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Modern
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Boxing

JESSICA VERONA SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Rebel Fitness
opens in
Bloomfield Twp.

Michelle Landry and Noah Dorfman

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July 19 • 2018

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outique boxing studio
Rebel Fitness opened
its doors on April 20
in Bloomfield Township, and
owners Noah Dorfman, 36, and
Michelle Landry, 32, couldn’t be
more excited.
The couple, both natives of
Bloomfield Hills, maintain that
their new venture is a perfect
combination of their interests.
This may be their first ven-
ture into the world of fitness,
but with their backgrounds
in hospitality and real estate,
Dorfman and Landry are
experts in providing top-notch
client service.
Dorfman, formerly director
of real estate development at
North Star Partners, has served
as a developer of both residen-
tial and commercial real estate,
as well as owner of the upscale,
award-winning restaurant
Torino. Landry also practices
real estate, but has an academ-
ic and professional background
in psychology that gives her
insight into human behavior
and emotion that is reflected in
the fitness studio.
Dorfman and Landry are
fixtures in Detroit’s Jewish com-
munity — during her time in
school, Landry worked at Jewish
Family Service; Dorfman’s fam-
ily donates frequently to the

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Holocaust Memorial Center,
helping them stay connected to
his survivor grandparents. The
couple also fundraises for Out of
Darkness walks for suicide pre-
vention and awareness.
Now they can add a custom-
er-centric health and fitness
service to their contributions
to the local community. When
developing Rebel Fitness,
Dorfman and Landry focused
on cleanliness, customer
service and comfort. They
designed the studio environ-
ment to maximize the workout
experience by keeping the par-
ticipants’ desires top of mind.
“One of the things I never
liked about a group fitness class
is that you walk in and feel like
you’re on display. Our room
is dark, so you don’t feel like
you’re on the spot,” Dorfman
said.
By creating an approachable
environment, they hope that
newcomers won’t feel intimi-
dated and focus instead on
maximizing their workouts.
Landry emphasizes that the
studio is truly for those of any
level of fitness and boxing expe-
rience.
“I think a lot of people are
really intimidated by boxing
and think ‘I’m not a boxer,’”
Landry said. “But you don’t

have to know what you’re doing
… You can go every other beat,
you can hit really hard and
make it really intense or, if it’s
your first time, you can just tap
the bag.”
Each session begins with a
demonstration of the different
moves that will be featured.
Customers can even pick their
exact spot in the room before
arriving.
When Dorfman and Landry
began looking for an instruc-
tor, martial arts expert Julian
Loredo immediately came to
mind. Loredo has earned 14
black belts and numerous box-
ing and kickboxing champion-
ship titles.
In addition to Loredo, the
Rebel experience is enhanced
by assistants who provide guid-
ance, correct form and provide
encouragement to participants.
The classes are designed to
be challenging but fun.
Loredo describes Rebel’s
four different classes as “aero-
bic boxing” — as music plays
over the studio’s concert-grade
stereo system, participants are
instructed to hit the bag to the
beat. Customers can choose
from two cardio-heavy classes
called Rebel Ignite (1 hour) and
Rebel Ignite 75 (75 minutes),
a circuit training class, Rebel

Circuit (1 hour) or Rebel 30/30,
which combines circuit train-
ing and boxing.
After a challenging workout,
customers will also soon be
able to enjoy a post-workout
recovery snack once the studio
opens a smoothie bar, which
will also offer healthy prepared
food.
The Rebel team emphasizes
they’re not just about physical
fitness — they seek to posi-
tively impact the mental health
of their customers as well.
Before the classroom opens,
participants wait in a hallway
decorated with a neon sign that
reads “What are you rebelling
against?” The founders tie this
attitude in with their Jewish
background.
“I think anti-bullying and
racism, and the things that
we promote about rebelling
against, all go back to some of
the persecution that not only
Jews have felt historically, but
all types of people have felt,”
Dorfman said.
The first class at Rebel is free
for all Michigan residents, and
there are currently opening spe-
cials for class packages. •

Rebel Fitness is located at 6565
Telegraph Road. For more information,
visit rebelbloomfield.com or call (248)
712-6819.