I have to say (if you can’t already tell) i am so excited about Orange Theory Fitness (OTF) coming to Melbourne.
The back story here is I was a member of OTF in Los Angeles. In fact the territory owner & developer Paul Marcus sold me a foundation membership when he opened his first (of 11) location in LA.
What I loved most about it was the intersection between technology & fitness. Put simply, wearing a heart rate monitor while working out and being challenged by the exercises gave a highly results focused outcome.
I’d burn somewhere between 800-1,000 calories in a session and an email would hit my inbox when I left showing me how I performed during that session.
EVERY session was unique, meaning no two sessions were ever the same and the experience was first class.
I loved OTF that much that I approached Paul and asked him if we could partner and bring OTF to Melbourne Australia. He and Brendan, Rhys & the founding team here @CreativeCubes.Co aligned!
In June (2018) we’ll have opened location one on Collins St in the CBD, a couple months after that we’ll open Hawthorn (inside of CreativeCubes.Co) and the goal is to then expand within VIC to start and potentially interstate as opportunities present themselves.
I have to say guys, there is NOTHING like this in the fitness space and I’m super excited to help change the lives of thousands.
This is a legitimate game changer and i’m super proud to be part of it
Transcript
Tobi Skovron: Welcome back to the Vlog. This is a bit of a special one today. I have the founding team here for Orange Theory and super-excited.
Tobi Skovron: Full disclosure: I’m actually an investor.
CreativeCubes is an investor in Orange Theory, so this is full-endorsed.
This is me not pleading to come try Orange Theory, but me just saying to you, “Hey, from personal experience, I’m not propping up a company here to give it some excitement. I’m actually behind this company as well with my team and other members globally with Orange Theory.”
Tobi Skovron: So, with that, who wants to … before we kick off, I was actually a member of Orange Theory in Los Angeles. Paul Markus was the founding … regional franchise owner for the Los Angeles market, and he actually signed me up.
Tobi Skovron: I was actually a sale … he sold me his membership over the phone. From then on I went into Orange Theory, and I fell in love with not only the way it operates, but the results, and the experience.
Tobi Skovron: Do you guys want to introduce yourselves, and give a bit of a high level, or maybe some more detail.
Tobi Skovron: Adelaide?
Mel: Yup.
Tobi Skovron: And Ohio?
Shannon: Mm-hmm.
Mel: Do you want to go first?
Shannon: Sure.
Shannon: My name’s Shannon. I just moved here from Ohio in the US, and I worked at a studio there called Grandview. When I was there we had like 1,300 members, and it was craziness.
Shannon: I worked there for about six months, but I was a member there for six months prior to that, and I got all my friends to sign up and all my family members, and I was like, “I should be getting paid to do this.”
Shannon: So then I applied to work there and loved it. I actually played soccer in college in the US, and then I played a little bit of semi-professional soccer, and Orange Theory was the closest thing I could find to something for elite athletes, but also I could do the workout next to my mom.
Shannon: And any level can work-
Tobi Skovron: It’s very interesting. So Brendon, who is also a partner here, is a former NFL Super Bowl champion, and he works out at Orange Theory, and, you know, my wife works out on the treadmill next to him.
Tobi Skovron: There’s not a competition, right? It’s a competition for yourself. You’re not competing against the person next to you.
Mel: Right.
Tobi Skovron: So there’s that integration between tech and fitness. When you come into an Orange Theory, you’ve got a heart rate monitor on?
Shannon: Yup.
Tobi Skovron: And it automatically recognizes who you are.
Shannon: Mm-hmm.
Tobi Skovron: Broadcasts your details. I find it a little bit cryptic actually because they don’t necessarily put, “Tobi.” But it’s T-O-B and the last three letters of my first name, so it’s kind of like, unless you really know the person in the studio with you, no one knows what heart rate and what you’re doing.
Tobi Skovron: It’s very … I think it’s quite private and personal. Then … because these guys have no idea about Orange Theory … these guys have no idea about the awesomeness that’s about to drop on Melbourne.
Tobi Skovron: And so I’m super … I don’t know if you can tell … I’m super excited about it.
Tobi Skovron: And so, from then, you basically either pick the weights or the cardio? So anaerobic or aerobic exercises, and sometimes they’re intertwined, but you start in one place or another. And you have to stay inside of a threshold.
Mel: Firstly, I’m Mel. I was the head coach in Adelaide which is the second studio in Australia and I was there for three and half years.
Mel: I loved it. It was my favourite job that I’ve ever had, I think, so I’m really excited to bring it over.
