Paying for the personal touch
Private training gyms -- smaller venues where people work out with trainers on a one-on-one basis -- may not have the plentiful amenities of a Sports Club/LA or the rampant testosterone of Gold’s Gym Venice, but they do have the cachet of being exclusive, expensive and only for the rich and famous.
That’s the view from the outside. From the inside it’s often a different story. Although private gyms do have a mostly upscale clientele, not everyone is wealthy or joins for the snob appeal. Some people simply want to get fit and don’t care to do it by themselves in a warehouse-like environment. They like the special treatment private gyms provide.
Most people who train at a private gym either get paired with a staff trainer, paying $50 to $150 per session, or bring their own trainers, who pay a portion of their fees to the gym (usually there is no additional membership or monthly fee although some gyms also have limited regular memberships for people who don’t want a trainer). Clients and trainers usually hear of the gyms via word of mouth since these venues rarely advertise; some even have unlisted numbers. Facilities vary from a basic, one-room setup with weight machines, free weights and some cardio equipment to larger spaces that have Pilates classes and massages.
But they’re not for every fitness-minded person, because ongoing sessions can be prohibitively expensive compared with a $39-a-month membership in a 24 Hour Fitness gym. Most private facilities also lack a wide variety of cardio machines and classes, a pool and spacious locker rooms that bigger gyms typically offer.
Barbara Dubransky was looking for a place that would help her shed pounds and provide nutrition counseling. Since joining Sportivo in Los Angeles almost two years ago, Dubransky, 27, has lost 50 pounds and several dress sizes.
“There are a lot of beautiful people at Sportivo,” she says, “and I’m kind of a big girl, and everyone was very encouraging. When I joined, the owner told me that it wasn’t a gym, it was a school where I’d learn how to take care of my body. At a bigger gym you don’t get the sense that you’re all there to learn.”
Owner Bobby Cipolloni says that attracting a “special population” was an interest of his when he opened the L.A. gym about three years ago. In addition to working with obese men and women, trainers have also helped breast cancer survivors and one person with multiple sclerosis.
“When you’re working with people of size,” says Cipolloni, “you need an environment that’s nurturing and comfortable. We have our models and celebrities and entertainment executives, but my passion is for people who fit into this other group.”
When 32-year-old West Hollywood TV producer Lauren Berlly tells people she trains at Sportivo, they tend to think “it’s elitist and full of celebrities. I see celebrities there, but the world doesn’t stop when they walk in. I’ve run next to an actress on the treadmill and we talked about where we get our hair straightened.” Most celebrities who work out at private gyms try to just fit in, says Jozef Drsman, owner of Pro Gym in Brentwood.
“I’ve trained about 50 movie stars,” he says, “and I’ve never had a problem with anybody. When they come here they see that everybody gets along -- how can you be different? They see [producer] Jerry Bruckheimer picking up a ball and putting it back -- are you not going to do the same thing?”
Drsman brought a group of clients with him when he opened the gym 15 years ago; they’ve helped create the friendly, family-like atmosphere that pervades today. Actor Ryan O’Neal, whom he trained (along with Farrah Fawcett), is a silent partner in the business; other stellar clients have included Brendan Fraser, Daryl Hannah and Ali MacGraw.
Drsman, who competed in junior bodybuilding tournaments in his native Czechoslovakia, says his goal was to make Pro Gym “not like any other gym, getting in anyone who pays and as many people as you can.” Although the facility is in one of the city’s priciest neighborhoods, it’s somewhat dressed down, with a large, sunlit room filled with weight and cardio equipment and a water fountain -- no juice bar, no cafe.
Michael Cruthird and Kevin Doran decided to open the Personally Fit Weight Loss, Nutrition and Private Exercise Center in Marina del Rey four years ago after a frustrating experience trying to train clients at a large, commercial gym. Between constant distractions and waiting for equipment, they felt they could serve their clients better at a small, private facility. Not all clients followed, however, preferring a more social atmosphere.
Now the gym has three trainers and about 120 clients who train on average two to three times a week and range from blue-collar workers to Fortune 500 company executives. What they all want, says Cruthird, is “somewhere where they can be themselves, do an efficient workout and be able to get back out the door without going through the rigmarole of a big gym.”
Noelle Porter signed up with Personally Fit 3 1/2 years ago, looking for nutritional counseling, but soon got into the fitness aspect as well. In six weeks she’ll compete in her first bodybuilding competition, an accomplishment she says she wouldn’t have been able to achieve elsewhere.
“I don’t think I would have stumbled across somebody with the same knowledge and passion these guys have,” says the 33-year-old Porter, a data processing executive from Playa del Rey. “It’s worth the money at this stage in my life, but if I have a child, I could see myself backing away. But at this point, it’s something I want to do. This is my goal to stay motivated.”
