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A new personal fitness studio has opened in an idyllic countryside setting on the outskirts of Warkworth.
Candi Soo Fitness has just started operating from a new purpose-built facility on Goatley Road.
Candi has 35 years experience as a personal trainer. After finding an affinity for dance at a young age, she trained as a group fitness instructor in Malaysia before working and studying in the industry in Australia for 15 years.
She went on to be named National Fitness Champion in Malaysia and started a chain of six fitness centres in Kuala Lumpur.
She later met her Kiwi husband and business partner, Donal Stevenson, who was working as a landscape designer at a golf course in Kuala Lumpur.
“I loved the culture and the food,” Donal says. “I only intended to go for six months, but I stayed for 20 years.”
The couple moved to New Zealand five years ago and started a fitness studio in central Auckland. When the building they leased was bought by a developer, they decided to open a new studio in the countryside.
Donal’s parents have lived in Warkworth for 35 years and they say it seemed like the perfect location.
“Candi Soo Fitness is not just a room full of weights, machines and treadmills,” Donal says. “We have a personal approach and work hard to make fitness training fun.”
Candi’s goal is to create a private, personal studio that people feel good about coming to.
“Fitness has to be fun, but you also need to see results – it’s about how you motivate people and that’s what I love doing,” Candi says.
Candi has developed her own complete set of training systems, incorporating yoga, dance and resistance training. Private personal training for weight loss, muscle building, toning or energy, is available for clients ranging from teenagers to the elderly.
She will also hold weekend wellness retreats, with a variety of themes ranging from yoga to cooking classes.
The studio also has a large room for group fitness, and space to relax and soak in the scenery, including a large deck with a spa pool.
