RIO's going Rogue

“I’ve just been using the words more, more, more a lot,” says Connie McInnes, owner north end Halifax fitness studio RIO
(5781 Charles Street). Today, she announced big growth for the two-and-a-half year old business: In early October it’ll be opening a sister location, Rogue (6331 Lady Hammond Road), meaning the space for its diverse list of class offerings is doubling.

“When I first opened it was my big dream...I wanted to open the first pilates, yoga, multi-dimensional studio in Halifax. The more variety we started to offer, the more variety people wanted to indulge in,” she says. “We wanted to offer every component of a fitness regime under one roof—now our roof is just too small.”

The opening of Rogue doesn’t just mean a bigger roof, it makes room for a re-imagining of RIO, too. Rogue will become the industrial-vibe home of what McInnes calls RIO’s harder side—the strength, circuit training and warrior classes, plus new stuff like kickboxing and some open gym time—while the Charles Street studio will zero in on the softer stuff like yoga, barre and pilates.

“We’re making some major changes to our current space—aesthetically, the lay out of studio, energy and atmosphere—making it a bit more of a feminine space,” says McInnes. “We’re becoming a chill out zone and yoga studio and promoting our yoga classes as mini one-hour retreats.”

While both studios will offer very different classes to cater to the entire spectrum of fitness needs, a membership will get you access to both locations and fitness experiences. RIO roll its new schedule this week and Rogue is set to open after Thanksgiving.