new
opening
PIERS SLATER
Last month, Soho became the first site in a proposed chain of commuter clubs – H2 Bike Run – which aims to release people from London Underground hell. Founder Piers Slater talks to Kath Hudson
What’s your background? My background is in property development. I was a commercial property agent and worked for clients including Virgin Active in the 90s. In 2002 I set up my own property company, Reef Estates. We develop in the retail, leisure, supermarket, residential and hotel sectors.
Where did you get the inspiration for H2 Bike Run? I’ve been a cyclist commuter for a number of years and I think it’s an absolutely brilliant way to get a workout, switch off from the office and make the commute a memorable part of the day, rather than spending it with your face in someone’s armpit on the tube! The downside was that it was always a problem getting
a decent shower. I even joined a gym in order to solve this problem, but that didn’t really provide everything I needed. I’ve had two bikes stolen when parked on the street, so I also felt there was a need for secure bike parking.
The H2 gym offers a core conditioning studio and a Spin studio, called H2 Ride, but no other CV
We want to create a ‘cycle and run’ community in London and
support those with an active commute. Our ethos is that we’re a normal gym, except we’ve thrown the treadmills outside.
How did you get the idea off the ground? I initially had the idea in 2004, which in hindsight was a bit early. Then the property boom took off, so it was put on a back burner. With the crash in 2008, we dusted down the plans and started looking for sites. We looked at funding it externally, but decided that we
wanted to keep control of the concept, so there are only five investors and no bank debt. Currently we’ve invested around £1.9m in the project.
What does the H2 concept offer? The 1,400sq m (13,000sq ft) club is open from 6.00am to 9.30pm and encompasses a Spinning®
studio – there’s no other CV equipment. The Star Trac- equipped Spin®
and core conditioning studio, H2 Ride, will be the heart and soul of
the club, offering six classes a day. There are also fantastic showers, vanity bays and lockers that
can comfortably accommodate one or more suits. And for bike commuters, we also have secure parking for 260 bikes and a further 220 nearby. We offer bike servicing and we’ve teamed up with Polaris and Gore to sell apparel. We’re also planning to hold cycle confi dence training,
specialist triathlon training and a running club. The aim is to use the club and social media to build a running and cycling community. Additional services include personal training, sports therapy and massage, and dry cleaning and laundry.
Are you running all of the additional services yourselves? No, we’ve partnered with other companies: Sarah and Sandro Morelli will run H2 Ride – Sarah is also education and development manager for Star Trac, responsible for the Spinning®
programme; personal training is offered as ‘H2
powered by Lomax Personal Training’; and Osteon takes care of the sports massage offering under the banner of H2 Osteon Sports Therapy.
may 2011 © cybertrek 2011 Read Health Club Management online at
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