BEVERLY HILLS TIMES
March, 2003

PROFILE: The Bar Method Exercise Studio
Mark & Mimi Fleischman

No, the Bar Method is not a signature cocktail served in one of Mark Fleischman’s sizzle-til-dawn nightclubs. Rather, it’s a highly effective finely tuned exercise system used by Hollywood A-listers to lift, shape and sculpt their bodies to perfection, in record speed.

For 25 years, Mark Fleischman, owner of New York’s infamous Studio 54, Tatou Supper clubs and co-owner of L.A.’s hot-to-the-minute celeb haunt, the Century Club (an 80s feel, three dance floors, assorted bars and under the stars patio dining) has wooed us with non-stop after-hours excitement.

And, although these days Mark’s new focus is on a health-oriented lifestyle, which includes the Bar Method with wife, Mimi, he stays very much on top of the Century Club (an eight-year old watering hole for the Hollywood crowd in Century City) which continues to thrive as the Westside’s premier dance club. The Club has hosted numerous movie premiers over the years including: The Panic Room, The Wedding Planner, 15 Minutes and dozens of others, with such stars as Robert DeNiro, Jodie Foster, Jennifer Lopez, Sharon Stone and Demi Moore, who have stopped by and added to the excitement.

Mark, along with his partner, builder/developer Dan Fitzgerald, have just completed a grand renovation of the Century Club and its famed “Patio Court” gardens. Their goal was to coordinate the best of the Century Club with the famed Jade West restaurant, which recently moved into the complex, after being evicted from the ABC Entertainment Center, along with the landmark Shubert Theatre and some 20-plus other long-standing restaurants.
Jade West reopened with a great menu, expanded services which include an elegant business lunch, an informal buffet in the gardens and dinner, dancing and entertainment on the weekends.

Mimi, also a former promoter, had lived the after-hours, high-energy world for more than 20 years before she made the decision years ago to stay home and raise children (she has two, Adam and Juliet, from a prior marriage and Mark has one daughter, Hilary, also from a previous marriage). Several months ago, however, she decided it was time to get back into the swing of things.

“The children were grown and I had been a stay-at-home mom for years. I had gained a lot of weight and was out of shape. I had a ‘middle aged’ spread I couldn’t get rid of and was feeling not very attractive,” Mimi reflected.

But as fate would have it, that changed last summer when Mimi went to San Francisco to visit her sister Burr, as fitness instructor for the past 23 years who developed the Bar Method. Burr’s program was…designed to elongate and firm, lift and reshape by combining the best of ballet, yoga, isometrics and orthopedics into one dynamic hour-long routine that takes place at the ballet bar and on floor mats. The “tuck & hold” goal: strengthen and stretch, to firm and tighten, with moves guaranteed to put your butt back where it used to be. It chisels arms, shapes thighs and brings definition to abs. The result: a beyond-belief ballerina-like body!
The day I visited Mimi’s Bar Method Studio, on Sawtelle off Olympic Blvd., in L.A., I’ve never seen so many in-shape people in one place in my life, including Mimi, who says she’s in better shape now than in her 20s.

“I knew right away the Bar Method was for me,” says Mimi. “I decided to bring it back to L.A. for others to benefit, especially Mark, who had also gained weight and wasn’t into a steady exercise program. I told my sister my plan and she began teaching me the process needed to become a Bar Method instructor. I worked six days a week, over a three month period. I was committed to bringing a change to my life. And, an amazing thing happened. I went from an ‘it’s all over for me’ attitude when it came to feeling attractive to a completely revised body.”

“I’ve always been supportive of Mimi,” says Mark, who financially backed her in the Bar Method. “I saw her dedication and knew this was the beginning of a new life and career for her. During the time she was at her sister’s, for a two-month period we didn’t see each other, and when she came back, she had completely reshaped her body. She came back a new person and along with that new body image came a new and more youthful outlook on life. I started the program slowly and have increased my own flexibility using the Bar Method. This isn’t just for women…it’s for men as well. You don’t need to lose your youth just because you get older. It’s important not to let things go for too long, especially when you are out of shape or over weight,” stated Mark, who has big plans for future Bar Methods.

“We looked at 15 locations before we decided on this one,” said Mark. “And, it’s great. We offer comfortable surroundings, underground parking and are in a health oriented neighborhood.”

Mimi’s Bar Method has been open six weeks and already she has added more classes to the schedule. Perks include: a childcare facility for mothers who are packing tots and need an hour to revitalize themselves; a master masseuse as well as a skin care line from Vera’s of Bel Air.

The introductory offer can’t be beat! The $100 special for the first month buys you as many classes as you can take. After that each class costs $20 and if you purchase a book of 30 classes, the price drops to $16 a class – unheard of in L.A.!

Check out the Bar Method.
(310) 481-0005
1950 Sawtelle Blvd., Los Angeles

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