Mel: I guess the easiest way to explain what it is, is as you said. It runs fitted with a heart rate monitor. Which is all worked out for us, like all other heart rate monitors, I suppose.
Mel: And it shows percentages, so what we do is break it down really simply for everyone, and then colour coordinate it to make it even more simple. We have five different coloured heart rate zones, and we focus mainly on three of them when we’re in the studio.
Mel: While you’re on a treadmill, a rower, or on the floor doing a combination of weight-based exercises, TRX exercises, medicine ball, that sort of stuff, the coach will guide you through what coloured zone we want you to be in and how to control and learn to be okay being uncomfortable to get the best result you can in the quickest amount of time.
Tobi Skovron: I think I remember one of the first Instagram posts from Orange Theory LA was, “Get comfortable being uncomfortable.”
Tobi Skovron: I’m a true subscriber to that, being an entrepreneur, living in the eye of the storm.
Tobi Skovron: I don’t think viewers out there really … I mean, we’re going to try our best to splice in some videos here so you get a good sense of what Orange Theory and the experience and what you can expect when you show up. We have our first studio opening July, or end of June, July?
Mel: Yup.
Tobi Skovron: In Collins Street?
Mel: Yup?
Tobi Skovron: What number?
Mel: 422.
Tobi Skovron: 422 Collins Street in Melbourne.
Tobi Skovron: And then the second location is going to be inside of Creative Cube’s Hawthorn location?
Mel: Yup.
Tobi Skovron: At 600 Glenferrie Road in Hawthorn. That’s going to be an awesome, awesome experience for members because I expect, or hope, or the vision is: they’ll come workout at Orange Theory in the morning; they’ll come upstairs, have a shower; and then, get straight into work if they’re a member at Cubes. That’s really exciting.
Tobi Skovron: And then we’ve got another four?
Mel: Yup.
Tobi Skovron: Planned after that.
Mel: Super exciting.
Tobi Skovron: You guys are going to be busy.
Mel: Yeah.
Tobi Skovron: And so the thing that I’m most excited about … I’m not really close to the fitness space, but the thing I’m most excited about is, there’s nothing really truly like this. There’s nothing comparable to Orange Theory, right?
Tobi Skovron: It’s not like it’s a Fitness First gym with a class in there. It’s … nowhere near like an F45 from a studio aspect, and it’s not really personal training.
Mel: I guess the beauty of it is that there isn’t … I mean, we’ve done lots of sessions in Melbourne, in America, in Adelaide, and there really isn’t anything that compares, which is cool. We’re kind of breaking into the market and have something completely different.
Mel: Everyone should come around and see. It’s supported by science, which is really cool, and it’s different every single day. You’re never going to do the same workout twice. We do it, and we throw it away.
Tobi Skovron: Yeah, what I love about that is this, firstly, everyone … I’m making this as an assumption, but everyone, globally, that goes to an Orange Theory on this Monday, coming, does the same workout. But on Tuesday, the workout isn’t the same as Monday, and by the way, 15, 20, 50 Mondays from now, it’s not the same workout again.
Tobi Skovron: Every workout is different, every workout is unique, which is constantly shocking the body, which is great for results.
Mel: Yup.
Tobi Skovron: You know and I loved the email I used to get after. So I’d be working for that positive re-enforcement on an email gratification that I would get post-session.
Mel: Yeah, the summary?
Tobi Skovron: Yeah.
Tobi Skovron: I’d be disappointed if I didn’t get 13 splat points. Or I’d be disappointed if I didn’t get 700, 800, 900, or even 1,000 calories burned.
Mel: That’s interesting that you say that actually because a lot … we were discussing this the other day. A lot of gyms that you go to, or sessions that you do, I struggle to get a calorie run any higher than around 250, 350, whereas I’m used to from like about 550, 600 for me.
Mel: I don’t know about you for when you trained, but that calorie burn was massive.
Tobi Skovron: Mel, it goes back to what you were saying about the science aspect of this, right?
Tobi Skovron: How many Orange Theories are there globally? Do you know?
Mel: I don’t know globally.
Shannon: There’s almost 800 in the US. I know that, but I don’t know … well, I was in London probably six months ago, and there were like 30 popping up just in London. So there’s a lot.
Tobi Skovron: Cool. And how many have we got in Australia right now?
Mel: Six.
Tobi Skovron: Six. I went to the one in Canberra.
Mel: Yeah, it’s sick in Canberra. Riley’s awesome.
Tobi Skovron: Yeah, Riley’s a superstar. I was like, “Hey, we might have an opportunity for you in Melbourne.” She was awesome, but I think that’s a new footprint, right?
