Elm Grove has turned into an up and coming place of interest, throwing nostalgia to the once busy high street of Southsea and it is nice to see it flourish once again. From the eateries popping up there like the new Three Cut Burgers, The Southsea Deli, and Desi Cafe it has a real food vibe with a wide range of international food businesses too. I have also loved seeing the Workout Coach Studio open just along from LANO and feel this has been a huge welcome to that stretch!
I first met Harley back in Spring 2018 when he featured in issue 2 of the magazine and have followed his journey since. I was eager to see the opening of number 52 Elm Grove, a place for his clients, and also a collaboration with his life partner Anika to bring a fabulous workout space for residents of Southsea.
With the fact he has just opened the second premises in Fareham, I thought it would be nice to catch up with Harley and ask him a few questions about this venture.
Why did you want to open premises on Elm Grove?
We opened the Workout Coach Studio in Elm Grove back at the beginning of the first lockdown, we wanted to offer a fully private, intimidation-free environment for people to come and work with a dedicated coach towards their fitness goals as a lifestyle change. Covid-19 made commercial gyms originally a breathing ground for the virus so we decided to offer a fully private boutique fitness studio in the heart of Southsea, which we feel was well needed. We felt our new service could be beneficial to those struggling with their mental health throughout the pandemic; our aim was to shine a light on the importance of fitness and exercise and its positive influence on physical health and mental wellbeing.
How have you coped through the last 18 months of COVID?
Launching our micro business at the start of a global panic was always going to be a huge stress. My partner Anika and I decided to go into it with a positive mindset, we made do by running our client's training sessions & programmes online throughout the pandemic as much as possible as well as hosting outdoor sessions 1 to 1 within the government guidelines. The timing of the pandemic was detrimental to our traction as we didn’t even get a chance to do a launch party for the opening of our first studio so we did what we could to make it through an incredibly tough year for small businesses.
What can people expect that come along to the studio?
We welcome clients that are serious about making a lifestyle change, whether it be fat loss, injury rehabilitation, toning up, or an introduction to weight training, from novice beginners through to high profile athletes we aim to cater to all our client's needs.
The studio boasts a luxury, boutique feel with a modern and stylishly elegant interior, premium top of the range equipment and the use of our fully private garden for a unique 1 to 1 experience with your onsite dedicated coach.
We aim to offer a unique experience as we make it our priority to educate clients on our modern day approach to flexible eating, limiting ‘dieting’ as a term that suggests it will only be a short-term solution.
The training sessions are of the highest standard, combining weight training, cardio, biomechanical assessments, posture fixing and nutritional guidance all rolled into a versatile, fun, and educational workout that will enrich your life in and outside of the gym.
Tell me about the expansion where is it? what can people look forward to there?
Thanks to our committed clients we decided to make the most of this recent lockdown, adding a new garden area to our Southsea branch and taking a huge risk to go all in and invest in our second studio space, aptly named; The Salterns Studio, located on Salterns Lake in Fareham Marina, PO16 0RA.
New and existing clients coming on board with us can benefit from the incredible facility located on the water, lovely views of the lake and surrounding Cams Hill Golf Course. The beautiful three-story, grade II listed building hosts The Salterns Studio; located on the top floor, featuring original beams from The Old Mill, a lush modern style feel to the boutique studio space.
Reflecting on this project and thinking about how Anika and I designed and built the whole studio space ourselves makes us feel proud of the end result. A big thanks to all our friends, family, and clients that have helped us relentlessly to get this new studio open for the lovely people of Fareham means we finally have a warm, open, and intimidation-free space for people to work out.
Where 1 to 1 private coaching meets fitness, health, and wellness all rolled into a completely bespoke package for individuals looking for self-improvement and development, whether it's a physical goal or to develop your mental health, our coaches are fantastic and will support you along your lifestyle journey to make a change.
How long have you been the Workout Coach?
Workout Coach started off as my own personal brand, however, has developed into so much more than me as an individual working with clients.
Having met the love of my life back in 2019, Anika and I decided to work together; building a life and business together with her specialising in female only 1 to 1 personal training and my personal brand continuing to gain traction, we were able to bounce ideas off of each other and create a bespoke shared studio space for us to kickstart our journey.
Only a year down the line, we are lucky to have a strong team of 6 coaches on board with us, working as a team to offer our ever-growing client base of hard-working and genuinely lovely people an amazing customer experience alongside exceptional results that actually last, we can’t be prouder and we owe it all to our supportive & well-invested client base, so thank you guys and girls.
What advice would you give to anyone wanting to get fit and have a fitness structure in their life?
If you’re looking to make a change, the first port of call is to put one foot forward and make a concerted effort to find a form of exercise that you can either sustain or enjoy or both. This could be walking more, swimming, going to a gym, an activity of fitness class or even doing what you can at home.
We’re always getting feedback from clients saying how they were so glad they took a chance and reached out to us because there is always so much to learn, if you want to create a structure that works you can’t keep repeating the same thing and expect a different result.
You need to be consistent and just going out of your way to talk to someone about what you want to achieve, the creative juices will start flowing, our job is to encourage you to do the rest.
There is no secret to success in life, but if you can push yourself out of your comfort zone then you’ll more than likely benefit down the line in some kind of way. Whether it's positive or not, you’ll always learn.
