Swimming fueled Sandy Bole’s life. The cofounder of private Venice Beach, California wellness club Hume was on the team at Princeton University, where he studied architecture, and competed in the French Nationals (a native of France, he came to the U.S. when he was 13), but after graduating college in 2016, the goal-oriented Olympian mindset burned him out.
Transitional spaces are rendered in natural materials like plaster and slatted wood
When Bole started working out following a three-month hiatus, he was astounded by how quickly he regained mental clarity, crediting exercise with “keeping me in balance all these years,” as he puts it.
Shortly after his epiphany, Bole moved to Venice, forming friendships through cycling and padel tennis, and further realized that “doing these healthy things breaks barriers. It makes it easy and organic to meet new people,” he recalls. “You don’t have to go to a nightclub.”
One of these like-minded friends was Roger Briggs, who was keen to leverage his finance background and launch an Equinox-style fitness model. Meanwhile, Bole—propelled since childhood by the idea of opening a beach club that evoked the Mediterranean and North Africa, which reflects his French and Algerian heritage—worked in real estate development. Fusing their expertise and interests, the duo recently unveiled the 13,500-square-foot Hume.
Natural light streams through floor-to-ceiling windows at Hume’s pared-back gym, which includes a Pilates studio inspired by the ancient gladiator gymnasium preserved at Pompeii
Close to the beach, in a building that formerly belonged to Snap Inc., Hume is a social hub with a distinct mission. The members retreat for those with active lifestyles who look forward to unplugging find a minimalist yet homey space adorned with bronze-tinted mirrors, custom-colored cork and rubber flooring, and walls “that are almost like velvet,” Bole points out, “hand-troweled in plaster reminiscent of the Sahara Desert. Every single corner is curved so that the light diffuses opposed to making sharp, harsh points of contrast.” Ceramics by local artist Louise Martens further heighten the sense of movement.
Bole—with an assist from Vancouver-based Bricault Design and Monterey Park, California firm Wisan Studio—largely tackled Hume himself, pulling inspiration from the ancient gladiator gymnasium preserved at Pompeii and his mother’s Algerian roots. “I wanted it to feel warm and artisanal, to strip away the technology and almost go back in time and get lost,” Bole explains.
Ceramics sourced from Morocco, Tunisia, and Turkey line the walls in the reception area, which is graced by a handcarved wooden reception desk by sculptor Chad Hagerman
Past the dark, cocooning entry corridor and timber reception desk sculpted by local maker Chad Hagerman, members can take to the bespoke sauna and cold plunge pools or head up to the longevity-encouraging gym for spontaneous chats with trainers. There are yoga and Pilates studios, a lounge with a U-shaped sofa for hangouts over IV drips, a recovery treatment zone, and two scenic rooftops.
The higher turf-covered one invites guests to partake in alfresco classes, while the other serves as a café offering “first-class seats to the sunset,” says Bole. “The lighting is beautiful. It filters through the leaves and there’s always a breeze. That’s my little beach club in the South of France.”
This article originally appeared in HD’s September 2024 issue.
