Particularly with the new #CommitToSomething campaign in place (you can see the Steven Klein images here), spanning 35,000-square-foot, Equinox West Hollywood really does feel like the heart of the brand. It’s located on Sunset Boulevard and takes design inspiration from classic Hollywood nightclubs of the 1950s and 1960s. Ideal!

A personal highlight and annex to the club, as well as my constant source of nutrition when I am in the city is earthbar. Awesome service, incredibly high protein selection and E3 live shots til your heart’s content.

On an Equinox London note, new to the club for 2016 is a class unlike any other: Head Strong – a class that meets HIIT with mindful movement in a unique 4-part Active Regeneration workout where you can train your brain and your body together. Always pioneers, thank you Equinox, saviour of my abdominals.

Photos ℅ Equinox, selfies ℅ Nik. Oh and on a cheeky side note, your soundtrack? None other than Kanye’s Highlights from The Life of Pablo which references Equinox multiple times! You can stream it on TIDAL now.

I need every bad bitch up in Equinox
I need to know right now if you a freak or not
I need every bad bitch up in Equinox
I need to know right now if you a freak or not

The post Discover Equinox West Hollywood appeared first on KIMU.

It’s only the 6th of January and there are two absolutely brilliant pieces of creative that I wanted to highlight. First of all, the covers for Lady Gaga’s rather genius curated issue for V Magazine featuring the timelessly brilliant concept of Karl Lagerfeld shooting Hedi Slimane and Hedi Slimane shooting Karl Lagerfeld. Essentially, two of fashions biggest creative / design stars going tete-a-tete. It’s beautiful.

The other covers feature Alexander McQueen and Isabella Blow posthumously edited, but originally photographed by Steven Klein. An incredible tribute. Finally, the star of the show herself – Gaga as a solo shot and even more provoking Gaga alongside Daphne Guinness.

Words on the issue, from Gaga herself:

“These are people who have kept me and protected me over the years, because they’ve wanted me to survive…that’s part of the message of this issue: we have to carry each other through the decades and take care of one another and honor each other’s work…I am saying thank you to all these people for everything they’ve given to me…I want to make sure the world knows who they are…it’s a guard of people…I call them my Fashion Guard!”

To experience the covers in full and the remaining unveils, head over to vmagazine.com

Secondly, the only health and fitness brand to truly embrace the use of high profile fashion photography is Equinox. With their last campaign photographed by Rankin, the luxury gym brand has now enlisted an even darker approach with Steven Klein at the helm of creative. The campaign is titled “Commit To Something” and is also styled by Mel Ottenberg featuring some incredible characters including Lydia Hearst.

On a third point, I really wanted to nod to and give my (albeit) brief opinion on the polarising images of Jaden Smith. Yes it is a bold and rather “late” move for Louis Vuitton, and the press it has generated is understandably polarising, but let’s please remember that the fact that a luxury brand is continuing down this path is not purely down to media agenda hijacking, but furthering equality in a genderless space that still needs a lot of work – so really it is never too late.

The post Creative Spotlight: Lady Gaga for V; Steven Klein for Equinox appeared first on KIMU.

One particular benefit from training at Equinox (aside from the incredible service, cold towels in mimi-fridges on the gym floor, a cafe with ideal high protein and low calorie food and so much more is the fact that the personal training service is so brilliantly personal. I’ve experienced personal training sessions in blocks at other gyms and nothing really compares.

Firstly, the Equinox proprietary Three-Cycle System is designed to keep you continuously stimulated. Once you finish 3, you return to Cycle 1 at a more advanced level. No plateaus allowed.

Trainers also have to complete 150 hours of education at the Equinox Fitness Training Institute (EFTI), which is apparently quite rigorous according to my trainer Andrea Pucci. Who guided me through my six classes and induction pushing personal body boundaries with me at least until I was like “no, we’re just doing 10 not 12 reps of this”. Sorry about that Andrea.

Either way, the last six months has yielded some pretty great results for me – across my core and especially tone – a lot of that is probably due to diet too. Granted I kinda always had a six pack, what Equinox has taught me is the power of open spaces – one of the company’s biggest USPs with regards to maximising it through free-form training and multi-joint movement. Equinox is leading the way with this type of ground-based exercise – and if any gym has the potential square metres of space to host this type of activity, it is Equinox.

I also have to thanks Caitlin McGowan for the introduction to open spaces, and letting me attend her classes that focus around them – and also being the most charming and inspiring trainer – everyone who meets her falls instantly in love.

So with that said, I’m sharing shots by Dimitris Theocharis that were taken after my six personal training sessions with Andrea a couple of weeks ago in aid of my grooming adventure/box project to raise money for homeless LGBT young people. Also for the record, because someone asked me the other day, these aren’t photoshopped or enhanced. It’s really down to good lighting and good effort.

The post Personal Training At Equinox appeared first on KIMU.

Last week, I experienced Pilates for the first time. Those of you who follow me on Instagram or Twitter probably know that I’ve been training regularly at Equinox – in London mostly, but NY, Toronto and LA when I am away. The Equinox experience is somewhat unparalleled – from a cultural or even pop cultural standpoint, Equinox has established itself as the most desirable luxury fitness destination worldwide. With campaigns from Rankin to a world class fitness enthusiast offering that is like no other. On a personal level, the energy that the team at Equinox collectively put out there is incredibly inspiring and is truly helping its members including myself achieve our personal goals.

