Once Manchester's most exclusive private members bar, the infamous Circle club now lays derelict beneath the streets of the city. But the basement club is about to get a new lease of life - with plans to transform the space into a new boutique gym.
Leeds-based Ryde Studios is aiming to bring its high-energy cycle classes and boutique style gym to the venue. It hopes to be opening in September at the site after a full renovation.
The underground space beneath the historic Barton Arcade off Deansgate became private members club The Circle back in 2001. It would go on to dominate the social scene for the following 11 years welcoming in footballers, celebrities and superstars.
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It lay empty for a couple of years after shutting in 2013, before being taken over by Be At One bar in 2016. Despite a renovation of the space, it closed during the pandemic, and has since opened a new site across the road on Deansgate instead.
It has left the former Circle club as an empty shell, including the former "Inner Circle" V-VIP room in the basement. Now the entire space is set to be transformed in a £700,000 investment from Ryde for a new 5,500 square foot boutique gym.
Founder Kyle Harris says they knew that the former Circle club was the perfect space for its fitness concept as soon as he set foot inside the underground space.
He had been encouraged to look at Manchester for the next location after the success of the Leeds Ryde studio.
Kyle says: "I’ve seen about 45-50 spaces across Greater Manchester, and brought different people to see different sites but nothing grabbed me.
"Yet as soon as I walked down the stairs here I thought yes, this is it, I just knew this was the place to be."
While Kyle never visited the Circle when it was a club, he says that whenever he mentions the locations to friends now they regale him with its past life.
Kyle laughs: "Everyone who I tell about the building, they say "oh there’s a few stories I could tell you about this place!"
Ryde in Leeds has been a hit with fitness fans with its "Rhythm Ride" classes with cycling to music and a focus on wellness.
Kyle says: "We have seen the boutique world was getting bigger with places like Vibe and Barry's, but no one was doing it as much with the cycle world.
"We try not to call it spin, because it's not like a conventional spin class. It’s Rhythm Ride, cycling to music with performance and mental health wellness messages overlaid.
"I've seen the fitness world really change a lot in recent years. A lot of the large gyms have moved out of cities, and boutique gyms are popping up offering really nice changing rooms and classes that you pay for in blocks, rather than membership.
"A conventional gym is where you've got your younger guys doing bicep curls, but the way we see it is a boutique gym is for everyone. We opened Ryde in Leeds in July last year and it amazed us how quickly we filled up.
"We brought on some investors and after three months he said we should go to Manchester. This will be our flagship studio and we're already looking at a second site at the Piccadilly side of town."
He plans to keep the main reception area where it is, when you come down the old spiral staircase, with the entrance remaining along the hidden alleyway at the back of the Barton Arcade.
In this reception space will be a health cafe area with organic juices, cakes and coffees.
There will be the main studio where the Ryde classes will take place, as well as a yoga and pilates studio. The gym will feature stylish changing rooms with everything you could possibly need to freshen up after a class including shampoos and hair straighteners.
There will be a full renovation, but it will match the "industrial chic style" of the Leeds studio, so we can expect to see exposed pipework and bricks.
When the gym launches, it will be on a "class pass" system where you can buy individual classes or block bookings. Prices per class in Leeds are £16, while full memberships will also be offered.
Kyle says it's an exciting time to be opening in Manchester. He says: "This is the biggest market outside of London right now, it's a vibrant place for fitness."
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