A cold fitness-concept that's one-in-36,000

“Heat should be treated like dessert, and not the main course of your workout.”

It’s a bold, cold statement from Jimmy Martin. It’s also another reason Martin and Johnny Adamic say they feel like the surgeon generals of the fitness world.

The duo are the co-founders of Brrrn fitness in New York City. Their fitness concept is based on an idea that freezes out traditional thinking and the belief that heat gets in the way of people performing at their best.

“A hot and sweaty workout isn’t necessarily the indication of a great workout,” Martin said.

Martin had pitched Adamic on a cool-temperature workout concept, but Adamic was initially skeptical, especially given his background in public health and food. He served on former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Obesity Task Force. Adamic took a deep dive into public health literature and learned that there were medical studies that supported Martin’s idea.

The co-founders delineated what they say are the benefits of working out in colder temperatures to FOX Business. They said the advantages include burning more calories and fat, efficiently acclimatizing to cooler temperatures and gaining an overall better workout experience.

What was almost as convincing as the potential fitness benefits, however, were the cold-hard economic facts. Adamic’s research revealed a major deficit in the fitness market.

“I searched how many fitness concepts there are and how many operate below 68 degrees ambient temperature,” Adamic said.  “There's 36,000 fitness concepts in the U.S., and zero operate below 68 degrees.”

 “There's 36,000 fitness concepts in the U.S., and zero operate below 68 degrees.” 

In fact, Martin and Adamic’s unique concept helped them to secure investors for Brrrn.

One investor, they said, was set on financing an indoor-cycling concept. They said they slid a paper across the table listing the dozens upon dozens of boutique cycling studios to the investor.

“Then, we had another piece of paper and wrote down the number of cool-temperature fitness offerings to-date in the market,” Adamic said. “That piece of paper was blank.”

“We told the investor that we look forward to helping him fill that page," Martin added.

That moment and many more like it, as well as months of field-testing their concept, led to the grand opening of their fitness studio in May 2018.

Despite being on a street lined with other highly popular boutique fitness studios, Adamic and Martin say it’s their unique concept that will keep them relevant and help them stand out. “Winter has so many benefits and we want to lead, and be purveyors of this whole cool-temperature movement,” Admaic said. 

“More than anything,” Martin continued, “We want people to keep their cool year-round.”

Emily DeCiccio is a video producer and reporter for Fox News Digital Originals. Tweet her @EmilyDeCiccio