In the winter of 2016, Saikel – Winnipeg’s first boutique cycle studio – will open to the public. The idea first arose in May after co-owners Mike Booth and Dustin Marks had each enjoyed pleasant experiences at spin studios outside of the province.

“I had taken spin classes in the U.S. and had always in the back of my head, just being an entrepreneur, thought this would be an awesome idea for Winnipeg,” Booth said.

“I’ve known Dustin for a while, and his girlfriend lived in Calgary and he kind of came back and was talking about a spin class he took and how much fun it was and I kind of jokingly said we should open one. A couple weeks later he ended up sending me a text and was like ‘are you serious?’ and the rest is kind of history.”

Located at 2-920 Lorimer Boulevard, Saikel will offer a number of different 45-minute spin classes including Saikel 101 – an intro class, power – which is designed to improve endurance and increase strength, and DJ ride – a Friday night class with DJ John Skene spinning live tracks. Overall, there will be six different class options for a variety of skill levels.

For the competitive type, Saikel will also offer large in-studio leader board screens, which display live results as you spin. Each member has the choice to opt-out of this feature if they choose.

Along with the high-tech display board, Saikel’s bikes are also top-of-the-line in terms of technology – using Performance IQ’s exercise tracking software.

In terms of the customer experience, Booth and Marks are aiming for an intimate setting.

“It’s going to be more customer-based, where you come in and everyone’s going to interact with each other and people are going to know you by name kind of thing,” Marks said. “It’s not going to be check you in and here’s your towel. We’re going to care about you a little bit more.”

For Booth, Saikel’s opening couldn’t come at a better time.

“We get all the time, people who have lived in Calgary and Vancouver or Toronto, and they’re like, ‘why is there not kind of a cycle studio here?’”

Booth also echoed Mark’s comments about the customer-first approach.

“Just because it’s such a new concept to Winnipeg, we want to make people feel welcome and we think this is going to be for everybody and is a great way for everybody to be active.”

 

For more information, including the studio’s official opening date, check out Saikel’s Facebook page – Saikel Indoor Cycle Studio.