Built in Brooklyn.
Built for the Long Game.
Seventeen years in Park Slope. One private studio. A very specific idea about how people should train.
How We Got Here
Ben Kessel was born in Manhattan and raised in Park Slope. Growing up, he spent his afternoons in his father's chiropractic office, learning how the body moves and heals long before he ever held a certification or got a degree. In 2008, he opened Priority Fitness in the neighborhood he grew up in, and he's been here ever since.
Seventeen years later, the studio looks different. The equipment is better, the team has grown, and the services have expanded into things Ben could not have imagined when he started. But the foundation has not changed: a private space in the neighborhood where people who take their health seriously can get expert coaching without the noise, the crowds, or the pressure of a commercial gym.
Many of the clients who trained here in 2008 are still training here today. That is not an accident.
Built Different, On Purpose
The appointment-only model was not a business decision. It was a values decision. When you book a session at Priority Fitness, a certified specialist is there for you, fully prepared, with no other clients pulling their attention. The studio is yours for that hour. That is what private training actually means.
No memberships means no pressure. You don't need to commit to an annual contract to find out whether this is right for you. Come in, work with a trainer, and decide from there.
We've grouped our offerings into three separate tracks because people are genuinely different. The person building strength and mobility for the next chapter of their life and the triathlete preparing for Kona are both serious about their health, but they need completely different things from a coach. In-studio training, The Performance Lab, and Endurance Coaching exist as distinct programs because treating them as one would mean serving none of them well.
The People Behind The Studio
Certified specialists, pro coaches, and longtime neighborhood trainers, all in one place.
