BUSINESS PROFILE:

Fit is not perfect. That philosophy seems incongruous coming from personal fitness trainer Ofer Gabriel. After all, it was his shirtless bodybuilder pose behind Phyllis Diller on the April 1987 cover of Palm Springs Life that catapulted him to celebrity status.

A flood of media attention followed that issue - even a rumor Gabriel and Diller were dating and calling them "Beauty and the Beast." Gabriel might have been another Sylvester Stallone - whom he trained for Rambo III - but he declined movie offers and stayed in Palm Springs to continue practicing what he believed in.

What he believes is that "fit is not perfect," and striving for the "Baywatch" look is the wrong reason to train.

"Everybody is different," Gabriel says, "Fitness is a selfimprovement sport."

That is why Gabriel has offered strictly one-on-one personal training since 1989. At his OG Studios in Palm Springs, clients work out by appointment. They share the 3,000-squarefoot gym with no more than three other clients who have their own trainers. They don't have to feel intimidated, be competitive, share equipment or guess how to use the machines properly.

New clients first receive a free consultation with Gabriel to discuss their goals, needs, physical limitations and personality to match them with a compatible trainer. They may purchase from 12 to 100 or more sessions, with prices ranging from $40 to $55 an hour session.

Workouts must be scheduled by appointment. That policy ensures no more than four people are working out at one time. It also helps personal trainers set schedules and creates "a commitment" for clients, which Gabriel believes is one of the keys to achieving fitness goals.

Gabriel got involved in training when a doctor recommended exercises for the then 18-year-old's severe bronchitis. Living in his native Israel, Gabriel began lifting weights with an American marine. It improved his breathing capacity, and before long he was bronchitis-free.

In early 1985, Gabriel left Israel for America. "I wanted to expand my knowledge, and I knew this was the only place to do it. I loved everything about America," he says.

Well, almost everything. He says New York reminded him too much of Israel, so he moved west to Palm Springs, where he had relatives. Gabriel trained clients in a gym above the Palm Springs Lanes bowling alley, at the Court Connection. He cleaned the place in the morning, trained in the afternoon and attended business classes at College of the Desert in the evening. One-on-one training was in its infancy, only known among Hollywood stars, Gabriel says.

"I had a goal all the time. I was very determined, very disciplined," Gabriel says. He succeeded by forming OG Personal Fitness Studios in 1987 while still attending COD. In 1989, he opened for business on East Palm Canyon Drive. The Palm Springs Life cover and subsequent notoriety brought him Hollywood clients, including a three-times-aweek visit to Frank and Barbara Sinatra. Today, he has cut back on personal clients but often lectures on fitness at senior centers. He also owns a personal perfume. Gabriel used focus groups and worked with a scientist friend who helped concoct the fragrance - called OG. Gabriel describes the scent as alluring, seductive and having vanilla tones. "The funny thing," he says, "is that it doesn't smell good on me."

No matter. All 600 bottles, consigned to stores locally and in Las Vegas, sold in a year. Gabriel says he will develop another new fragrance next year, though he'll never be a onefragrance man.

Copyright Desert Publication, Inc. and Sharon Apfelbaum Aug 13, 2002
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