£20k dumbbells and Hermès leather gym equipment: How the one per cent work out By Sophie Hines For You Magazine Published: 04:01 EDT, 2 November 2024 | Updated: 04:01 EDT, 2 November 2024 e-mail View comments When you’re dripping in money, dripping sweat is a luxury experience. Step one to achieving the ultimate mega-wealth workout is a home gym to rival the penthouse suite at Claridge’s. ‘A royal family with four gyms on board their yacht once asked us to hand-upholster all their strength and cardio equipment in Hermès leather,’ says Edward Thomas of high-end gym equipment company Paragon Studio.
‘They didn’t want to see any grey plastic whatsoever.’ This is not even the most outlandish request Thomas has received. ‘One retail magnate wanted literally everything in leopard print, so we hydrographically dipped kettle bells and leather with a leopard-print visual, which was pretty wild,’ he says.
‘Right now, we’ve got a client in Miami who wants everything pink, so we’re researching how to create the perfect pink wood stain for the equipment.’ The super-rich are used to getting what they want, and there is little that Paragon won’t do for its clients. Thomas admits he gets a buzz out of finding solutions to the craziest demands.
He does, however, tactfully push back when the requests compromise safety – weights racks made out of spindly materials, for example – or practicality. ‘We had one client who wanted white leather gym equipment, bu.
