Not Your Typical Boxing Gym

“You get fit but you don’t get hit” certainly isn’t your typical boxing gym slogan. Then again, the new AEROSPACE High Performance Center isn’t your typical boxing gym. A joint venture of the former top-ranked middleweight contender Michael Olajide Jr. and Dance Theater of Harlem alumna Leila Fazel, this Meatpacking District health club is as unconventional in its methodology as it is in its pedigree and design.The concept is simple: a spa-like, equipment-free health club built around an aerobic workout using the movement vocabulary of boxing. Instead of jazz hands or disco claps, students execute a series of jabs, uppercuts, and hooks to the driving rhythms of deep tribal, jungle, and house music. “The music starts kicking it to a different level and takes you over the edge,” explained Mr. Olajide.In between instructed combinations that condition the upper body, grueling jump-rope sequences challenge the cardio-respiratory system while maintaining physical intensity. The routine relents just a bit during the drilled squats, push-ups, and jumping jacks, but ultimately those who find themselves short of breath are going to have to stop on their own initiative.“When I quit dancing, I couldn’t find anything that excited me. I certainly wasn’t going to take a ballet class,” explained Ms. Fazel. “I took a class of his six years ago and I was blown away.”Indeed, many of Mr. Olajide’s students have followed him around the city from gym to gym over his decade long career as a fitness instructor. The current 7,000-square-foot space, even while still under construction, has attracted full classes, with students traveling from as far north as the Upper East Side and as far East as Park Slope in Brooklyn.“Wherever he goes, I go,” said psychotherapist Michele Smith, who first encountered Mr. Olajide’s punishing workout at an Equinox club on 96th Street and then tagged along when he moved to Chelsea Piers. While Ms. Smith’s commitment to his regimen began over five years ago, Mr. Olajide’s technique dates back even further. In 1991, after suffering an eye injury in the ring (he still wears an eye-patch), Mr. Olajide started training non-professionals at Gleason’s Gym, the boxing gym in Brooklyn. Within a year, he had spearheaded a group class at the now-defunct Crosby Street Studios, which in turn led to a gig at Equinox and a series of videos produced by Kathy Smith and Everlast, among others.Ms. Fazel refers to the recently opened health club as “a sports simulation center.” With that in mind, members will find nary a treadmill or weight machine in sight. Instead, when not taking classes such as AEROBOX, a jump rope intensive called AEROJUMP, or the isometric-plyometric fusion called AEROSCULPT, these non-violent pugilists will have access to heavy bags, punching bags, and double-end bags under the guidance of a personal trainer or a prerecorded routine on a MP3 player. Introductory classes are available for novices, but regulars – who can study in groups ranging from 30 to 100 people with Mr. Olajide and his trained staff – sign up for yearlong memberships.“This is about immersion,” said Ms. Fazel of the enterprise.The 1,500-square-foot ground-floor studio is adjoined by an actual boxing ring, although Mr. Olajide insisted there’d be “no in-house fights.” Sparring enthusiasts eager to duke it out, however, will be able to pair up with actual professionals drawn from Mr. Olajide’s ever-evolving career. (In 1987, he fought a title match with Tommy Hearns at Atlantic City’s Taj Mahal Casino Resort. Today, he also does consulting work on boxing films; recent projects included “Ali” and “Undefeated.”) Geared towards amateurs, these non-competitive matches are more about giving individuals exposure to advanced levels than a taste of actual blood. Indeed, sparring interactions will be monitored by the staff to ensure that fights don’t get too physical.Where Ms. Fazel’s contributions come most significantly into play are in the design and the overall concept of the new space. Having spent the last 10 years as a driving force behind the Agua spas at Ian Schrager’s boutique hotels in London, Los Angeles, and Miami, Ms. Fazel has opted to defy convention by adding the luxurious gloss of high-end minimalism to what’s generally perceived as a roughhousing sport. Gone are the peeling posters, dented lockers, and bloodied mouthpieces of most boxing gyms. AEROSPACE is modern and pristine.With its trapezoidal main studio bisected by a glass-paned wall that can lift overhead like a garage door when needed, architect John Lederer of Shelter Design and Michael Nolan of MN Design have accented the angular aspects of a building wedged in the middle of the stridently triangular first block of Gansevoort Street.Aside from a requisite lounge and men’s and women’s locker rooms that shimmer with exquisite black and red glass tiles, the main floor houses two AEROPODS, small rooms where individuals can shadow-box individually with larger-than-life videos of Mr. Olajide or another instructor.“This is our answer to cardio theater,” Ms. Fazel said.Upstairs, the spa-inspired amenities become even more pronounced. The second floor complements an ancillary studio with a pair of small suites intended for massages and reflexology. With Ms. Fazel’s pampering touches balancing Mr. Olajide’s punishing workouts, AEROSPACE is well situated to become this city’s unexpectedly polished tribute to America’s favorite martial art.AEROSPACE High Performance Center, 332 W. 13th St., 212-929-1640, www.aerospacenyc.com. Memberships cost $2,000–$2,400 a year and can be paid either monthly or yearly. Trial classes are $30 each.

Not Your Typical Boxing Gym

Not Your Typical Boxing Gym

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