we have one site in the heart of Shoreditch, London (5 minutes from the iconic Boxpark). It’s just under 600 sq. ft. in size and it’s designed by some of the best designers in Europe. Our first design is on a standard gym concept and comprises of all of your essential kit; treadmill, spin bike, cable machine, custom half rack, custom rig, Olympic bar, free weights, kettlebells, and much more for every workout!
How did you come up with the idea for the company?
Despite the clear COVID angle which has since become apparent, it wasn’t the original driver for creating the business originally.
From 2015-2019, I ran a successful personal training business which at the peak had 8 trainers and 350 clients. We loved what we did but once we had established ourselves in a gym or territory, it was impossible to scale because every other gym wanted us to move all of our clients and trainers there. Myself and my trainers needed flexibility to scale whilst my clients also asked how they could find somewhere to train and feel comfortable to implement some of the exercises we had shown them so I started to consider how and the entrepreneur lightbulb went off—a micro gym for one person!
As with all of these things, the idea started slightly different to what it is today and it’s developed (and continues to do so) but the simplicity of completely private on-demand gym space powered by technology is the core of everything we do.
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What advice would you give to other aspiring entrepreneurs?
Don’t give up! It’s so cliché but remember, as long as you’re playing the game, you have a chance of winning. If you give up, it’s over. We’ve faced extreme lows during our journey but we have also experienced huge highs and everything has been a learning curve. They’ll be times where you see no light at the end of the tunnel (this happened to us when our planning application was refused after 12 months of work), but if you don’t give up, you’ll find a way.
What can we hope to see from Solo60 in the future?
With our first site in Shoreditch performing incredibly well and serving over 900 sessions in the first couple of months, we have huge aspirations for 2021 and beyond. This year we aim to build up to 20 more sites across London with some very exciting new exercise concepts, innovative technology features into our app and finally give gym-goers and personal trainers the freedom and flexibility to enjoy a network of exclusive gyms on-demand.
We also have big plans to grow into Europe, across the pond to the US and into Asia too.
