{"id":249639,"date":"2025-10-24T23:49:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T23:49:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/249639\/"},"modified":"2025-10-24T23:49:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T23:49:18","slug":"how-animo-is-leading-the-rise-of-new-super-boutique-gyms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/249639\/","title":{"rendered":"How Animo is leading the rise of new super-boutique gyms"},"content":{"rendered":"

What if the gym was more than just a place to sweat through a workout? A new generation of \u201csuper-boutique\u201d gyms is challenging the \ufb01tness market by offering environments where you can take classes and chase a new personal best but also run work meetings, eat in healthy restaurants and stock up on athletic gear in concept shops. It\u2019s a shift that\u2019s aimed at a new generation of people for whom \ufb01tness is a way of life and central to their social lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cClassic gyms have no vibe,\u201d says Alexandre de Vaucleroy, the 32-year-old co-founder of Animo Studios in Brussels, the latest super-boutique to \ufb02ex its muscles in this emerging sector. \u201cCrossfit doesn\u2019t always come with good facilities, while places such as Barry\u2019s only do one kind of thing.\u201d A former analyst at management consultants Bain & Company in London, De Vaucleroy teamed up with Antoine Derom, a business and economics graduate who had previously founded a dating app, to launch Animo in 2020. This four-\ufb02oor site \u2013 their biggest yet \u2013 opened in March.<\/p>\n

\"AA functional fitness class<\/p>\n

\u201cWe always wanted more from the gyms that we went to,\u201d says De Vaucleroy, clutching a \ufb02at white as we sit in the Animo caf\u00e9. He and Derom spent much of their spare time exercising and saw a gap in the market for something more ambitious than what was on offer. \u201cWe wanted to add food, recovery and a social aspect,\u201d says Derom.<\/p>\n

Animo feels a little like an all-inclusive holiday resort for \ufb01tness enthusiasts. In the lobby, there\u2019s a shop selling sports kits, a coffee shop and protein-shake counter. Upstairs is the gym, which balances an industrial aesthetic with lush plants and is drenched in natural light from the numerous windows. Then there are separate studios for classes offering workouts such as Reformer Pilates and rooms used by the on-site physiotherapists. Down two \ufb02ights of stairs, you\u2019ll \ufb01nd saunas, steam rooms and ice baths, plus a beauty salon and spa offering facials and massages. It\u2019s the gym as a destination.<\/p>\n

\"AlexandreAlexandre de Vaucleroy (left) and Antoine Derom<\/p>\n

Its opening was the culmination of \ufb01ve years\u2019 work and is perfectly timed to mine a rich and evolving \ufb01tness market. Gym use is rising, with more than 100 million people in Europe expected to have a membership by 2030 (though that \ufb01gure will include many who pay a fee but fail to get up from their couch). Some 77 million Americans were signed up to a gym or studio in 2024, up 20 per cent from 2019, according to global trade organisation the Health & Fitness Association. But it\u2019s \ufb01ndings such as those of McKinsey & Company\u2019s 2025 report on the $2trn (\u20ac1.71trn) wellbeing industry that show where the money really is. The management consultancy concluded that millennials and Gen Z consumers consider wellness<\/a> to be a \u201cdaily, personalised practice\u201d rather than just a matter of \u201coccasional activities or purchases\u201d. Animo leans into this trend.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything is here so it saves me time,\u201d says Dali Jelassi, a 40-year-old member who works in education technology. \u201cI can get a massage, use the sauna and have lunch.\u201d Earlier, he also had his VO2 max test, which shows how much oxygen your body can use during intensive exercise. \u201cI don\u2019t have to go to a therapist somewhere else and it\u2019s easy to try new things,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

\"TestingTesting aerobic<\/p>\n

\"GymMembers can use compression boots in the recovery lounge<\/p>\n

De Vaucleroy uses a term that he believes sums up the Animo offer. \u201cWe are a Social Wellness and Performance Club,\u201d he says. Indeed, he and Derom have even trademarked the phrase. \u201cIt\u2019s about responding to the way that people want to live their lives now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since the height of the coronavirus pandemic \u2013 when many people took part in \u201ccouch-to-5K\u201d-style initiatives \u2013 the \ufb01tness boom has snowballed. Marathon participation, for example, is now at an all-time high and concepts such as Hyrox, a gym-based competition launched in 2017, are now part of a global \ufb01tness movement.<\/p>\n