So when I was invited to try Pilates and understand the value of what Pilates can achieve, particularly from the perspective of a man, I couldn’t say no. Granted, I already have a strong core from years (albeit infrequent) of yoga and working out, I knew there was still massive scope to improve. World leading Pilates expert Oliver James helped me put this into action. I caught up with Oliver after our class on some tips and the history of Pilates.

NT: Hey Oliver, thank you for such an incredible class. In your expert opinion, why has there has been a resurgence in Pilates for men?

OJ: Currently it is a fact that much larger percentage of women do Pilates than men – this is interesting particularly since men have been prime movers and shakers within the Pilates world since the beginning – none the least of which was Joseph Pilates. In his younger years Joseph was a boxer and circus performer. Early video archives show Joseph teaching whole rooms of men with in fact fewer women.

The large variance is changing as an increasing number of men recognise the benefits of Pilates for their physical and mental development as one of a few trusted and well proven methods to develop both strength and flexibility at the same time, missing from many mainstream exercises.

I believe it is making a resurgence among men for a number of reasons.

1. Pilates has had a historical image of being quite easy and mainly practiced by women which has put men off. I know many men still think this! Professional male athletes have been using Pilates as a cross training tool for a few decades and this number is increasing. It is popular with this opinion forming group as it gets results and improves performance in ways that standard training finds difficult to achieve. A good instructor can ensure anyone from a beginner to an athlete is challenged to a level of their choosing.

2. Men are becoming increasingly comfortable to try things out of their normal gym comfort zone. Structuring a workout with variety encourages powerful results by keeping the body guessing and avoids over developing parts which can lead to tightness and in some cases injury. Pilates is finding a natural place to support this as each session encourages a powerful, full body vigorous workout combined with moving the body in all physical planes. The integrative component of Pilates can be especially beneficial for men, whose workouts often emphasize a part-by-part approach to muscular development, such as with weightlifting.

3. The Pilates industry has been working to encourage men back into the studio. A number of teachers have focused on some of the more challenging upper body exercises that really get male physiques fired up. Equipment Pilates (rather than just mat work) has become increasingly accessible as centers open up across the world. Equipment Pilates is particularly good for men as it enables feedback and something to work against enabling them to feel and experience results quickly, not forgetting spring resisted equipment which stretches and strengthens at the same time, no other exercise does this to date.

4. Proven results – Pilates has worked incredibly effectively for over 80 years and has proven itself to still be relevant with the help of science. For men in particular, Pilates will increase a body’s flexibility in a way that men feel comfortable as it works towards functional fitness. This is the ability to have the strength, balance, and flexibility that allows one to move through the stresses and strains that ‘life’ brings with sophisticated precision. It is a leading method to help develop the weaker and smaller muscles whilst releasing the dominance of the larger, easier to use muscles.

NT: Incredible. Talk me through some of the advantages…

OJ: Some of the advantages include core strength, muscular uniform development, flexibility, balance and efficient movement patterns. After a thorough work out men (and women) report feeling more energised, increased fitness, larger lung capacity and the natural endorphin high from a full body workout.

NT: What is your advice for maintaining a strong core day to day?

1. Breath – observe how you breathe and learn to breathe bigger. After a big inhale exhale until all the air is squeezed out (whilst keeping a healthy posture) and feel how all the abdominal muscles squeeze the whole torso into a slimmer you! Breath in again and Repeat at least 15-20 times when ever you have a spare moment. Try to do this without tensing the rest of the body (in particular neck and shoulders). The strong exhale will not only fire up your core but increase your inhale as your body demands more air this way.

2. Watch for abdominal ‘punch out’. When you stand up, sit up in bed, get up from the sofa or even exercise, watch what your stomach and back do. If the belly punches outwards or your lower back slumps then you could cause an injury and are doing yourself no long term good. Draw your waist narrow and slimmer as you make these moves. This action with help to develop stronger and healthier core muscles.

3. Do Pilates! In the very least give it a go – when looking for where to practice make sure you find fully qualified instructor that has done a minimum of 500 hours certification course. You will notice the difference compared to a lesser trained instructor (and there are many of them out there!). Once found you can trust that they have the experience to make sure you are safe and get what you need out of a session. Lastly, when choosing an instructor don’t be afraid ask them questions and get to know them better. Each teacher will have a different style so find the one that suits you and avoid the larger classes if you want to get a good amount of attention to make sure you are working at an optimal level.

Learn more about Oliver’s techniques via Equinox and Oliver’s site.

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Equinox – certainly from a branding standpoint – has fast become the Transatlantic gym of choice. We’re talking Rankin campaigns, major models including the viral sensation Pietro Boselli and an offering that well near trumps any major gym brand.

A new addition to the existing offering, ETC (Equinox Training Camp) has just been developed by a top team of psychologists, PTs and instructors for collaborative group training. I experienced it for the first time last week and felt myself (Nicki/Bey ref) for a good 48 hours afterwards. Really impressed with the programme and can’t wait to experience more. Make sure you are following on Instagram and Snapchat:nikthakkar for the latest updates!



The post Introducing ETC from Equinox appeared first on KIMU.

Photographed by the legendary Rankin, ultra-chic Equinox Gyms has launched its new campaign ‘Equinox Made Me Do It’ canvassing and covering all bases. Some highlights in the video below with more content rolling out on Equinox social media channels.

The post Equinox Made Me Do It by Rankin appeared first on KIMU.