Brian McMaster started looking last summer for a new home for his 10-year-old strength training business.
Inspire Fitness, which also focuses on its clients’ mobility and stability, had been based in North Stamford since its inception, and “while looking for a location I just really fell in love with the look of New Canaan,” McMaster recalled Tuesday.
“I’d looked in Stamford, also in Bedford [N.Y.] and other places, but New Canaan just seemed like a really nice fit,” he told NewCanaanite.com.
Inspire Fitness at 100 Park St. in New Canaan. Credit: Michael Dinan
He opened in September at 100 Park St. and recently joined the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce. Since then, he’s had many of his longtime clients follow him to town and found new ones here.
“Those that are from New Canaan and have come in have been fantastic people that have joined the personal training and made great inroads with Inspire Fitness,” McMaster said. “In fact, a couple that I train who live in Stamford and transferred with me found that they so love New Canaan that they bought a house here. They have young kids and are very excited about the schools and the town itself.”
The overarching philosophy of Inspire Fitness is “to work with people where they’re at, meeting them to help reach their goals but also thinking of fitness in general just like any other investment you made,” McMaster said.
“You want to get the greatest return on investment you possibly can, so what you are not going to find is bruising workouts that leave you feeling battered out the door,” he said.
In addition to owning Inspire Fitness for 10-plus years, McMaster has nearly two decades of experience as a coach and trainer. He’s also employed by Dragon Door (kettlebell lifting) as a team leader.
McMaster said he’s learned a “number of techniques and methods to safely and effectively help people reach their goals, whether that’s an athletic achievement, weight loss or pain mitigation.”
Inspire Fitness offers bootcamps as well as private, partner and small group training sessions.
Asked about the business, Chamber Executive Director Laura Budd said her organization is “so happy to have Brian and the Inspire team move from Stamford to Park Street here in New Canaan.”
“The studio looks great and we know he will do well here,” Budd said. “We were honored that Brian joined the Chamber right away and look forward to working with him to connect with potential clients and network with other local businesses.”
McMaster said that at the time he started looking for a space in New Canaan, “there was actually a decent amount available.” Yet not every landlord was interested in having a gym or lacked sufficient parking access, he said.
“I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of parking at a municipal lot and walking to a gym, and that’s where this location is ideal, there’s a parking lot attached as well as free parking in the train station lot directly across the street,” McMaster said.
One of the classes he offers is called “Core Strength and Cardio,” though the cardio work people get with him comes “in short bursts,” McMaster said.
“It’s not steady-state cardio—in fact, I don’t even have a treadmill at the gym because it is personal training,” he said. “What I don’t want is for someone to pay me to just watch them walk or run on a treadmill. This is very hands on in terms of the goals set for you. I will program based on your goals and get you moving toward accomplishing them.”
Brian McMaster and Inspire Fitness at 100 Park St. in New Canaan can be reached at 203–658 – 8000 and info@inspirefitnessct.com. Inspire is on Facebook here, as well Instagram and YouTube.