Small, simple and hidden, Studio No 1 lies in the basement of a backstreet hotel called Nukleon. The studio is a little bit different compared to the seven other fitness clubs in Trnava, as the instructor of aerobics there is not a woman, but a man.

Generally it is women that teach aerobics, but 34-year-old instructor Marek Stacho is definitely a rare exception. Despite having a full-time job in the company PCA Slovakia in Trnava, Stacho spends most of his leisure time doing aerobics. He comes to Studio No 1 twice a week for two hours to teach his students how to be more fit and healthier and when not teaching, he exercises almost every day for personal gain in other studios.

Working as the aerobics instructor isn’t just a job for him, but it is also his hobby and his lifestyle. “I have taught aerobic classes for nine years and I love it,” he says. “I like teaching other people new things and I can also continually improve my skills.”

Stacho isn’t any different compared to other men his age. In Studio No 1 after teaching 23 women how to do a set called the ‘cross back’ to dance music, he answered questions and he started to paint a picture of how it all began.

Stacho’s attitude to sport was always positive. Sport has always been an important part of his life and runs in the family. “My dad used to play ice hockey for the Trnava team, and he later became the coach of them,” he says.

From age 2, Stacho became the part of his father’s coaching lessons and from the age of 5 he started to play ice hockey for Trnava’s junior team, both as a defender and an attacker. “Ice hockey meant a lot for me, because it was practically my whole childhood,” he says.

Unfortunately for Stacho, it had a negative effect on his health as he began to suffer from various pains in his joints. “I had a very bad injury in both of my knees which was caused one of my competitors during a match,” he says. “The injury was so serious that it meant the end of my professional ice hockey career, but I couldn’t imagine being without any exercise or action as I have exercised all of my life, so just sitting at home wasn’t an option for me. I needed to strengthen my muscles and rehabilitate my injured knee.”

Stacho started seeking something which would keep him active but which wouldn’t impact his health in such a negative way. At high school, he had tried other sports, like triathlon and swimming, but some time later a friend recommended the idea of giving aerobics a try. “At first I was sceptical,” he says. “Like many other people, I thought aerobics was just for women. But I soon realised I was wrong.”

One of the main reasons why Stacho decided to follow his friend’s advice and try aerobics was that he wanted to get shed the kilos which he put on whilst he was recovering at home with his injured knee. “When I first attended an aerobics lesson in studio No 1, all of girls were looking at me strange,” he says. “It was as if they were wondering what sort of man wanted this kind of lesson.”

At first, it was very hard for Stacho, but his patience paid off. “When I first stood up in the front of the aerobics instructor, I didn’t really know what to do,” he says. “I didn’t know anything about it. It was also difficult to keep up and in sync with the women who had obviously attended aerobic lessons before.”

Aerobics was growing quickly on Stacho and the more he learned, the more his passion grew. He attended more classes and started to go more and more often until he was eventually attending aerobic lessons seven times a week.

It was after four months that the owner of studio No 1, Janka Vitova, asked him whether he would consider becoming an aerobics instructor himself. “I like aerobics because it relaxes me and I have always liked working closely with people, too,” he says. “Obtaining an instructor certificate helps me to improve my aerobic skills and it also opens up the opportunity to work as an instructor in other fitness clubs. So after two months, I passed the instructor course and exams at ‘SCAF’, the Slovak Centre of Aerobics and Fitness and obtained the level 3 category certificate. But I didn’t stop there as I am now taking lessons on Power Step and Body Styling.”

At the start Stacho’s fitness job didn’t have a good reputation with his friends. “Colleagues from my full-time job used to make fun of my second job, saying it was a job for girls,” he says. “But one day I took them to my lesson and after that they have never laughed again.”

This statement is confirmed by Stacho’s colleague, Michal. “When Marek took me to his lesson, I didn’t expect to work so hard,” he says. “I thought that aerobics was just for girls, so I felt a little bit stupid to go there. But after I saw Marek’s dedication and his hard work I understood that aerobics is more than the stereotypical job I thought it was and that it is indeed a very tough job. I didn’t need to join in to see this either!”

Although there is not much in common between ice hockey and aerobics, but a few similarities. “Ice hockey was more about team co-operation and playing to our coach’s tactics,” he says. “But as an aerobics instructor I’m there on my own and it depends solely on me how my lesson will be. I call the shots.”

Stacho’s energy continues to charge people up who still come back to his lessons and hearing his pupils positive comments such as “we had great time today in your lesson” is the best motivation for him. “It’s a great feeling to see my clients with happy faces,” he says. “Knowing that they have had fun and a good time during my class, shows me that I’m really doing good thing.”

During the last two years Studio No 1 has seen a rise in customers, especially the female percentage, which definitely owes something to Stacho and his classes. “Marek is funny and he gives his clients loads of energy,” says Vitova, the studio owner. “On the other side his lessons are really powerful. That is probably what women like about him. It’s no coincidence that many of them have brought their friends to his lessons, too.”

According to Stacho, he can never show his students that he is tired: “Clients feel and see it directly – that is why you must always go full blast! Clients don’t care if I had a lesson before their lesson. They always expect me to be ready and exercise them hard. That is why an instructor must be more fit than his clients too.”

One of his clients, Eva, says, “Aerobic lessons with Marek are great. He has so much energy that it inspires me to work harder. His lessons are also funny, because he always brings some funny element to exercising and with his sense of humour in general. For example, some dance steps or moves with his hand can easily be turned into a joke.”

Amongst other reasons women are attracted to lessons at Studio No1 are because the instructor is indeed a man, says Eva. Curious women who may not usually attend aerobic lessons regularly appear as part of Stacho’s clients. “Lessons with a male instructor are much harder and powerful than with women and this can be seen in the results,” she says.

Stacho is also quick to point out that his instructor job is not about money. “Many people think that I teach aerobics to just earn a second salary, but they’re wrong,” he says. “It isn’t about money at all. I simply love aerobics.”

His hobby doesn’t stop for anything in his life. He exercises every day, because, as he says “If I didn’t exercise, I would be bored to death. I have always done some sport in my life, so my body needs to do something, it needs some action.”

Stacho’s relationship with aerobics doesn’t end with his job either; it extends to his wife, who is also an instructor at the same aerobics club. “This job makes our relationship even deeper as we support each other,” she says. “I’m happy that my husband exercises like me. If I had a husband who didn’t have a sporting attitude, he probably wouldn’t understand why I exercise so often. I’m happy that both of us do it and that we do it together. We prepare for our lessons together and help each other to improve.”

Regarding his future as an instructor, “As long as I am able to exercise, I will indeed be doing exactly that and I will always be looking to improve my aerobics skills,” he says. “In Slovakia there are not really good conditions for aerobics. I mean, you just can’t make a living as an aerobics instructor. But I like this job and I will continue to do it in spite of increasing years and despite the poor wage it pays!”