For most of us the dynamics of health keeps on changing as our lifestyle is not constant. At times we find ourselves healthy, at times weak, and at times ill. Over a period of time many of us now have realized the importance of wellness. We experiment with various means to remain healthy…eat healthy, sleep early, take a walk, go for a run, meditate, practice yoga, join zumba, and in the recent past a lot of us have been hitting the gym, where a variety of facilities and forms of exercises are provided. So it is convenient as we have all under one roof at the gym.
Prabodh Davkhare and his vision
In the recent past Nitrro a gym with a difference has sprung up, where its members cannot stop raving about the facilities it provides besides the opulent ambience that goes along with it. Its owner Prabodh Davkhare who has done his post-graduation in Hospitality Management from IMI International Management Institute, Switzerland, and a brief stint at Michelin Star restaurant back there, one fine day realized his true calling was in the business of bespoke wellness. His well spent time in Switzerland at the ‘Swiss fitness chain Silhouette’ propelled him to start a gym in India, a gym with a difference.
I wanted to know what is bespoke wellness. In his words…
“Bespoke means to be spoken about, and customized options are available to choose from. We offer a variety of options in packages and services for members to choose from. Quality does come in different forms, and yes we are there to offer you quality service as per your choice and requirements.”
Nitrro has been constructed in a prime area…it is a part of the Waterfront Complex, Kalyani Nagar, constructed by Panchshil Realty, India’s top Luxury Real Estate Developers. It certainly will be noticed, both for the area in which it lies and its grandeur.
Prabodh Davkhare had some very nice things to say about the main man himself who heads Panchshil Realty, Atul Chordia.
“Atul Chordia was easy to interact with. He was very cooperative and helpful. And I respect him for his eye for details and for his mission to provide quality constructions to his customers. The Panchshil properties are very innovative, provide comfort and live up to the expectations of the customer. He is an example for other builders. A very nice person to work with.”
Nitrro and Panchshil are in sync with each other as both are quality conscious and have set very high standards!
Nitrro has gone a step further and has provided Corporate Packages for the employees at Panchshil, and has extended this to their families as well.
The name Nitrro sounded sensational! And so intrigued, I asked…
Our air contains 78% of Nitrogen, it helps in protein synthesis, amino acids that influence growth, hormones, brain functions and the immune system. Was it with this intent that the fitness club was named Nitrro, or is it something completely different?
Absolutely! Yes indeed! But the name actually didn’t come to my mind automatically. It so happened that when I was searching for a cool happening name for my fitness venture I was unable to find something for almost a month. I hired consultants too to find me a wow name for my brand chain, but still couldn’t find something WOW until one night when I was watching TV at 3 am and surfing channels lazying around in my sofa, I saw my favorite Wrestlers Razor Ramon, Bret Hart, Hulk Hogan & ultimate warrior on no.1 wrestling show of U.S then-WCW Nitrro. Bang! I got that name registered in my mind – Nitrro! The name needed no further rethought.
There are gyms and there are gyms. With so much competition in the market what drove him to construct a gym that is uber luxurious, and be a pioneer in introducing India’s first Oxygenated gym. Was the concept so compelling?
“PASSION & VISION”, came the immediate response! Yes, Nitrro is unique, different & unconventional. Neither the competition ever bothered me, nor did I copy some prevalent concept. It’s purely out of passion to be different, moreover I am a quality conscious fitness enthusiast. It’s all about serious fitness in a fun atmosphere.”
“I did what I believed in. It was a fine blend of passion, clear vision, backed by intellectually driven thought process, in-depth market survey, and right timing.”
“Money and fame just followed on its own. Never ran after them. Never will.”
That is a true leader speaking. Have a vision and have the courage to follow it.
With Nitrro Wellness & Fitness Hub being internationally acclaimed and very particular about the standards, I was wondering how does one cope with this. So I asked him,
“Does that put any pressure on you to live up to certain standards? If yes, what are they and how do you cope?”
“Yes today after receiving recognition of the Best gym in India from several award functions and top 10 gyms in the world from Destination Luxury ( Los Angeles based luxury survey group) there is a certain amount of pressure that builds up of expectation and quality deliverance. When you work with passion it doesn’t build stress on you it just adds challenges and the thrill to succeed over it.”
