This is a new concept – our first wellness club and Amsterdam’s new jewel. Everyone is welcome

What’s the concept of SportCity Cornelis Schuyt? How is it different from the other SportCity clubs?
SportCity has 25 clubs in the Netherlands, but this is a new concept, our first wellness club and Amsterdam’s new jewel. It’s warm and comfortable and everyone is welcome. If it works well we might open more.

We have all the elements of a boutique experience, but on a larger scale: an emphasis on personal service, top trainers, a beautiful fit-out, towel service, high class changing areas, cutting edge technology, great lighting and the incorporation of technology to enhance training methods – heart rate training, for example. The building itself is also iconic: it was formerly the Christie’s auction house.

As a result, the fees are more than the usual SportCity membership at €89 for four weeks if you join for two years, €99 for one year and €129 a flexible membership for a four week block. This gives access to the gym and classes, small group training, an individual programme, a quarterly scan on the InBody body composition analyser and the use of towels and toiletries.

A separate membership to the InBody composition analyser will also be offered, in collaboration with medical partners, so patients can come and have their measurements checked. This could also be an add-on for members.

What does the club incorporate?
Personal service is integral to our concept, so there is a high emphasis on PT. As we take a holistic view of health, we also offer physiotherapy, sports massage and a nutritionist. These services are available as an add-on to the membership.

The wellness area includes a sauna and steamroom and high-end changing rooms. We also have a vegan café, The Grand Café, run in partnership with HartBiet, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. The healthy menu has been put together by nutritionists and food is labelled with calorie and nutritional information.

There are four studios: the Christie’s studio for Les Mills classes, boxing, Latin dance and cycling with Technogym Group Cycle. The Zen studio holds a variety of yoga classes, Pilates and meditation and there are two studios for PT and small group training with a maximum of four people.

We have a gym with equipment from Technogym, including the Biocircuit, a guided cardio and strength training experience.

How has COVID-19 impacted your plans?
We managed to make it through the pandemic because SportCity is owned by a large company, which also owns the accessible fitness chain, Fit for Free. Despite this, the second lockdown was tough and the company had to make cost savings.

The launch was meant to be in 2019, but was delayed by COVID-19. We first opened on 7 December 2020 and had to close for lockdown eight days later. We only reopened on 19 May.

Fortunately, we’re now able to run group exercise classes and limitations on numbers have been lifted, however, members still have to stay 1.5m apart while they’re working out. Group classes, yoga, wellness and showers are all now open.

Members have to reserve a time slot to work out in the gym and we give each member their own cleaning supplies to clean the equipment after they use it.

To keep them engaged, we offered Zoom classes during the lockdowns and we’ll definitely keep this going, as well as organising yoga in the park when the weather is good and delivering running groups. This would have been the case even without COVID-19, but the pandemic has underlined the fact that this is needed. I really want to build a community and being outside helps to do that.

Who are your members?
The club aims to be welcoming to all and tuned in to the local community. It’s in a upscale residential area of Amsterdam, with wealthy people living locally, as well as a large expat community. We have a lot of corporate members and athletes, including members of the Dutch soccer and hockey teams. Other Sport City clubs tend to be 50:50 women to men, but we currently have 60 per cent men and the most common age group is 35 to 55, however, the club has only just opened, so this may change as the membership develops.

Many of the people who have joined are used to working out and have a healthy lifestyle but want to take it to the next level. In order to guarantee the high level of service, membership may be capped eventually to ensure a quality experience, but this level has not yet been set.

Talk us through the member journey
A high level of service is central to the concept, so the member journey is important. On the first visit they’re measured on the InBody analyser and shown the Biocircuit.

On the second appointment, they do a small group training class and on the third appointment they’re given a programme, then we meet them every three months to review goals and check in with them every week. Most members come 0.8 times a week. We hope to inspire them to come more often.