case studies

Hutchison Technologies created an immersive fitness studio experience for The Gym Group, making high quality and experiential group exercise accessible to the masses.
 
We used best-in-class audio-visual tech and custom-coded integrations with third-party operators to deliver a truly unique and engaging solution for The Gym Group's members.

• First-of-its kind immersive Fiit Studio
• Integration with Fiit’s API
• An 8x14 foot video wall
• Feature strip lighting
• Evoson WS-6 speakers
• 2 x Fiit Pods

The Vision

The Gym Group had a vision to help their members blend at-home and in-gym workouts. They had recently partnered with Fiit, the #1 rated fitness app, to provide their members with access to a catalogue of high-quality on-demand fitness classes. This added an on-the-go element to their offering, and they next wanted to use the same content to create a unique group exercise fitness experience in their gyms.

Bringing an immersive fitness experience to their members that typically had only previously been available in high-end boutique gyms fitted perfectly with The Gym Group’s mission statement, ‘breaking down barriers to fitness for all’.

The Project

To deliver these unique classes in-house, The Gym Group required a virtual studio space that delivered an immersive fitness experience.

The key requirements were that the studio classes be a ‘destination’ experience that gives members a compelling reason to attend in-person; that their members should feel like they’re getting a premium experience; and that these new studios don’t remove useable gym space when not in use.

The Solution

To create a truly unique experience, we built custom-coded integrations which linked to Fiit’s API. This allowed the room’s lighting to mimic the changing lights in the studio where the original videos were recorded, giving members the impression of being in the same studio as the instructor.

To bring this all to life we installed an engaging audio-visual solution, including vertical strips of digital lighting tape and powerful Evoson WS speakers. A 4x4 grid of 49” video wall panels was used to broadcast life-size versions of the Fiit instructors into the studio.

An important part of the brief was that the studio space should be available for general gym use when classes are not scheduled. The Gym Group’s studio architect, Zynk, designed an open-backed space that physically opened the space for wider use. Hutchison Technologies configured the audio set-up so that it integrated with The Gym Group’s background music feed when not playing a Fiit class. This innovative combination of space and AV design made it a truly multi-purpose space.

In addition to this main studio concept, smaller Fiit “pods” were also designed and installed. These pods were configured for one or two people to do an on-demand workout class in a semi-enclosed private workout space in one of The Gym Group’s venues. The intention was to create a home workout away from home. Each pod has an iPad to choose your class, a tv screen to view and listen to the class and single colour LED feature lighting.

The Result

The Gym Group were ahead of the curve in delivering a truly innovative blending of home and in-studio fitness experiences that will become increasingly common in the post-Covid fitness world.

We helped them break down barriers for high-quality immersive group exercise classes; democratising something that had previously been found primarily in exclusive boutique fitness operators and making it accessible to low-cost gym members across the country.

This first installation wasn’t just a one-off concept. It has since been installed at two more sites and has been designed in a way that can easily scale across the rest of The Gym Group’s portfolio of gyms.

"Hutchison Technologies have helped us with our mission to break down barriers to fitness for all. We can now offer a previously exclusive immersive fitness experience in a low-cost gym environment. The way the in-room feature lighting and audio mirrors what’s happening in the FiiT class really gives the impression the instructor is in the room with you."
Sarah Grime | Design and Development Manager, The Gym Group

What next?

Although classes are currently pre-recorded, the automation has been configured to also allow for instructors in Fiit’s HQ studio to be live broadcast into The Gym Group studios across the country in future. In these live broadcasts, the feature lighting would mirror the Fiit studio lighting in real-time.