After our tour, De Vaucleroy and Derom lead us back to Animo\u2019s caf\u00e9, a calming space \ufb01lled with boucle sofas and armchairs. It\u2019s 12.00 on a Monday and members are eating a\u00e7a\u00ed bowls and basil-topped fruit salads served on stainless-steel tableware, while tapping away on their laptops. Flat whites and matcha lattes come in handmade ceramics; protein shakes are served in glasses. \u201cIt\u2019s about giving members a better experience and value for their money,\u201d says De Vaucleroy, as he sticks a fork into a lightly peppered, beetroot-dyed egg. The business shares a kitchen with Seven, a Brussels all-day caf\u00e9 that\u2019s on the ground \ufb02oor and is open to the public.<\/p>\n

\"FoodThe business shares a kitchen with Brussels all-day caf\u00e9 Seven<\/p>\n

\"TheTime for a gear change?<\/p>\n

The path to Animo has not always been easy. In 2019, De Vaucleroy and Derom each invested \u20ac50,000 to launch Animo and a year later unveiled a studio for classes. After just 45 days, however, it was forced to close because of lockdown restrictions. \u201cOur bank accounts were absolutely wiped out but we hired out our spin bikes and delivered them to people\u2019s apartments,\u201d says Derom. \u201cWe did what we could.\u201d While many traditional gyms were shuttered and never reopened, things turned around for Animo in 2021. People were desperate for real-life experiences. \u201cAs soon as we reopened, we were very busy,\u201d says Derom.<\/p>\n

To launch a more ambitious space, they needed to raise funds. \u201cThat was always the goal but there\u2019s no way that two [then] 27-year-olds could bootstrap a project like this,\u201d says De Vaucleroy. \u201cWe had to prove our concept \ufb01rst.\u201d The pair raised \u20ac1m from various sources. This money helped them take on a new site, a multistorey car park that the duo transformed into their state-of-the-art premises. In its \ufb01rst \ufb01ve months, the club has signed up 1,500 members who pay between \u20ac209 and \u20ac249 a month.<\/p>\n

Among them is thirtysomething brand consultant Marine Lambert. As she picks up an iced Americano, she tells us that she likes Animo because the classes here are \u201cvery dif\ufb01cult\u201d. She proudly pulls out an Animo water bottle from her Animo tote bag. \u201cI was given the bottle after 100 classes,\u201d she says. \u201cI got the bag after doing 200 classes. It made me feel special and appreciated.\u201d After 1,000 classes, Lambert received a gift box, which also includes a hoodie.<\/p>\n

\"TheWeight training<\/p>\n

Gyms have traditionally been function \ufb01rst, with un\ufb02attering lighting and ugly machinery. Animo, however, is furnished like an upscale hotel, with a custom scent that wafts through the air, vases of fresh \ufb02owers and plenty of modernist furniture. There\u2019s also a fridge that\u2019s filled with eucalyptus-scented facecloths. It\u2019s far nicer than most offices \u2013 and possibly many members\u2019 homes.<\/p>\n

The duo have created a space that aspires to be a little \u201csexy\u201d and borrows lessons from the world of hospitality. De Vaucleroy\u2019s CV includes two years as the head of brand for a global luxury-hotel portfolio and the in\ufb02uence of that time on his way of running Animo is clear. \u201cStaff members are instructed to remember faces, names and orders,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s really important. For some people, that 30-second \u2018Hi, how are you?\u2019 might be their only real-life interaction that day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Animo\u2019s social focus is central to the operation. One member, Jelassi, tells Monocle that he met about 90 per cent of his friendship circle through Animo since it \ufb01rst opened. This is especially important in a freelance economy, in which many people don\u2019t have regular colleagues. It\u2019s partly why members use the caf\u00e9 as an on-demand workplace.<\/p>\n

\"PilatesUnisex Pilates socks are a bestseller<\/p>\n

\"BeautyFacilities include a beauty salon<\/p>\n

In the gym, I spot a member wearing a black tank top emblazoned with the Animo logo. It\u2019s part of an own-brand line that includes dual-layer shorts for men, bras and leggings for women and unisex Pilates socks. \u201cOur socks business is insane,\u201d says Derom. \u201cWe sell 500 pairs a month.\u201d The Animo kit is sold alongside shorts from On Running, Normatec compression boots from Hyperice and Swedish laundry detergent made especially for gym kit.<\/p>\n

De Vaucleroy and Derom have big dreams for Animo, with their sights set on Paris. For now, pay a visit to the Brussels location, where visitors can buy a \u20ac70 week-long \u201cdiscovery\u201d pass. Been there, flexed that, bought the grippy socks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What if the gym was more than just a place to sweat through a workout? A new generation…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":249640,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[337,97],"class_list":{"0":"post-249639","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-fitness","9":"tag-health"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249639"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249639\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}