This sumptuous gym occupies the historical building of Chelsea’s YMCA, and the massive YMCA neon sign that once stood above the entrance has been recycled into a gym floor decoration, projecting its red electric glow onto the sculptural silhouettes of the studly members working up a sweat in the weight room.
David Barton is undeniably like no other gym in the world. With its post-modern decor, subdued lighting, and relentless techno soundtrack – its atmosphere is closer to that of an afterhours joint than your typical health club.
It’s hardly a surprise, considering that gym is the offspring of David Barton, famed body-builder, former club-kid and all around nightlife celebrity, who – with his wife Susan Bartsch – has been throwing parties in New York since the late 80’s.
The grandiose 23rd street location of the fitness club franchise he created is a temple to the New York night life aesthetics.
The slogan of the establishment – “Look Better Naked” – resonates like the unabashed credo of glamorous downtown denizens who patronize the establishment.
And indeed, with its state of the art equipment, numerous classes, and legions of experienced personal trainers, David Barton certainly contributes to supporting many Chelsea boys’ “fitness” goals.
It goes without saying that the members of David Barton are a who’s who of New York’s club scene. Everybody goes there – and this is your chance to take a spinning class in the company of Amanda Lepore, do crunches with Junior Vasquez, or attempt to trade spots at the bench press with the cutie you might have spotted at Hiro the Sunday before.
The gym’s locker room and shower facilities deserve their own praise – and we have unsurprisingly heard of many who spend more time in there than on the gym floor.
With an endless supply of warm water, soap, towels, moisturizing cream and a daedalus of changing rooms, steam rooms and saunas, the facility feels like New York’s version of the illustrious Baths of Caracalla.
Lastly, we shouldn’t fail to mention the rather peculiar layout of the shower room. While an opaque curtain provides some relative privacy to each shower stall, the unusual mounting of the dividing walls, built a few inches away from the shower wall, surely creates a troubling sense of proximity with whoever is showering in the adjacent stalls…