A Dundee businessman said he will set up his first gym pod in the city later this year after securing a funding boost.
Mike Forbes is behind TinyGyms, which will create small gyms people can privately book.
The pods will contain a treadmill, exercise bike and weights. They will have blinds to allow for privacy.
Mr Forbes has arranged a modular building company to supply the six by three metre pod and also equipment suppliers. Tech that would run the booking app is also in place.
Now he is scouting venues in Dundee for the first location, which he expects to announce soon.
The concept has received a £10,000 funding boost from Scottish EDGE competition, which supports high-growth potential businesses.
From more than 200 applicants, it was selected as one of the winners for early stage businesses.
TinyGyms plans
Mr Forbes developed the concept after wondering why some of his friends didn’t share his passion for the gym.
Answers ranged from people feeling self-conscious to having to wait to get on to equipment.
He realised people having a space to themselves, where nobody was looking at them or getting in the way, was the answer.
“I want to remove unnecessary barriers to people living healthier lifestyles,” he said.
“We want to give people the privacy of a home gym, but without the upfront costs.
“We’re really close to securing our first location and should have news to share with our supporters very soon.
“We’re ready to start building and can’t wait to welcome our first gym-goers later in the year.”
TinyGyms was one of 35 Scottish businesses that shared a £1.5 million funding pot at the Scottish EDGE awards.
Mr Forbes adds: “When you see the quality of previous winners – and the people in the room on Friday – winning the Scottish EDGE award feels like a real honour.
“It’s a nice bit of encouragement that we’re hopefully on the right track.
“It will be a big boost for getting our first site up and running, and help us bring something totally new to Dundee for all the people who don’t feel like busy public gyms are for them.”
Tayside and Fife Scottish EDGE winners
Scottish EDGE is Scotland’s biggest business funding competition, offering grants and loans from £10,000 to £100,000.
There were three other winners from Tayside and Fife, who also received £10,000 each:
- New Found Hope – Dunfermline – An adaptive children’s brand providing therapeutic footwear solutions to address the issue of toe-walking in neurodivergent kids.
- ProCedure VR – Dunfermline – Creating virtual reality training software libraries to support the immersive learning of surgical procedures.
- TiroBio – Dundee – Aiming to discover novel natural products such as enzymes and medicines from DNA microbiomes.
Since launching in 2013, Scottish EDGE has awarded over £26m to 636 businesses; which have in turn created 3,879 jobs and added £708m of additional revenue on the back of that support.
Evelyn McDonald, CEO of Scottish EDGE, said: “It’s been an honour to help unlock the huge potential within the Scottish business landscape through the 23rd round of the Scottish EDGE.
“With the introduction of two new awards this year we’ve been able to dedicate more resources than ever to giving promising Scottish entrepreneurs a helping hand on their journeys.”
Conversation