German fitness operator McFit has launched a new gym concept centred around design and music.

The first John Reed Fitness Music Clubs launched in the cities of Bonn and Salzburg in late July 2016. To date, nine have been opened in Germany, Austria, Italy and Hungary, and McFit wants to have 30 studios open by the end of 2017.

Each club has its own unique design, with furnishings and features inspired by McFIT founder Rainer Schaller’s travels around the world, particularly in Asia. Treadmills, weight machines and other traditional gym equipment sit among Buddha statues, colourful paper lanterns, leather armchairs and even wooden Indonesian-style dwellings built inside the gym.

McFit and its in-house design team wanted “music, design and fitness to interact in a very special way” by creating the “atmosphere of a dance club” for gym-goers. Each studio hosts two live DJ sets a week, which can later be streamed online. Local and international DJs will be invited to play a diverse selection of music – from electro to rock and hip hop – “to drive athletes to peak performances.”

Marcus Adam, who formerly managed the music and artist strategy of MTV, is responsible for the music and marketing concept.

McFit is diversifying its gym offerings around the world. It recently launched its ‘World of Cyberonics’ concept– a virtual-only studio type in which celebrities deliver training sessions on giant LED screens – that is being rolled out across Europe.

Earlier this year it launched a ‘concept store’ in Berlin, showcasing how the futuristic, technology-heavy Cyberonics gyms allow “the real and virtual world to melt through complete immersion.”

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