Last week I went to visit my brother at Designer Body, of which he has been a customer for many years. I had heard that the current store location was a pain in the ass to find, but all you really need to know is where Pipeline Cafe is. It’s on the little side street that everyone drives down hopefully on weekend nights. Not hard to find at all.

Designer Body is a bodybuilder’s candy store (see pictures below). They’ve got supplements, health drinks, indoor tanning, personal training, a private gym, & good-looking employees. There’s a wall of bodybuilders’ & models’ autographed pictures including Malia Song.

Matai Lorenze founded Designer Body in 1995 & it has thrived since then without benefit of commercial advertising; health & fitness buffs have found it through word of mouth from fellow enthusiasts or trainers. Since then bodybuilder Brian Ikeda & now my brother David have joined him in what is probably the island’s most popular fitness supply store.

My mom & I had lunch with David & Brian in the store. We had been afraid we were taking over too much food — & definitely overdoing the carbs with our food choices — only to find that David & Brian typically eat way more than what we thought was plenty. Hm — eat lots, remain lean. How can that be possible?

I took a tour of the rest of the shop. Upstairs they’ve got tanning beds & booths, a boon for regular competition goers, & in another room a well-kept private gym that can be rented out by the hour. Trainers, naturally, are available right downstairs. How decadent is that?

Designer Body is having its 8th Annual Bodybuilding and Fitness Show on April 1st, 2006; you can contact the store for details.

Designer Body

441 Koula Street

Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

(808)591-8854