Women exercising in a Ryderwear gym.
Global fitness apparel brand Ryderwear is set to open its first gym and brick-and-mortar store in its hometown of Adelaide, South Australia next month to explore opportunities to expand its empire.
The gym and retail store are slated to open Feb. 6 in the Flinders Park suburb of Adelaide, while Ryderwear’s headquarters and warehouse will remain in nearby Beverley.
Previously, Ryderwear products were sold through distributors and online.
Mal Chia, Ryderwear’s chief marketing officer, said the new studio, which was in the works for a year and still being built, was a natural evolution for the company, which has gained a cult following for its fitness apparel, especially in the US.
“It’s like being in an Apple Store, which is the physical embodiment of what the brand is all about, with an elite training room and an attached retail store,” said Chia.
“We believe that you can live your best life through fitness. Obviously, clothes are about what you wear and so is the app.
“Now it’s about having a place to train.”
Ryderwear was founded in Adelaide in 2009 by bodybuilder David Lukic and his current wife Natalie Lukic after the couple identified a void in the fitness apparel market. In the last ten years the company has grown from two to 60 employees.
The brand began creating a range of clothing items that were designed to fit athletes’ bodies instead of hanging loosely as was the style of the time. After the introduction of its signature D-Mak lifting shoe, it soon became iconic among weightlifters and bodybuilders in the United States.
Ryderwear has since worked with more than 500 influencers on social media platforms, including Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok.
Last year it launched its first training app, PUSHH.
Chia said the brand’s youngest company will move forward despite ever-evolving coronavirus restrictions, with the fitness market thriving.
He said casual passes, as well as flexible annual and weekly memberships, would be available to people who can sign up through the Ryderwear website.
“We’re going to be primarily a strength-centered gym and have a huge, open, purpose-built gym that is 775 square feet. with a varied layout of the best Life Fitness and Hammer Strength equipment on the market, ”he said.
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“There will also be a fully equipped outdoor gym with squats, toboggan run, punching bags and functional equipment.”
The gym and shop are open 24/7.
Fitness facilities were among a number of businesses that had to shut down when South Australia imposed a lockdown in response to coronavirus lockdowns in April and November.
They have had to maintain a density of one person per 2 square meters since they reopened for the second time in late November. A contact tracing system must also be in place in gyms.
“There were strange horrors here and there in South Australia, but we were very lucky. That gave us confidence that we could handle it, ”said Chia.
“We’re also taking the right precautions to make sure we can handle something like this.
“Even on the market, the appetite for fitness has never been so high. That will only keep growing. “
According to Fitness Australia, the number of Australians improving their exercise habits has increased in the past 12 months.
Industry association data showed that the number of Australians meeting physical activity guidelines rose from 34.1% to nearly 75% of adults, according to a recent survey.
Ryderwear launched a training app in early 2020, right before the coronavirus pandemic outbreak, tailored for elite athletes.
Chia said user response during the pandemic shows the need to exercise at home, not just at the gym.
He said the PUSHH app was later redesigned to appeal to a wider female market and relaunched for iPhones last week. An Android app should go online next week.
“We created an app that is very much about the fitness experience. Shortly after, when COVID-19 and the gyms were closed, we very quickly flipped the app and changed it to home training, ”Chia said.
“The underlying engine is still the same, but with a clearer focus on who it’s for.
“[It’s] very tailored to women who want to do strength training. “
This article was first published by The Lead. Read the original article.
