VISITORS TO Sunderland can intersperse their shopping spree with getting in shape, when a leading health and fitness expert launches a pop-up store.
TV star Katie Bulmer-Cooke is to open her own shop at Sunderland Bridges for six weeks, offering a range of gym clothes, trainers and supplements along with hosting a range of classes. And the opening of the store is all part of the Sunderland-born fitness guru’s plans to help the city get fitter.
“It breaks my heart when I see the statistics about the health of people in the city,” said Katie. “And this is a great way for people to get a taster for exercise which hopefully will encourage them to get involved.”
The city centre shop, in the former Van Mildert store, will run a programme of daily classes suitable for all ages, with experts on hand to give fitness advice. Adults’ classes for those aged over 16 will include Pilates, mams and buggies, body blast and full body fit. A range of classes aimed at youngsters will also be available: Jittabugs move and groove, baby ballet and Yoga pupz.
“I’ve put together a programme of classes which hopefully will be something for everyone regardless of their age and fitness level, “said Katie. “And I’m hoping that the people of Sunderland will really embrace it. You see a lot of this kind of thing in London but not really anywhere else in the country so we are really leading the way here.”
The store will open to the public on Friday 21 October and classes can be booked seven days in advance by calling the store on 07725 889957 or via Katie Bulmer-Cooke’s Facebook page. Andy Bradley, Centre Manager at the Bridges said he was delighted that Katie had decided to run her pop-up store in the centre.
“It’s been a great few months for the Bridges with the news of a number of new retailers coming into the centre,” he said. “And Katie and her innovative concept of a shop selling fitness products combined with classes for everyone is a fantastic addition. “We look forward to welcoming her and we hope the people of Sunderland will embrace this brilliant opportunity.”
His words were echoed by Samantha Czwordon-Wright, Marketing Manager at the Bridges. “This is a great way for people in the city to really get a taste of how it can be fun to get fit,” she said.
