NEW OPENING
DJ Jon Wright is music director, while Charlie
Curran designed ‘The Rebel Uniform’
Joining forces with 1Rebel
All activity at 1Rebel takes place in the club’s two studios: group cycling- focused studio Ride, and Reshape, which offers bootcamp-style classes and yoga. The first class costs £15, with subsequent individual classes costing £24. However, customers can buy a block of classes to bring the price down to around £17 a class. The same team that organises live
Cold-pressed juice and wholefood brand Roots & Bulbs has an on-site concession While Dean brings laser vision and
the attention to detail of a lawyer to the business, Balfour is known for his determination, strong sense of direction and talent for managing investor relations. The third team member, Yates, complements these qualities with his fi tness industry knowledge and experience: he spent a decade with Balfour’s father Mike at Fitness First before moving on to other businesses, including Leisure Connection and more recently opening two clubs of his own in Sheffi eld, before getting the call from Balfour and Dean. Yates is now heavily involved with 1Rebel’s operations, staff training and class programming. He has also pulled together a roundtable of industry and non-industry experts, including explorers and world champion sportspeople – many of whom have also invested in the brand via crowdfunding – to help guide the direction of the brand. Dean comments: “As a start-up, we’re
all involved in pretty much everything, but we’re fortunate to have different skillsets and passions within our management team which enable us to cover many bases effectively. “My particular skillsets enable us to
ensure we challenge and debate every decision to the n’th degree. My passion lies in creating and developing the brand, the club design and the fi t-out. James’
overwhelming strength is his tenacity and determination: once a position is agreed, James will see it through, even if it’s one he may originally have argued against. Kevin’s is his infectious personality and energy – something the entire head offi ce and club team naturally gravitate towards.”
Breaking the rules With the creation of 1Rebel, the trio claim they’ve set out “to break all the rules” of fitness clubs before them. As Dean says: “We’re passionate about market disrupters: companies with conviction and a will to change things, not for the sake of change, but because changing would make things better.” Their fi rst bold move was to eschew
the traditional funding route and launch their project on UK crowdfunding website CrowdCube in October 2013. “We could have fallen fl at on our faces, but instead it was a huge success: we raised £1m in 10 days, and went on to raise £1.5m from 300 investors in a month,” says Balfour. The rest of the total £2m funding has
come from the trio and Mike Balfour, who’s a non-executive director. There’s currently enough funding to launch the fi rst two 1Rebel clubs. The brand, which Balfour says is
designed “to bridge the gap between fi tness and fashion”, is squarely targeted
56 Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital February 2015 © Cybertrek 2015
performers for clubbing venues like The Ministry of Sound is working with 1Rebel to bring in live musicians for special high-energy evening exercise classes. Meanwhile, acclaimed international DJ Jon White is the club’s full-time music director, and has worked with every 1Rebel instructor to develop highly individual playlists that remain in line with the brand’s values. British designer Charlie Curran
has designed a range of leisure and workout apparel exclusively for 1Rebel. Her profile was recently raised when she dressed Kate Upton for the cover of American Vogue. Premium cold-pressed juice and
wholefood brand Roots & Bulbs has an exclusive concession at 1Rebel. Because the club has major street-level frontage and is also open to non- members, the food brand will be able to grow its customer base beyond the club, says Balfour. There will be lunchtime class and meal offers, and offerings include breakfast protein wraps, superfood salads, cacao brownies, and banana and bee pollen smoothies. In the near future, 1Rebel intends
to align itself with a number of selected charities, and there are also plans to develop charitable expedition/holiday treks that both staff and members can take part in.
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