PlanetEye

If you drive or even walk too quickly along busy Alton Road, you might easily miss the newest location of Crunch Fitness.  The reason we knew exactly how to locate the front door--or actually the back door that serves as the entrance -- is because we'd been visiting a few times here during previous gym enterprises that made this a favored workout spot for local urbanites.  Now, with its latest remake as Crunch, it's well positioned to take on this big city fitness center's objective of keeping it dynamic but relaxed, multi-faceted in the exercise options but communal in spirit.  

One obvious asset to this latest in the Crunch family is its proximity to happening Lincoln Road.  Alton Road - a busy and still developing avenue of Miami Beach's commercial life is also a typical Crunch location, at the center of the urban pulse, traffic and humanity flowing in every direction, and fit-conscious bodies a healthy percentage of that constant flow. Actually it helps the inner sanctum feel of the interior here that you enter from the back (you can find streetfront parking - but the rear parking lot with plenty of metered spots is the easier choice).  The front desk sells energy bars and health snacks, and on the opposite wall you can check out photos of local champion and visiting bodybuilders and other athletes, along with trainer contact information.  For those who don't tote a blackberry everywhere, there's also a free internet terminal.

On the floor, look for rows and rows of various strength training machines and plentiful free weights.  The cardio and stationary bikes area is located toward the large windows that front the street, while free weights are arranged toward the front entrance.  Classes are categorized under headings like "Action Sports","Chill Outs", "Crunch Classics" and "Dance Rhythms" -- all of which are pretty self-explanatory, but if you've been into a Crunch gym previously elsewhere you probably recognize some of the individual classes that take place in each of these sections.  For instance, "Crunch Classics" includes "Step Groove" and "The Morning Grind" - a.m. step workouts and ride/strength sessions.  "Action Sports" spans everything from "Cardio Sculpt" to "Rock Bottom" to "Washboard Abs", and much more in the way of classes targeting specific muscle groups.  "Chill Outs" offer a diversity of yoga practices (Hatha, Power, Vinyasa), and "Dance Rhythms" are cardio-intense rhythm sessions drawing on everything from hip-hop to traditional cardio moves to get you ultra-toned.  Our personal favorite is the "Cardio Sculpt" session led by fitness expert and trainer, Tomas Garcia.  

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Crunch - 1676 Alton Road, Miami; Tel: (305) 531-4743

For a genuine glimpse  into Miami's contemporary creativity, make your way to its  thriving Design District, roughly located along the blocks running between N.E. 36th and N.E. 40h Streets, and stretching west from Biscayne Boulevard to North Miami Avenue.  A former down-at-the-heels section of the city, it has now been revitalized by dynamic young professionals in design and the arts who have snapped empty buildings to create stylish work and display areas.  Along with all that, there is also  a growing number of cafes, restaurants and bistros that round out the browsing and shopping experience.  

 We began our own initial exploration of the District at the design studio of one dynamic designer who had caught our eye for his multi-talented skill.  Ralph Cassagnol has traveled a varied path for someone still only in his mid-twenties, but that reflects the depth of his imagination and the directions he has already been able to apply it so well.  Stepi into his recently arrived showroom near the corner of 36th St. and Miami Avenue, and you enter two large connecting spaces filled with an imaginative mix of original pieces for both your living and working spaces and even to decorate your own body with. 

 The custom metal furniture on display, ranging from armoires to coffee and side tables and mirrors, exhibit a decided preference for creating imposing items from metal.  Cassagnol's work is characterized by strong durable construction, while exhibiting clean lines, accented by interesting texture, patterns, and color.  Much ofthis derives from what he details of his early background: trained initially as a marine engineer and working in the field for years, he was accustomed from this period in his life to restructuring metals.   "I always loved metal fabrication, welding and building things, and so I basically started making some pieces for friends and family in my workshop," he explains.  He also got into fashion modelling and while on a shoot about three years ago, met another model who in turn teamed up with him to open the current studio.  His new business partner contributes the Illuma frames you see on the walls nowadays, while Ralph's work pops up on just about every other surface.  "Initially it was exclusively all of my pieces and all of his pieces, and then I brought in another partner who was more of an interior designer to tie things in, because I can design and build pieces, but I'm not an interior designer - I can't necessarily tell you what color will go with what.  So now my new partner was with Cartier and he did that for them exclusively, and so we came into this format and it's what we like, so it's what it's going to be for a while," he describes about the changing mix of the studio wares.  "Now we're including another line from New Zealand, and we have these shirts that Haitian friends of ours designed and were selling around the world.  So we transformed that armoire and put shirts into it, and it works -- people come in for a piece of furniture but then they say hey, I have a party to go to also."

