A leaner, meaner you for just 15 dollars, thanks to an Indian startup

Photo credit: CherryPoint.

Indians are not known for their fitness fetish. But what if they had more than 1,000 gyms at their disposal for a ridiculously low monthly fee of INR 999 (US$15)?

An offer like that could convert a couch potato. And that could be exactly what Delhi-based fitness startup Fitpass is aiming for with its India launch today.

Founded last year by the brother-sister duo Akshay and Arushi Verma, Fitpass has now tied up with over 1,000 gyms and fitness studios in Delhi and its peripheral areas. “Anyone with Fitpass membership can walk into any of these gyms for a workout,” Akshay, co-founder and director of Fitpass, told Tech in Asia.

Similar startups have become hugely popular internationally, for instance ClassPass in the US and KFit in Southeast Asia.

Getting fit, gym by gym

“’Gym’ is a more searched word on Google than Bollywood!” says Akshay.

Several other players have come up in this space. Fitternity operates in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Pune, and Gurgaon. Then there is Gympik, which operates in Kolkata and Hyderabad.

Price, fixed schedules, long term contracts, and lack of standardization of services are some of the problems fitness enthusiasts often encounter.

“Fitpass is using technology to remove the prevailing market inefficiencies and make fitness super accessible to the Indian consumer,” says Akshay.

Fitpass membership gets you access to well known places like Gold’s Gym, Elemention, Crush Fitness, Delhi Dance Academy, and Bharat Yoga Sansthan.

More than six pack abs

Photo credit: Lin Mei

Users have more than 100,000 daily workout options to choose from – from pilates, zumba and yoga, to kickboxing, karate, and aerobics.

Fitpass has six proprietary products that could get you up and running with names like six pack abs, sexy calves, pecs of steel, and bikini bod. Customers who opt for this get a curated diet plan and workout guide too.

The brain behind the body