With every answer of his I saw that this was a man with passion and grit. His primary objective is to give the best to his members.
The South Mumbai branch is India’s 1st ever oxygenated Bespoke Fitness gym. Prabodh, in a short span of time launched three branches in Mumbai.
Prabodh Davkhare has now brought his internationally acclaimed Nitrro Wellness & Fitness Hub to Pune.
Situated in the plush locality of Kalyani Nagar and spread across 27,000 square feet, Nitrro is nothing Pune has seen before.
With facilities such as a dedicated strength area with a crystal ball DJ console, Queenax- a functional training equipment with over 220 applications, group activity studio, swimming pool with Michael Phelps Swimming Academy, aqua aerobics and aqua zumba, professional MMA and kickboxing ring and a spinning studio with a skyline view, Nitrro has successfully managed to bring a variety of fitness activities under one roof.
Knowing this intrigued me and so I visited the gym.
As one enters Nitrro, they are greeted at the grand lounge area, trained by some of the best-in-town trainers on high-grade equipments manufactured in the USA and also has access to specialised physiotherapists on board.
An open-air cabana with Wi-Fi surrounded by a waterbody, continental cafe and juice bar by the poolside inside a chic container, in-house salon and spa, an uber-luxurious changing room with sauna and jacuzzi, and valet parking; this is a wellness hub that provides its patrons a truly lavish experience each day of the week.
However I was curious about the live DJ at the gym. A novel concept.
A live DJ…. an exciting concept. However, would we have the Dj playing music from morning to evening? You would have to have Djs in rotation?
“Well it’s all about adding that extra touch of fun element for our dear Nitrro members. Music plays a crucial role in building up the workout tempo and mood upliftment. Our in house DJ plays favorite track requests from our members so that they can enjoy their work-out on their favorite music track which helps them boost their adrenaline. We have one of the very best music system from Europe with our DJ playing a variety of pulsating numbers /music tracks in Hindi and English to the choice of our members.”
I had to ask the most important question.
If someone wants to be a trainer/ fitness instructor at Nitrro, what criteria does he have to clear?
It’s a bit of a tedious process. Firstly we don’t hire trainers. We hire fitness professionals who are passion driven about fitness. They have to be highly qualified with top certifications and they all need to go through our on-site examination process. Service oriented attitude is very crucial, after all it’s a service industry.
Our managers are well qualified to train all new recruits for the same. We treat our Nitrro members as kings & queens. Service has to be unparalleled at the experience is result driven.
The Young and the Old at the Gym
Is it important to workout heavy and build muscles, or is it OK to workout to be healthy? I see a lot of men in their 50s turning to heavy-weight lifting?
Whatever you enjoy doing and makes you happy is what I can suggest. Just ensure you are investing at least 1 hour of your 24 hours for it. Weight training is a great form of exercise but lifting very heavy can be injurious for health. Weight training like all forms of exercises has its pros and cons. We advise beginners and senior citizens to lift a weight with which you can easily complete 10 reps per set with no compromise in form and technique.
Spiritual Well-being or Physical Well-being – the better one.
Over the years with competition and stress ruling our lives meditation and yoga is also taking precedence. Spiritual well-being is now also becoming a focus area.
With the world turning to yoga and the growing emphasis on mental/ emotional health, does any of your packages or methods involve a holistic approach to fitness? What are your views on Holistic healing?
“We do offer different forms of yoga and activities to choose from. Yes inner health is also important as physical strength and conditioning. Stress is a killer and affects your internal well-being. If you are not strong internally it’s sooner or later going to affect you physically. Diabetes is the simple example. Even most of the bodybuilders have been a prey to stress and heart attack due to it. Yoga definitely helps to control your mind & emotions. Twice in a year we run a complimentary free health check- up for all our staff and members.”
Prabodh who loves to weight train is a young achiever who has also won the much-acclaimed Times Retail Icon by Times Group in the category ‘Eminent Young Entrepreneur’.
With four branches in India, 3 in Mumbai, with the gym being popular among major Bollywood celebrities, and has been visited by the 8-time Mr Olympia winner, Ronnie Coleman among many; Prabodh intends to take Nitrro to the international market…the first stop being Dubai.
With the kind of foresight that he has I am sure this step is not far away.