North London Food & Culture

We tried out personal training at Studio 63

Tom Kihl's approach to keeping fit has been more Studio 54 than 63, but could this new one-to-one studio in Dartmouth Park change all that?

Stephen & Dan
Stephen & Dan, in the studio. Photo: Tom Kihl
I’ll admit it: the last time I experienced anything close to having a personal trainer was probably being helped to negotiate the pommel horse at school. Since then I’ve been resolutely solitary in my fitness activities, and quite happily so.

I’ve looked on with a vague horror at those poor souls in the gym having motivational words barked at them while they turn purple on the floor. Surely hiring a private trainer was something only the very rich or gym-shy would consider?

But that is – of course – a wildly outdated viewpoint. These days you’ll find tailor-made packages, in a one-to-one setting, for less than the price of that long-lapsed mega-gym membership draining your bank account.

True Kentishtowners in every sense of the word, Dan Talbot and Steven Michaels have known each other since school and opened Studio 63 together in Dartmouth Park last year. Steven had seriously injured his back a few years ago, and credits Dan with saving him from a life of pain.


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“It got to the point where I was in the park with my son, and simply couldn’t join him kicking his ball around,” says Stephen. “I thought, am I ever going to be able to play with my kids again?”

But Dan knew what to do, helping his friend to build core strength through a personalised series of exercises, to the point that the pain is now completely gone, leaving the two of them ready to help a growing list of locals get into better shape.

No motivational barking, just smiles: Studio 63
No motivational barking, just smiles: Studio 63

Their site on Chetwynd Road was previously an unloved off licence, one that had attracted four armed robberies over the last decade. Yet they still found themselves in a nonsensical 18-month battle with the council to get their change of use approved.

“It was very tough,” says Dan, “they really tried to close us down. It’s only because of the fantastic community around here all backing us that it came through. We’re so grateful.”

In the two-room studio there are a range of props and machines, which the lads duly put me through my paces on. At first I’m aware they are going easy on me, gently assessing the newbie. So it feels like a compliment when they up the ante, but inevitably three reps of step jumps takes its toll on my brief moment of bravado and I’m soon struggling with screaming leg muscles, although it feels really good to get the system pumping.

As I recover from my session, which involved very little of the dreaded motivational barking, but was keenly tuned into my strengths and weaknesses, we discuss the pitfalls of personal training.

“When you work in the big gyms, as both of us have,” says Steve, “your clients are limited to whoever is a member, so you end up hounding people. You learn three steps: call them in the morning, send an email at lunch, then another call in the evening – it’s crazy. Here, most of our work is referred, so people come when they want to see you. Instantly the atmosphere is much more relaxed.”

For Dan too, the benefits of a private space are what make all the difference. “In here, people have their own sanctuary,” he says. “If someone doesn’t like the shape of their body, the last thing they really want to do is get on a treadmill surrounded by mirrors alongside 50 other people.”

The boys believe in ‘functional fitness’, the idea that everyone can work within their own range of movement. “Why would someone 5ft 2 jump on the same piece of equipment as someone 6ft 3? It makes no sense,” says Dan. “We can look at someone, design them a specific workout programme and they get results.”

Now less ruddy-faced and breathing slowly once more, I’m sold on the concept. Without a monthly membership fee and a VIP service to boot, you won’t see me jostling with the masses for a treadmill this January. But then there wasn’t ever much danger of that happening.

Studio 63, 63 Chetwynd Road, sessions from £45-£60

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