It would be hard to pass through Ostend over the last few weeks without noticing progress on Waiheke’s latest fitness option. Ex-Black Fern and Olympic silver medallist Huriana Manuel-Carpenter and her ex-professional rugby player partner Derek Carpenter are looking forward to welcoming islanders into their F45 franchise on Belgium Street. “We want to offer something new and different and look forward to really getting involved in the community too. After listening to what is needed on the island we will offer group training sessions starting at 4.45am and as late as 7pm. We are super-excited to get fully going from the beginning of May.”
The dynamic pair isn’t new to running a F45 franchise. They already own and operate an F45 gym on Lincoln Road in Auckland. Successfully too; in March they won the fittest New Zealand F45 studio trophy.
F45 started in a garage in Paddington, Sydney in 2011. Founders Adam Gilchrist and Rob Deutsch set out to revolutionise and modernise gym participation with their 45 minute combination of high intensity interval training, functional training and circuit training. By 2015 they sold their first franchise into New Zealand and overall had a total of 250 Oceania outlets. Growth continued into the US, India, the UK and eventually all of Europe. By 2019, celebrity Mark Wahlberg’s investment group announced they were buying a minority stake in the F45 business. It is now a global phenomenon. • Sarah Glover
Full story in this week’s Gulf News… Out Now!!!
