A Greenwich personal trainer who lost more than six stone on his way to owning a ‘gym with a difference’ has won an industry award for his amazing achievements.
Sebastian Ferrari owns FitStudioZ in Woolwich Road on Greenwich high street.
They offer specialised one-to-one training in seven private booths fully equipped with the latest gadgets.
Sebastian, who lost 40kg prior to becoming a personal trainer, opened FitStudioZ last January, and today it has around 200 trainers signed up.
In recognition of his contributions to personal training, Sebastian has won the Personal Best Award, hosted by Insure4Sport.
He said: “It’s a big honour to win this award, and to be recognised by one of the big players in the personal trainer industry for the work we do.
“It’s been a really tough but enjoyable journey. I see FitStudioZ as very much a gym with a difference, so it’s hugely encouraging to know that we’re following the right path.
“I don’t necessarily fit the mould of a personal trainer. I wasn’t the sporty boy at school, I wasn’t captain of the football team. But I found the strength from somewhere to make it work.
“Receiving awards like this gives us the drive to keep going and keep making a difference to the industry.”
FitStudioZ operates on a ‘pay as you train’ basis, meaning local personal trainers are only paying for the time they’re on-site.
What’s more, FitStudioZ charges £8-12 per hour to use its facilities, compared to the going rate of around £45 per hour in Greenwich.
Before becoming a personal trainer, Sebastian co-owned a business in the motorsport industry, building race cars and working long hours.
It was during this stressful period that his weight ballooned, and he enlisted the help of a personal trainer.
Over the next year, he gained a fascination with all things exercise, losing 40kg in the process – and so began his journey to becoming a certified personal trainer.
He said: “After a year with the personal trainer, the results were amazing. People would often ask me ‘what’s your secret?’ and in all honesty, I just did what he told me!
“Then I started reading up on the science behind it and I then understood why he told me to do all that.
“I got really interested in physiology and my brother said why don’t you give it a go and see how you get on?”
Sebastian studied for an NVQ in Personal Training and Business Development at Future Fit. After graduating, he became the director of Proven Personal Training in Greenwich.
Unfortunately, during this time he fell ill with a ruptured appendix and had to take several weeks off to recover.
Due to personal reasons, Sebastian then parted ways with the gym and set off on his next venture.
This took him to a small studio underneath an estate agent in Greenwich high street. It was here that the concept for FitStudioZ was born.
He said: “I worked from here for a few months and one client in particular said they liked how private it felt and came up with some suggestions that reflect what we have now.
“I was a bit arrogant at first and dismissed the ideas, but he said one word and then I gave in – ‘community’. This said client became a business partner almost overnight!
“Airbnb has become a huge online community something that gyms lack. We talked about it in more detail and the rest, as they say, is history.”
Far from resting on his laurels, Sebastian is now looking at taking FitStudioZ from strength to strength.
Find out more about FitStudioZ by visiting
If you'd like to find out more about the awards - CLICK HERE.
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