A new fitness studio with a strong mission, Ambition combines four workout concepts to make their clients stronger and more confident, both physically and mentally. Their space at 57 Court Street boasts brand new facilities and two spacious studios. With an active and supportive team, Ambition is off to strong start making their members feel at home.
DBP: Can you tell us a bit about Ambition, and the story behind it?
Anne Mahlum (AM): I’m originally the founder of [solidcore], a pilates inspired workout program, and I stepped down as CEO almost two years ago. At that time if you had asked me if I was going to start another fitness company I would have definitely said no, especially after the pandemic. Then last year I just was running around the city going to different types of workout concepts like a lot of other people do, and realized there was not a place that offers a variety of workouts that really hit the different muscle groups, and that give well rounded results. I love the boutique fitness community, and I don’t love the transactional approach that gyms take that offers more of a solo journey. This led to the idea of combining fitness concepts underneath one roof that would provide the variety I noticed was lacking from many workouts. I partnered with my good friend Jo Gomez who is the queen of programming and knows the body better than anybody. She developed the four different types of workouts for our classes and that’s where Ambition came from.
We feel that a lot of boutique fitness is trendy and fun and cool, and we wanted to keep that vibe but also wanted to create sophisticated programming that’s based in education. The programs are meant to help people see the results they are trying to achieve, not just from an aesthetic perspective but from a performance perspective.
DBP: It’s awesome that you were able to create a custom workout system. Did you design any of your equipment as well?
AM: We partnered with Fitbench, which is an awesome company, and chose to use their workout bench stations and branded them with Ambition. This product is really great. There can be a lot of frustration around other types of workouts from running back and forth to get your weights. The bench we use allows everything you need to be in one place, and we’re impressed with the versatility from a weight perspective and with its general functionality.
DBP: Are you opening other Ambition locations?
AM: We’re opening two more in Flatiron and Chelsea in May. Brooklyn is the first one to open!
DBP: Why Downtown Brooklyn?
AM: We were looking for a deal that worked well for us. This location was a yoga business and already had two studios which allowed us to open fairly quickly. We also just like the neighborhood here in Brooklyn, it’s really dense. Something I’ve noticed is that this is probably the most diverse neighborhood I’ve been to and l love that, it’s awesome. Even in our class this morning there was a great mix of racial and gender diversity. We love it!
DBP: What is the mission behind Ambition?
AM: We want people to push themselves here. We believe that people are capable of much more than they may think they are, and it’s important to show up, not only when you feel 100%, but all the time. Confidence and self-esteem come from showing up when it’s hard. We’re providing a space that challenges people mentally and physically and we want you to lead with your ambition—that’s where the name came from. We want our clients to feel strong here and to show them that they’re stronger than they think they are.
