{"id":32567,"date":"2024-11-18T10:25:34","date_gmt":"2024-11-18T10:25:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mensfitness.co.uk\/?p=32567"},"modified":"2024-11-19T08:46:45","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T08:46:45","slug":"red-one-north-pole-gym","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mensfitness.co.uk\/features\/red-one-north-pole-gym\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Red One’s luxury North Pole gym"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Santa is no stranger to the gym, writes Jonny Wells<\/strong><\/em>. Back in 1996, Hulk Hogan appeared in the best-forgotten Santa with Muscles<\/a><\/em>. Next year, Arnold Schwarzenegger will star as Father Christmas alongside Reacher\u2019s Alan Ritchson in The Man with the Bag<\/a><\/em> for Netflix. And this year, Red One<\/a><\/em> introduces J.K. Simmons\u2019 jolly-but-jacked take on Saint Nick, whose complex at the North Pole includes a luxury gym.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re introduced to the gym early in the film, when Simmons\u2019 \u2018Nick\u2019 \u2013 decked out in merry red activewear and spotted by Dwayne Johnson \u2013 shoulder presses over 150kg. But he needs his strength. Every Christmas Eve, this Santa \u201cburns over 430 million calories\u201d so his gym must be up to snuff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Red One production design<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Red One<\/em> production designer Bill Brzeski has worked on films in the Fast & Furious<\/a><\/em> and Iron Man<\/a><\/em> franchises. He\u2019s built several cinematic gyms during his career, but never one in the North Pole. So, when the script came through, he and set decorator Danielle Herman knew they had a challenge on their hands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Luxury<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Luxury<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want it to look like every gym you see out there,\u201d Brzeski says. \u201cI wanted the equipment to be as natural as possible, and the brands chosen were made with beautiful woods and leathers. They had a very alpine look. I love all those natural colours. Most weights just look the same, black cast iron and chrome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost every piece of gym equipment in Red One<\/em> was sourced from Fysik<\/a>, a bespoke brand founded in 2015 which has outfitted, among other places, the penthouse gym of the Burj Khalifa. Swedish trainer and brand co-founder Henrik Olofsson says the filmmakers largely deferred to Fysik\u2019s judgement on the aesthetics of the equipment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bespoke gym equipment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe walnut wood and dark brown leather was our suggestion,\u201d says Olofsson, \u201cand they trusted us to go with it. In the early email exchanges, they asked if we had a squat rack and weight plates. At the time, we didn\u2019t, but I said we did! That meant late nights drafting designs to develop something workable. But the squat stand and weight plates have since become popular sellers!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost the entire Fysik range appears in Red One<\/em>, including the NANG adjustable gym bench<\/a>, the LOMM pattern-stitched medicine balls<\/a> and the KRABA kettlebells<\/a>. But the KHUN stand<\/a>, with fixed J-hooks and stainless steel frame, and the brushed-finish KLOM weight plates<\/a> are undoubtedly the stars of the North Pole set. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs for those 45lb plates J.K. Simmons is lifting,\u201d adds Olofsson, \u201cit\u2019s probably no surprise that they weren\u2019t real. Ultimately, we made them mostly of styrofoam with a thin layer of stainless steel, leather and wood veneer stickers.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gym also features its fair share of home comforts \u2013 necessary when you\u2019re working out at minus 40 degrees Celsius. There\u2019s a fire pit, a fluffy white armchair and pot upon pot of poinsettias. Brzeski says he included these elements to make the visual of a North Pole gym \u201cless incongruous. It still had to function as a personal workout space\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

High-end machines<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To that end, several exercise machines were also drafted in. The Ergatta Rower from Waterrower<\/a>, handmade from dark American Cherry, fits the Nordic aesthetic and the Carbon bike from Ciclotte<\/a> offers a visually striking spin on the classic exercise cycle. Both these machines and the Fysik equipment, Brzeski explains, were loaned to the production. \u201cThey had to be sent back after we were done. I think Dwayne Johnson bought a few pieces, but all of it had to be accounted for.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnother fun fact,\u201d adds Fysik\u2019s Olofsson, \u201cis that since our products are modular, we\u2019ve been able to remake and reuse many parts [of the equipment used in Red One<\/em>] for future orders. That means many of our customers around the world now have Hollywood movie props in their own gyms \u2013 without even knowing it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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