Williston Park residents looking for a good workout and a group of friends will soon have a place to find both.
The state’s first STRONG Pilates studio will open in the village, likely by the end of June, said co-owners and partners Patrick Campana and Chris Valentino.
The two, who live in Farmingdale, said they were motivated to open STRONG to create a workout studio that provided both a sense of community and comprehensive class offerings.
Valentino, who goes by Tino, has been working in the fitness industry for the past seven years and currently teaches about 24 workout classes a week across Orange Theory, Cycle Bar and Rumble Boxing.
“I have taught multiple fitness modalities. I have taught thousands and thousands of classes,” Valentino said. “The modalities are so different. I wanted to take pieces of what I learned and just make a one-stop shop for people looking to really focus on their fitness goals, both physically and mentally. My goal was to build not only a facility, but also a community.”
When he learned about STRONG, an Australian-based pilates franchise starting its U.S. expansion, he said it was exactly what he wanted to offer his clients. Some of them follow him to each of his different gyms to get the benefit of different workouts. Valentino said that the different types of classes he’ll offer at STRONG will allow clients to get a wide range of benefits in one place that they currently have to travel around for.
Their STRONG location will offer four main types of classes, all about 45 minutes long, he explained. They range from a traditional pilates-only class, a STRONG Sweat class, which has a cardio focus, a STRONG Loaded class, which has a strength focus and will include a weight lifting series, and a STRONG Body class, which has both a pilates and conditioning focus.
STRONG will have nine typical rower pilates machines and nine bike pilates machines, allowing clients to choose the type of machine best for their body, ability and goals while booking classes.
But workouts aren’t the only thing Valentino plans to offer. He said he wants the studio, which will include a coffee bar, two showers and eucalyptus-scented products, to double as a place to hang out, meet friends and host fitness-centered events.
“What I’ve been missing – and I think what the fitness industry has been missing – is that community feel that we had pre-COVID where we would just hang out in the lobby,” Valentino said. “You’d come in and even if you don’t know anyone in class, you’re still making friends. I really want to build that on top of a really safe and productive workout.”
He said he plans to do this by making the studio feel like a comfortable place to hang out and organizing both in-studio events, like a wine night following a pilates class, and out-of-studio events that anyone can attend, like community track walks.
Valentino’s partner, Campana, said he will primarily handle the business side of things, manning the front desk and sales portion of the studio while Valentino coaches most of the classes.
Campana said those interested in joining the studio before it opens can sign up for a VIP founders rate.
For $269 a month, clients could take unlimited classes and cancel at any time. Those who sign up during the offer period will be locked in at the price and those who sign up after it expires will see a monthly charge of $309 for the same package.
Campana said that anyone who signs up for the unlimited monthly package at the founder’s rate can elect to alter their package or receive a refund for a few days after the studio opens if they decide something else would be a better fit.
Once the studio opens, it will also offer packages of five, 10 and 20 classes, monthly memberships at three and six-month commitment rates and the option to purchase single drop-in classes.
Rates for other package types will be released once the studio has opened.
