FITSTOP.

Gordon Brown

IT'S ALL DONE ON YOUR APP

When former All Black halfback Brendon Leonard retired, his passion was exercise. A superbly fit professional athlete for 15 years, his desire to exercise and stay fit was by then ingrained.

He also had long nurtured a desire to own his own business. What could be more logical than to combine the two? On September 24 those two passions come to fruition with the opening of Fitstop. It’s a new, upmarket, premium gym which is opening right in the middle of New Plymouth – at the corner of Liardet and Molesworth Streets.

Brendon moved to New Plymouth three years ago and is very much at home. “I’m sure the gym will add another dimension to the vibrant community here. Community is very important to me and Fitstop is something unique.’’

Brendon, 37, used to come to New Plymouth to play rugby, usually for the Chiefs and Waikato, but over the years, fell in love with the city.

“The difference these days is amazing and recently New Plymouth was declared the best city of its size in the world. I love the coastal walkway and the outdoor options New Plymouth offers as the country’s Sustainable Lifestyle Capital.

SO, WHAT MAKES FITSTOP UNIQUE?

It’s an Australian-based functional fitness franchise and at the time of writing there were 89 locations across Australia and one in New Zealand, which makes it one of the fastest growing fitness franchises in the country. Their uniqueness comes from offering a performance-based, progressive training methodology appealing to everyday athletes that crave a competitive and equally supportive team environment.

Brendon went to Australia and spent a week finding out exactly what Fitstop is, how members like it and how it feels. He researched it over there and met the head office team, providing him with every bit of confidence and excitement needed to drive success at Fitstop New Plymouth and Fitstop New Zealand entirely.

ADVANTAGES

Refreshingly, there are no lock-in contracts! You simply pay weekly for unlimited sessions. At Fitstop, members enjoy a personal trainer and coach in a personalised group training environment. You walk in the door and a coach will ensure you are looked after and that the session will be the best 50 minutes of your day.

“Everyone’s got different body shapes and injury histories and need to be treated individually,’’ says Brendon.

It’s good for businesses to have staff fit and healthy. It helps with staff recruitment and retention and nothing beats a happy and healthy workplace. Hours are flexible and aimed at the busy inner-city workers and those with a busy lifestyle. “We start our sessions at 5am, through to after work hours. That way it’s easy to cater for everyone and all-sized groups. It depends on individuals’ booking times.’

Corporates can also book special times during the day, says Brendon.

“Our whole philosophy is to create

happier, healthier humans, and you do that by living a balanced lifestyle’’.

TECHNOLOGY

At Fitstop everything is done through their custom-built app. The technology allows you to put in your training targets and goals, guiding and elevating your entire Fitstop experience like no other fitness business can.

UNLEASH YOUR INNER ATHLETE

But ultimately it’s the training that sets us apart. It’s good for the athletic side of training, and is perfect for an everyday athlete. This is someone who is determined, thrives in a supportive team environment and is willing to stop at nothing to get the results they want, no matter the stage of their fitness journey.

Our coaches ensure you’re doing the movements properly before we try to progress. The training methodology is important and all of our staff are qualified, experienced personal trainers. They protect against injury and ensure your quality of life is maintained.

Brendon, his team and all their clients enjoy the benefit of belonging to the Fitstop franchise. “At the same time we are a locally-owned and operated business employing local staff working hard to help our community.

INSIDE THE GYM

State-of-the-art new facilities including new toilets and showers make it ideal for inner-city workers who can go to the gym during the day and be back refreshed at work within an hour.

There’s also a secure children’s area so your little ones will be wanting to go to Fitstop as well!