30 Years of Creating Training Spaces
Thirty years is a long time in fitness.
The way we train has changed. The spaces we train in have changed. Strength has moved from the corner of the gym to the heart of it, technology has become part of the experience, and expectations of what a training space can and should be have transformed.
IndigoFitness has changed with it.
FROM EQUIPMENT TO TRAINING SPACES
In 1996, we started with a simple ambition: to design and manufacture strong, durable strength training equipment here in Britain.
Those early years were rooted in engineering – in understanding how equipment moved, how it performed and how to build it to withstand the realities of a commercial training space.
But as the industry evolved, so did the questions our customers were asking.
It was no longer simply: what equipment should go into this gym?
It became: how should this training space work?
That shift has shaped the IndigoFitness of today.
Three decades later, our teams design entire training spaces; engineer and manufacture bespoke equipment in Britain; solve complex flooring, storage and spatial challenges; and work alongside customers from the first idea through to final installation.
The equipment still matters. But so does everything around it.
THREE DECADES OF DIFFERENT CHALLENGES
No two training spaces have ever asked quite the same question of us.
We’ve created spaces for professional athletes and serving military personnel; schools and universities; local authority leisure centres and independent health clubs; hotels and some of the UK’s most distinctive premium gyms.
We’ve worked around low ceilings, structural columns, listed buildings and awkward footprints. We’ve designed equipment for specific training methodologies, found ways to make limited square metres work harder and created entirely bespoke pieces when something off the shelf simply wouldn’t do.
And with every project, we’ve learnt something.
Those three decades of accumulated experience now influence every space we create.
MOMENTS THAT SHAPED INDIGOFITNESS
Some moments stand out because they changed what we believed was possible.
The early development of the Powerbag showed that a small UK manufacturer could create an original training product with international reach. Winning our first Ministry of Defence contract raised the standards required across our engineering, compliance and service. Achieving accreditation for inclusive fitness products in 2003 reinforced our belief that accessibility and design integrity should sit alongside durability and performance.
The way the business grew mattered too. New investment and expertise introduced in 2014 supported the purchase of our Nuneaton production site in 2017, strengthening the design, engineering and manufacturing capabilities we could offer from one UK base.
Each milestone expanded what IndigoFitness could deliver without changing the principles behind it: solve real problems, make things properly and keep improving.
BRITISH MADE. DESIGNED AROUND YOU.
One thing that hasn’t changed is our belief in making things properly.
Our British manufacturing heritage remains at the heart of IndigoFitness. Having design, engineering and manufacturing expertise in-house gives us the freedom to do something increasingly important in modern gym design: not accept that one size has to fit all.
A rack can follow the architecture of a building. Storage can become part of the equipment. Colours, finishes and upholstery can carry an identity through a space. And sometimes, when the right product does not exist, we can make it.
That commitment to longevity can be traced back to one of our earliest projects. Unique Physique in Leicester was the first complete gym fit-out delivered by IndigoFitness in the mid-1990s. Nearly three decades later, the gym was still operating with its original IndigoFitness equipment.
“Hearing that from one of our earliest customers was a proud moment,” says Rob Coleman, Managing Director of IndigoFitness. “It brought to life what we have always believed: equipment should be built to serve a business properly and to endure.”
It’s an approach that began with equipment in 1996 and today influences entire training spaces.
THE NEXT 30
An anniversary naturally invites you to look backwards.
We’re proud of where IndigoFitness has come from, the people who have shaped it and the customers who have trusted us with their training spaces along the way.
But 30 years in, we’re still much more interested in what comes next.
How will people train differently? What will operators need from their spaces? How can better design make those spaces work harder, perform better and remain relevant for longer?
We believe the next decade will ask the industry to think beyond equipment and consider training spaces as complete, integrated environments. Flooring, acoustics, lighting, circulation and the way people train individually and together will increasingly become baseline design considerations rather than optional additions.
Accessibility will need to move beyond compliance towards a genuinely inclusive experience. Sustainability will also require greater accountability, with durability, repairability, responsible sourcing and product lifespan influencing decisions from the outset.
“The next decade will demand training spaces that are more intentional, inclusive and built to endure,” says Rob. “The answers will continue to change. Our job is to keep asking the right questions, understanding what people and operators genuinely need, and making sure the solutions stand up to real-world use.”
Here’s to the next 30 years of creating training spaces.