Mel: Yup.
Tobi Skovron: I think that’s a little different to Bondi and be different to Adelaide.
Tobi Skovron: And even, I’ve seen Brendon … I’ll drop his details in the description below. You can follow him on Instagram. He posts some of the new formats that are coming out of the states that are just amazing.
Tobi Skovron: I love the attention to detail.
Tobi Skovron: So, June, July,
Shannon: Yeah, it’s exciting.
Tobi Skovron: I got back from Los Angeles in October of ’16. Finally got my kids into school and settled into a routine in about Feb’ of ’17, so just sort of a year now.
Tobi Skovron: And I said to my wife, “I’m not going to join a gym because the gyms, the gym experience was not the OTF experience, and there was nothing comparable.”
Mel: It’s ruined for you after Orange Theory, isn’t it?
Tobi Skovron: For real. I haven’t joined a gym since I’ve been back. I haven’t joined anything. Actually hired a treadmill and put it in the playroom of my house just to stay active, and have completely lost all my muscle, tone, and defini … I’m just running, just burning calories.
Tobi Skovron: Which is good, but it’s not optimal. And hanging for you guys to open because …
Mel: Get going.
Tobi Skovron: And people say to me, you know, I’m based in Cremorne and I think this will be my home going forward, even despite all the other locations that we opened, but I think I’ll end up at Hawthorn in the mornings just to get a workout in, do a couple hours over there and then just come across to Cremorne just …
Mel: Just to get it in the routine.
Tobi Skovron: Just get in, right. Because I live bay side, and so we don’t have anything planned, at least, for ’18 in that area. Everything’s sort of city and the Hawthorn market.
Tobi Skovron: For me, as a consumer, I’m actually going to reroute my whole day just to get it in because right now I’m not getting anything in other than running. I’m running about 100 kilometres a week, but … I’m hanging for you guys to open is what I’m saying to you, and I’m saying to you.
Shannon: We were talking the other day. I was like, “For selfish reasons, I can’t wait for Orange Theory to open up because I miss the workouts and I hate going to the gym by myself.”
Tobi Skovron: Right.
Shannon: I’ll use some of the templates that I found online from previous Orange Theory workouts and stuff, but it’s not the same.
Tobi Skovron: It’s still not. It’s the environment. It’s that hustle, it’s that energy.
Mel: Yeah, it’s the energy and vibe that’s created for the members in there.
Tobi Skovron: I’m excited, I’m hoping. I’m calling out, Lull, Nige, and I’m calling out … who else is there? Brendon and … I’m struggling. There’s couple other trainers. I’m going to call you guys out in the links below to come down Australia and maybe do a celebrity-
Mel: Oh yeah.
Tobi Skovron: Celebrity sesh.
Shannon: That’d be awesome.
Tobi Skovron: Yeah, have them, I’ll hit them up. Bruce. Bruce is definitely one of them that I-
Mel: And Erin.
Tobi Skovron: I don’t know Erin well.
Mel: Erin works out with Bruce.
Tobi Skovron: Oh, there you go. Erin, you just got called out.
Mel: She’ll love it.
Tobi Skovron: LA. Actually, LA. I’ll be out in LA in June, so I might actually … wait, when do we open here?
Mel: End of June, start of July.
Tobi Skovron: I go to LA June 20. I’ll do a Vlog from there, and then I’ll come back and do a Vlog from the new Collins Street location.
Tobi Skovron: Guys, I can’t begin to tell you … these guys know it. I’m not even excitable to these girls anymore because the energy’s here 24/7, but I’m really, really excited about what’s about to drop on Melbourne in a most positive way possible. This is a legitimate game changer.
Tobi Skovron: I mean, it’s been changing lives all throughout the US and Canada, and obviously now, the UK, and I think they have some in Asia as well. I can testify to that from a personal level, but there’s nothing like that here in Australia, and this team here is going to be pioneering it.
Tobi Skovron: So I’m super, super excited. Good luck.
Mel: Thanks.
Shannon: Thank you.
Tobi Skovron: You won’t need it. You’re gonna smash it, but I’m really excited for you, and obviously, if there’s anything I can do or my team can do to help you, just yell out. I would love to be able to roll up the sleeves and help you out and change the lives of, hopefully, hundreds of thousands as we expand the footprint across Australia.
Tobi Skovron: Alright this is the awkward part of the segment. They sit here on the couch. I go turn off the Vlog. We’ll be back this week. I’ve got some really cool guests coming on, so stay tuned for that.
Tobi Skovron: Thanks guys.
