Orwell once wrote: “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face – for ever.” While Australia’s latest batch of hygiene rules may not be quite so hard on your nose, they still – the petulant among us would argue – fall under the same category of Boring Bureaucratic Evil.
Fortunately, the change we’re here to discuss today goes beyond taking of names and registering of phone numbers.
Enter: Sydney-based boutique gym, SOMA Collection, which has become the first Australian gym to introduce Coronavirus killing technology – Surfacide – to its cleaning routine.
The bespoke fitness company (featuring a gym, fitness studios and spa treatment rooms) decided to incorporate Sufacide to boost customer confidence in these dodgy times.
Surfacide is an innovative disinfection technology primarily used in hospitals, which emits UV-C energy to kill viruses, influenza, staph, fungus, mould and bacteria plus a multitude of other drug resistant organisms.
Soma recently announced surfacide emitters would become crucial to its new cleaning regime and that “multiple emitters will be placed in each space at least two times a week, and through a process of laser mapping, all high touch surfaces within each area will be disinfected, with no chemicals required.”
For context, SOMA Collection opened its doors in October last year, and offers a holistic wellness centre built on the foundation of intimate classes made up of no more than 10 people per session.
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Wanting to move away from existing stereotypes that gyms are unclean, co-founders Simon Anderson and Franco Atashi have always prioritised cleanliness. In fact, even before the pandemic hit, the SOMA facilities had multiple hand sanitiser locations and alcohol wipe stations around the gym.
Now, co-founder Simon Anderson says the sparkle will be taken to a whole new level: “We will be stepping up the game. In addition to bringing in new laser Coronavirus killing emitters, we will be cleaning diligently at multiple times throughout the day and increasing our antibacterial spray stations.”
“While in the gym, we are ensuring clients avoid physical greetings and practice good hygiene. The amount of people in classes have also been limited, with reformer pilates reduced to only 8 per class,” continues Anderson.
The Surfacide technology was previously only available to hospitals. However, this new partnership will help put Coronavirus killing technology in the hands of Australian and New Zealand businesses.
To understand more DMARGE had an exclusive chat with Simon. First on our brains was: will this new technology be adopted across the board? While he lacks a crystal ball, Simon told us he’s hopeful.
“Gyms should be doing anything they can to make their space not only safe but to reassure their members and give them peace of mind,” Simon told DMARGE. “The new Surfacide laser mapping technology definitely does this for us.”
“It previously was widely used in predominately hospitals, but I anticipate there will be a shift to seeing this being adopted widely across gyms here in Australia and across the globe.”
We then asked how it differs, exactly, from a spray and wipe, to which Simon said, “The key point of difference here is the laser mapping UV-C.”
“This will be done in conjunction with our diligent cleaning routines. This will not only give us peace of mind but will allow us to ensure all germs are killed and that we clean and eliminate bacteria in places that are hard to reach.”
“The other benefit is that is doesn’t use chemicals so it’s better for your gym equipment, allowing it to not take in the chemicals is a big bonus,” Simon added.
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“We are taking extra precautions and ensuring we are doing everything we can to maintain clean and safe practices. We’ve also enforced strict social distancing measures, added additional sanitisation stations, reduced our class intake and adopted intense cleaning routines across the board.”