Photo by Erin Nelson.
Hunter Freiberg works with Abe Berstein during a personal training session at Meta Fitness in Liberty Park.
Hunter Freiberg says the “ramped-up, amped-up” vibe of some gyms just isn’t for everyone.
That’s why he opened Meta Fitness Studio in Liberty Park.
“I wanted to make a place that is healing for people, because that’s what the gym did for me,” he said.
At Meta Fitness Studio, located at 8011 Liberty Parkway, he offers the chance to work out with a personal trainer in a private environment, away from big crowds, bright lights and high-energy music.
“Our inspiration was an Asian spa,” he said. “We wanted it to be elegant and beautiful. We’ve got a 36-gallon fish tank and a live moss wall, and everything is covered in bamboo.”
All of that was intended to make the studio feel calming, Freiberg said, and the gym itself operates more like a hair salon in its style.
“In the same way you wouldn’t walk into a hair salon and do your own hair, you wouldn’t walk into my studio and do your own workout,” he said.
Freiberg wants his clients to have a boutique experience where they work one-on-one with a trainer in a private setting. This serves many purposes, he said, from taking away the common gym experience of being bothered by other gym-goers, particularly for women, to helping a client with autism achieve goals in an environment with less sensory overload.
“If the gym is overwhelming for you, it’s not here at Meta Fitness,” he said. “I love the gym; it’s always been something for me that’s sacred and safe.”
Freiberg said he first picked up a barbell when he was lifting weights for football at 15. Then, when he was a student at the University of Alabama, he went through two traumatic events and found solace in working out.
“The gym saved my life,” he said. “I’m 35 now, and whether it was a good time in my life or bad, the gym is something that was always there for me to work through what I was dealing with.”
That’s what he wants to provide for others now — a space for people to “work through while they work out.”
Freiberg said his staff is “amazing” and specializes in a range of skills from yoga to physical therapy.
“We offer everything from a customized workout to a customized eating program,” he said. “Because of the way we work, we get to connect with our clients on a much deeper level much faster. We’re able to learn much more about their lifestyles, and that’s what makes us so much more effective.”
He said the reception from the Liberty Park community “has been absolutely incredible” since the studio opened in March.
“They’ve been warm and welcoming and enthusiastic that we’re here,” Freiberg said.
Freiberg’s studio is the second Meta Fitness location to open in the area — the first opened on Overton Road in Mountain Brook in 2016.
Meta Fitness Studio in Liberty Park is open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday and from 7 a.m. to noon on Saturday.
For more information, visit metafitstudio.com or follow them @metafitstudio on Facebook or Twitter or @meta_fitness_studio on Instagram.
