Ambitious fitness duo launch second boutique gym In Worcestershire village

Published by

Nicky Godding

A pair of fitness instructors have launched their second boutique gym in a Worcestershire village at the foot of the Lickey Hills.

Adele and Jermaine Fyfield started their FLZ FIT business just over a year ago with a gym in Studley and its popularity soon saw them planning a second.

Property agents John Truslove found them ideal premises at a former church hall in Cofton Hackett – but then the coronavirus lockdown intervened.

Eight months on, the new gym at the Old Gospel Hall in Barnt Green Road is open for business, with bookings for every training session.

Jermaine Fyfield said: “It’s taken a bit of time, and once we were in we needed to fit-out the premises, redecorate completely and install an additional shower with disabled facilities. We’ve done most of the work ourselves unless it needed a skilled tradesman, so it’s been a real labour of love.”

Adele and Jermaine, who have more than 30 years in the fitness industry between them, left successful careers in London with the dream of setting up their own boutique fitness gym in the West Midlands.

They worked with i-D Magazine, the fashion photographer Juergen Teller, BBC Radio 1, DJ Dev, Stella McCartney for Adidas, supermodel Karlie Kloss and performed in the London 2012 Opening Ceremony.

But they wanted to focus on the growing demand for boutique gyms which focus on small exercise groups in smart surroundings, with the emphasis on personal attention.

“The London market is saturated but we felt there was room to grow out in the regions,” said Jermaine.

“We moved to the West Midlands in 2016 and opened our first gym three years later. We have a growing team of instructors working with us and we make sure we rigorously follow all the relevant Covid rules and regulations, including providing NHS Track & Trace QR codes for clients to scan on arrival.”

Adele added: “Ben Truslove helped us find our first gym and we went to him for help looking for a second site. He’s been brilliant.

“He suggested the Old Gospel Hall to us. It was perfect – just what we were looking for. The had been empty for some time, so we get to bring a part of the local community back to life.

“Hopefully, as we grow, we will be able to create more jobs for local people, especially as we are now becoming the West Midlands base for the new First Class Fitness Academy, which will be training the next generation of fitness instructors.”

Ben Truslove, joint managing director of John Truslove, negotiated a five year lease for landlords, Cofton Hackett Parish Council.

The premises, comprising a hall with showers and changing rooms for men and women, a first floor office and parking for half a dozen vehicles, comprises 1,147 sq ft of internal space.

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.