This all serves to make a visit to this intimate, stylish space an unexpected and fun encounter: there are aspects of studio, gallery, shop, living room and boutique all flowing quite easily one into the othere here.  While Ralph remains clearly influenced by the industrial style and strength of metal, there is an awareness of traditional creativity even with that, as he admits, as he points to his own  Haitian roots where native design in metal is a long-established art form.  In addition to the explosion of form, color and material that goes into the furnishings and personal items, Ralph Cassagnol has energy and interest left over to develop a completely different direction into music: he has his own band which plays live gigs in the region throughout much of the year, has worked on its own take on Caribbean sound, and soon expect to come out with their initial
album.  "Don't be surprised if you hear it pumping through the loudspeakers here and a few DVDs on the shelf for sale too," he notes.  The boundaries at Cassagnol Design continue to move into areas that make it fascinating, reflecting the vibrancy of a neighborhood that remains one of the city's best kept secrets.

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Cassagnol Design - 5 N.W. 36th St., Miami; Tel: (305) 573-4992 

With no less than three different locations around town (two along Lincoln Road, one on Collins Avenue at the Delano), BASE is clearly reaching an audience and a need in contemporary urban shopping. 

We happened across their Annex storefront along pedestrian Lincoln Road, in the midst of a busy afternoon of appointments, but immediately made time to explore what looked like an intriguing cross-collection of design and personal item shopping.   This makes BASE somewhat difficult to categorize as a retail experience, other than to tell you it is eclectic.  The more you have on your own must-find agenda at the moment, the more you may derive from making this your  portal for discovering the perfect selection of items.  This could include anything from designer name apparel and accessories (for women, Vivienne Westwood, for guys, look for names like Kim Jones, Nice Collective, Alexandre Herschcovitch, Puma) to books (design, art books, bio, new releases, and excellent selection of regional and lifestyle magazines on the rack here) and music (a wide selection of listening (nu-jazz, nu-soul, nu-world).  There's also the objects and accessories you need for your living and working spaces, ranging from furniture to lighting. Really, you have to step into BASE to understand its appeal and range, 

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BASE Annex - 927 Lincoln Rd., Miami;  Tel: (305) 695-4026.

If you still haven't learned any of the dance rhythms that permeate Miami - from points south, west and quite frankly all over nowadays - next month is your chance to pick up the beat and the moves at the 2008 International Hustle and Salsa Competition.  When we learned about this competition, we reckoned there could be no more perfect setting and backdrop to it than Miami.

This three-day event held at the Miami Beach Resort and Spa is your chance to connect with the musical and dance mood and vibe that form an essential cultural element of the contemporary urban scene here.  Did we forget to mention that aside from the deeper reasons to experience this, it may also be some of the most fun you will ever have out on a dance floor, anywhere, at any time?  Consider this a given.  Along the way, you get to hear the professional instructors and dance legends of hustle and salsa explain their take on performing in workshops and seminars. And as the name of the event indicates, this is also a competition - so you get to watch many of the leading names and teams display how it's done at the finest level, and if you're already an existing aficionado of the dance scene then this of course you get to cheer on your favorite performers out on the floor.

Event happenings kick off with a pre-party on Wednesday night pre-party at the Palladium Night Club, then lead into actual competitive events on Thursday through Friday, and the steam continues into the weekend with boot camps, seminars and evening dance events at various clubs and ballrooms.  Not to be missed if you have a body that ever itched to learn some of the basics of the fantastic rhythms of salsa or hustle.  The competition is being staged by local and international dance stars and instructors Billy Fajardo and Katy Marlow, who know everything there is to know not only about their dance art but how to present it artistically and competitively at the best Miami venues and with the most professional organization.

