Located between the industrial warehouses of Collingwood, you’ll find Melbourne’s dreamy new wellness space, Inner Studio.

You wouldn’t know it from the outside, but this former factory space turned ‘stress resilience training facility’ hides surprisingly serene gardens, complete with a yoga studio, hot and cold magnesium plunge pools, and the Southern Hemisphere’s largest sauna.

Inner Studio has been years in the making for co-founders, former AFL footballers and brothers Will Slade and Ben Sinclair. After enduring injuries and concussions during their professional footballer careers, they both found respite in yoga, meditation, breathwork and cold-water plunges — as made famous by Dutch extreme athlete, Wim Hof.

This inspired them to set up an ‘all-in-one studio’, encouraging others to experience these practices for themselves. Classes incorporate a mix of guided breathwork and yoga movements, finished with free time to use the hot (38°C) and cold (5-8°C) pools, but you can also purchase passes to drop in and use just the sauna and pools at your own leisure.

And everything in the unique setting has been especially designed to help everyone from office workers to athletes relax their mind and body.

With the help of Clea Cregan of Miniscapes and Andrew Laidlaw on the landscaping, Will and Ben have successfully built ‘an outdoor nature feel’ within the confines of an inner-city warehouse.

The light-filled space features raw materials, terrazzo tiles, and curved concrete pools, nestled alongside large granite boulders and towering Australian Ficus Benjamina. More than 300 plants of 25 different species — including tropical plants, ferns, climbers, epiphytes, and ground covers — immerse the studio in tranquil greenery.

‘We’ve tried to replicate nature as much as we could,’ Clea explains.

‘The ultimate goal of allowing the plants to take over and cover the surfaces, transforming the space into an urban jungle. It will be interesting to see how the garden evolves over time as the plants grow and fill in the space.’

It’s the perfect place to unwind, overcome stress, build resilience and (hopefully) walk out feeling a little lighter than when you walked in.

Find out more about Inner Studio’s classes, memberships and casual passes here.