Increasingly specialized exercise centers cater to time-pressed urban elite
Live DJs, disco lights and screaming crowds make it seem as if it’s a wild nightclub. The exercise bikes betray the illusion. They reveal it’s actually a spinning club — a manifestation of the trend in which a proliferation of boutique establishments focus on only one fitness activity.
Such specialized exercise centers’ popularity is growing, even though memberships can cost five times as much as gyms’.
They’re typically concentrated in the most vibrant downtown neighborhoods of such metropolises as Beijing and Shanghai. Their elite clients include bankers, lawyers and financial consultants, who live life in the fast lane.
“People come for self-improvement and stress relief,” said Cameroonian fitness trainer and DJ, Verlin Momo, who works at the Beijing spinning club, Space Cycle.
“When I was young I used to sit in a record shop and take 90 minutes to create one single vinyl. But nowadays it takes 1 second to copy and paste using the computer. Just like metropolitan life, it moves stressfully — too fast.”
It is about speed, indeed. The club’s new Fast and Furious classes were fully booked weeks before the first course, despite a five-digit membership fee.
Working out provides a sense of achievement outside routine, he believed.
“We have crucial motivational talks and inspiring music to affect them spiritually and encourage them to push their limits,” he said.
“Forget about the stress from work, study or family. You just ask yourself why you come here — because you want to be a better self. When I’m stressed out, I go for a hardcore workout for two hours nonstop and get all sweaty. I look at what I have accomplished, and I will feel much better.”
The sound system blasts at over 180 beats per minute, while heartbeats hover around 120, enabling guests to burn over 700 calories in 45 minutes. This appeals to peo- ple with high-octane schedules.
“I love the spinning club because it’s so efficient,” Shanghai city planner Dong Fang said.
It also enables patrons to double task by getting fit while socializing.
GUCYCLE spinning club’s founder, Bruce Chen, said he aspired to build interesting fitness centers in Beijing and Shanghai, where young pro- fessionals can meet like-minded friends.
He understood the demographic, since he’s a Stanford graduate with years of investment banking experience.
“Many of our members work for banks or law firms,” he said.
“Their lives are too occupied by work for socializing. Here, they can expand their networks and meet interesting people. We’re creating a space where top graduates and elite professionals from different fields can work hard and play hard, together.”
Such clubs’ startup and overhead costs are pricy, Verlin explained.
Rent is high. Trainers are expensive. And top-notch sound systems, lighting and mobile app management cost a bundle.
But demand makes these establishments profitable.
About 15 million Chinese had gym memberships and the fitness market reached 30 billion yuan ($4.35 billion) last year, iResearch Consulting Group analyst Meng Hezi said.
“Increasing fitness awareness and technological development have enabled the sector to upgrade,” Meng said.
“Most gym members are ages 20 to 40. They’re middleclass urbanites who earn at least tens of thousands a month and hold high statuses. They’re lured by a sense of achievement and social opportunities.”
Meng predicted the market will continue to further specialize.
“Fitness’ current market penetration is only 1 percent. And its demographics are diversifying. So more themed gyms will appear with increasingly tailored services.”
Emergent segments will target the elderly, new mothers and people with health problems, iResearch forecast.
Competition will heat up as brands saturate major metropolises, requiring them to expand into smaller cities if they can afford to, he added.
Increasing fitness awareness and technological development have enabled the sector to upgrade.” Meng Hezi , iResearch Consulting Group analyst