Seems like traditional gym memberships are going the way of the dodo bird, as fitness studios are popping up left and right and an innovative membership model, ClassPass, has just come to town.
Launched in 2013 by dancer and MIT grad Payal Kadakia, ClassPass doesn’t tie you to one type of workout or location. Instead, for $99 a month, users can sign up for local classes from various studios around town. And it just launched in Baltimore a few weeks ago.
“Like many cities in the U.S., the boutique fitness space is really blowing up in Baltimore,” Kadakia says. “We heard from both eager fitness enthusiasts and studios about how well ClassPass would do, so when we were thinking through our next batch of cities, we knew we had to include Baltimore.”
ClassPass has partnered with more than 40 studios on the area from Charm City Yoga in Pikesville and Pop Physique in Mt. Vernon to Rev Cycle in Locust Point and Ojas Wellness Center in Hunt Valley.
“We want to make sure we are providing good diversity and have a range of genres available,” she says. “We work with brand-name studios like Pop Physique and Pure Barre and also smaller local studios.”
The fine print states members sign up for classes in advance, must cancel 24 hours before class time (or incur a $20 fee), and can’t visit the same studio more than three times in one month. This rule encourages members to try classes that might be out of their comfort zones.
“BeachFit [in Fells Point] has unique classes like surfset—think surfing on land—to FloYo, which combines cycling and yoga,” Kadakia says. “We know fitness is personal so want to give members that variety.”
You can sign up for Class Pass here and download the app (available for iPhone) here. Happy sweating!