Drive Gym Provides Workout That Is “Second to None”

By Laurel Busby

News & Information Editor

For 14 years, Thierno Diallo has been helping Canyon residents get and stay fit through personal training and classes at Drive gym.

“We offer a combination of a social experience and workout experience that is second to none,” Diallo, 61, said. “Our workouts are comprehensive and varied. We don’t do any pattern training. It’s dynamic and uses a great variety of tools from plyometric weight training to sports-inspired experiences like shadow boxing to yoga-inspired exercises.”

Since the Jan. 7 wildfire, Drive, like other businesses in the mouth of the canyon, has gone through multiple changes. The gym, which is located at 135 Entrada, closed for 3-1/2 weeks, underwent remediation to clean “every square inch of the space,” and installed full-time air scrubbers that constantly monitor the air quality, Diallo said.

In addition, the gym recently became part of the newly formed Canyon Business Association, which has 18 members, and was created by The Canyon Alliance to help local businesses recover and flourish in the post-fire era.

Unfortunately, in the weeks after the fire, all of Drive’s clientele was displaced. While most Canyon residents have returned, around 40 clients who lived in other parts of Pacific Palisades can no longer come back to their homes. Even so, many now make the trek to Drive from as far away as Hancock Park and Beverly Hills.

“They couldn’t wait to be back around the people they’ve been missing,” Diallo said. “It was a big driving motivation to get to the workout that they loved and the people that they loved.”

The personalized, fun, and variable nature of the workout is an integral part of the appeal that brought them back, Diallo said. During each class, Diallo assesses the group “to create something that is right for that moment in time.” The classes, which are capped at 16 students, might use free weights, bands, a weight machine, or treadmills to help students “operate in their happy zones so that they can’t wait to do the workout again.”

Diallo’s goal is to ensure that no one feels anxious or competitive with each other. Instead, each participant is exercising in an enjoyable manner that provides clear personal benefits.

His technique and style were honed after he moved from Germany to the United States in 1989.

“I was a young globetrotter,” Diallo said. “It’s just a serendipitous thing that I ended up here.”

He began to work as a fitness trainer, and also held a job as a bouncer at a bar in Century City, where his future wife, Tina Di Modica, also worked. They married and settled in Santa Monica to raise their children, Bronson, now 29, and Daniella, 22, and, in 2011, they opened Drive gym together, with Di Modica handling the administrative side.

To prepare for gym ownership, Diallo first worked at other gyms, including In Training and Beverly Hills Health and Fitness, where he began to develop his personal method. He also worked on studio lots to improve the fitness of actors, including the cast of Entourage. In addition, he explored courses in kinesiology to gain greater knowledge of the human body and also earn certification in the field.

Throughout these years, health and fitness held a consistent draw for him, and the ownership and operation of Drive is the culmination of that interest.

“You stay where you feel at home,” Diallo said. “If it’s a natural fit and you’re doing what you’re supposed to do, you keep doing it. You deal with the ups and downs. It’s about interacting with people and making a holistic gym experience by addressing their needs, not just physically, but psychologically. It’s about more than weights and machines. It’s about connecting with people.”

Drive hosts 8:30 a.m. classes Monday through Friday and 9:45 a.m. classes on Sundays and Wednesdays. Classes are $30 apiece or a 10-pack is $270. Personal training is $150 per hour. Call (310) 245-2126 or email info@drivecardio.com for more information.

Thierno Diallo at Drive gym. Photo: Levi Langen

A class working out at Drive gym.

A class flexes their muscles at Drive gym.

Running on treadmills at Drive.