Our own final personal favorite who will be guesting among the experts with her own dance workshop is Lisa Nunziella-Hockley, who's been wowing the west coast with her delivery of salsa moves in instructional video/dvd and in-person teaching since the early Nineties.  Look for Lisa's workshop where she'll be teaching the Red Hot Salsa cardio dance segment from her new 5 Day Latin Dance System DVD in the schedule of events you can participate in.  Whether your goal is just to acquire all the right dance moves, or learn how you can also apply them to a great cardio workout that burns off the calories enroute, you will not be disappointed.  

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 IHSC - Event info: Tel: (954) 358-0168

Miami seems to be the perpetual staging ground for another new annual event, either indoor or outdoor.  At this time of year, it's not surprising that our temperate weather and fantastic outdoor terrain and waters catches the eye of event organizers.  For sport events, it's an especially attractive combination of factors, so we were very interested to find out about the upcoming first annual Nautca South Beach Triathlon scheduled for April 12-13, 2008 along the Atlantic side of South Beach.

We actually heard about the event through our triathlete racing friend, top competitor Evan Evans.  Having also previously attended a Nautica Triathlon event some years ago at the Nautica Malibu Triathlon on the West Coast, we already knew this newcomer to the Miami sports scene would be a quality affair -- well managed, staged flawlessly, and delivering lots of fun and excitement to both participating athletes and the fans who come to watch.  So what exactly is involved in a full-scale competitive triathlon?  For this particular event, the format consists of a half-mile swim, followed by an 18-mile bike ride, and ending with a 4-mile run.  Surrounding the races are related events and amenities ranging from a donor brunch to a Saturday Beach Expo to a Nautica Kids Run and Tot Trot.  So this is truly an affair designed for multi-level participation.  And as for the racers themselves, they range from world-class champions like Evan Evans to first-time racers who are there for the experience of challenging themselves and discovering their personal best.  

 Race events will take place at Miami Beach's Lummus Park.  Proceeds are in support of the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, and you could never find a better cause than helping the children that St. Jude's is always there for.  For further details and information on what promises to be fantastic first-time annual sports event on South Beach shores next month, check out the official website at Nautica South Beach Triathon.

Miami is America's most tropical city, and one aspect of that you may not have considered but should certainly sample when you visit is its devotion to the finer examples of rum.

 WIth the Caribbean and its leading island distilleries anywhere just a short hop of an hour to three hours away, it is no surprise that Miami has a powerful connection to the business and pleasure of rums.  While a name like Bacardi may have permeated the popular imagination, you can be truly on your way to becoming a genuine connoisseur by getting up close and personal with some of the smaller but now burgeoning labels at the Gifted Rum Tasting Events held in the Coral Gables area. 

As you will learn on your own personal voyage at one of these rum tasting seminars, a "gifted" rum is considered several degrees higher in the hierarchy of the rum universe thanks to the intricate distilling, aging and refining processes that you'll hear about.  Each month, a different gifted rum is profiled and discussed, and of course tasted for its fine attributes, all under the masterful eye and guidance of leading rum expert Rob Burr, who also edits the Gifted Rums Guide, a new print resource on the topic that you should definitely take away with you if the rum experience fires you up to explore even further.  Rum certainly has a renewed cache in the twenty-first century, and not just with older aficionados of fine spirits, but with a younger hip crowd that are discovering the distinct features of the smaller elite labels now finding a foothold beyond their island origins into the American market.  

Gifted Rum Tasting Seminars take place in a relaxed and casual setting at Hoja Nueva Restaurant, located in the Westin Colonnade Restaurant at 180 Aragon, Coral Gables.  Scheduled so far for these interactive tastings during the first half of this year are exceptional rums from Venezuela, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica.  Call ahead for details on dates, events and advance reservations: (305) 443-7973, or check their website at www.GiftedRums.com 

The Sports Club/LA in Miami remains the city’s top-tier destination for fitness enthusiasts of all stripes -- be it yoga, cardio training, weights fanatics or dance class aficionados.   Located adjacent to the new Four Seasons Miami right on Brickell Avenue, this Sport Club/LA draws discerning resident and traveling fitness enthusiasts who want the full-range of equipment and services in a world-class facility.

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The Sports Club/LA Miami – 1441 Brickell Avenue, Fourth Floor, Four Seasons Tower, Miami. Tel: (305) 533-1199  or toll-free 866.206.6954 (within North America).