One of Dallas’ Most Popular Fitness Studios Launches ‘The Lab’ to Foster New Class Concepts

Each year, Classpass releases its list of the most popular studios in the U.S. (and Canada!), because even though the platform allows its users to test a variety of classes and workouts, certain studios tend to attract a repeat audience more than others. In Dallas, Class Studios was crowned the greatest go-to.

It’s not hard to see why. The relatively new studio stepped things up in 2019, opening a second location in Preston Center (the first is in West Village) with two new fitness concepts: a heated Sculpt 45 and a HIIT-centric Sprint 45. Tentative plans are being made for even more new locations and class formats in the future.

That diversification of offerings is likely what attracted so many Classpass users to the Dallas-based studio, but it also may help keep Class Studios popular in the fickle boutique fitness scene.

“The thing about all of us is that we’re students too. If we want something, we’ll just incorporate it into the studio,” Class Studios co-owner Paige Martindell tells PaperCity. “When a studio isn’t proactive, they’re going to get left behind, because fitness is always going to evolve and change. We want to stay as fresh as our clients.”

At the end of this month, Class Studios will introduce their most ambitious plan to keep things fresh: “The Lab.” Situated on the first floor of the new Preston Center location, The Lab essentially serves as a shell studio for instructors to test out new concepts. And though it’s equipped with an option for heating and—in what has become a Class Studios signature—a solid sound system, the sparse space can be transformed to support whatever type of class a visitor wants to teach.

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“We’re excited to be like, ‘Hey, you’ve wanted to grow your network. We want you to be with us and give you a home away from home,’” Martindell says.

The Lab will serve as an incubator for Dallas’ thriving fitness community (there will still be an audition process) as well as a versatile destination for out-of-town instructors to teach a pop-up class or workshop.

“We know we want dance classes, we know we want some type of yoga, and we know we want meditation,” Martindell adds. “It’s going to be cool to partner with different people from all over. We’re just going to see how it goes.”