Santa is no stranger to the gym, writes Jonny Wells. Back in 1996, Hulk Hogan appeared in the best-forgotten Santa with Muscles. Next year, Arnold Schwarzenegger will star as Father Christmas alongside Reacher’s Alan Ritchson in The Man with the Bag for Netflix. And this year, Red One introduces J.K. Simmons’ jolly-but-jacked take on Saint Nick, whose complex at the North Pole includes a luxury gym.
We’re introduced to the gym early in the film, when Simmons’ ‘Nick’ – decked out in merry red activewear and spotted by Dwayne Johnson – shoulder presses over 150kg. But he needs his strength. Every Christmas Eve, this Santa “burns over 430 million calories” so his gym must be up to snuff.
Red One production design
Red One production designer Bill Brzeski has worked on films in the Fast & Furious and Iron Man franchises. He’s built several cinematic gyms during his career, but never one in the North Pole. So, when the script came through, he and set decorator Danielle Herman knew they had a challenge on their hands.
“I didn’t want it to look like every gym you see out there,” Brzeski says. “I wanted the equipment to be as natural as possible, and the brands chosen were made with beautiful woods and leathers. They had a very alpine look. I love all those natural colours. Most weights just look the same, black cast iron and chrome.”
Almost every piece of gym equipment in Red One was sourced from Fysik, a bespoke brand founded in 2015 which has outfitted, among other places, the penthouse gym of the Burj Khalifa. Swedish trainer and brand co-founder Henrik Olofsson says the filmmakers largely deferred to Fysik’s judgement on the aesthetics of the equipment.
Bespoke gym equipment
“The walnut wood and dark brown leather was our suggestion,” says Olofsson, “and they trusted us to go with it. In the early email exchanges, they asked if we had a squat rack and weight plates. At the time, we didn’t, but I said we did! That meant late nights drafting designs to develop something workable. But the squat stand and weight plates have since become popular sellers!”
Almost the entire Fysik range appears in Red One, including the NANG adjustable gym bench, the LOMM pattern-stitched medicine balls and the KRABA kettlebells. But the KHUN stand, with fixed J-hooks and stainless steel frame, and the brushed-finish KLOM weight plates are undoubtedly the stars of the North Pole set.
“As for those 45lb plates J.K. Simmons is lifting,” adds Olofsson, “it’s probably no surprise that they weren’t real. Ultimately, we made them mostly of styrofoam with a thin layer of stainless steel, leather and wood veneer stickers.”
The gym also features its fair share of home comforts – necessary when you’re working out at minus 40 degrees Celsius. There’s a fire pit, a fluffy white armchair and pot upon pot of poinsettias. Brzeski says he included these elements to make the visual of a North Pole gym “less incongruous. It still had to function as a personal workout space”.
High-end machines
To that end, several exercise machines were also drafted in. The Ergatta Rower from Waterrower, handmade from dark American Cherry, fits the Nordic aesthetic and the Carbon bike from Ciclotte offers a visually striking spin on the classic exercise cycle. Both these machines and the Fysik equipment, Brzeski explains, were loaned to the production. “They had to be sent back after we were done. I think Dwayne Johnson bought a few pieces, but all of it had to be accounted for.”
“Another fun fact,” adds Fysik’s Olofsson, “is that since our products are modular, we’ve been able to remake and reuse many parts [of the equipment used in Red One] for future orders. That means many of our customers around the world now have Hollywood movie props in their own gyms – without even knowing it!”
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