Sometimes it takes an outsiders perspective to come up with an idea that is so simple-yet-revolutionary you can’t help but wonder how it hasn’t been thought of before. That’s precisely how Vanessa Cribb felt when she realised that the kind of fitness facility she wanted didn’t exist locally without paying for two separate memberships at two different places. Inspired by the mantra of ‘she believed she could, so she did’, Vanessa set out to create One Body Studio in The Gap with the view to bring the two kinds of health and fitness facility together under one roof. The underlying philosophy is that you only have one body, but there are many different ways to care for it – sometimes that’s a sweat sesh with some weights, others it’s about slowing down and focusing on mindfulness. One Body Studio offers two purpose-built spaces – a soundproof ‘Yin‘ room that provides a peaceful place for yoga, mat and reformer pilates, and barre classes whilst the ‘Yang‘ room offers a more energised atmosphere with a state-of-the-art zone centred around 11 high intensity, fast paced workouts (think HIIT, boxing, speed, power, endurance, tone, burner and stronger classes). The intention is that finding the perfect balance of yin and yang is essential for all-round physical and mental strength.
Visually, One Body is about as far removed from a traditional gym as possible, which was precisely the point. The interior architecture was created by Sonda Banney of Design Nest and the styling by Vanessa of IndigoJungle. The result is a beautiful space with a palette of neutral, natural materials and soft furnishing elements to create a calm and reflective feel – a much-needed respite from everyday life. But don’t be fooled into thinking One Body is just a pretty face – it’s got the brawn to back it up with some seriously impressive machines and highly skilled trainers and instructors. The forward-thinking business model has also done away with those annoying lock-in contracts so you only pay for the spaces you actually want to use with unlimited access to both areas just $50 per week. If you’re more of a casual class kind of person, you have that option and if you have little people in tow, there’s a creche operating at various times. Take a peek at One Body Studio’s classes here.
