艾美艾尊

(Above) Wu Chun (L) inspecting the gym facilities at Fitness Zone Kiulap.


"WHEN I set out to do something, I usually aim to introduce something new to Bruneians to raise the standards of what there is to offer in Brunei."

That was the motivation that brought Fitness Zone, a world-class gym, to Brunei in 2003.

"Working out has always been a hobby of mine and when I was studying in Australia for five to six years, the gyms here pale in comparison to theirs. I really felt that Brunei needed a gym which could match international standards," says the owner of Fitness Zone.

Goh Kiat Chun, an international movie star better known by his celebrity name Wu Chun, says that he set up Fitness Zone using a bank loan because he preferred doing everything on his own.

"I estimated two to three years before I could break-even and we met that target on time. One year after the opening of our first branch at the mall, I returned to get a larger loan to set up the Kiulap branch," Wu says.

He says that all that money hasn't been recovered as Fitness Zone has been investing on staff training. "That's what's important for me now. I try every month not to make a loss, but I use most of the money to invest in my staff," he says.

"I'm seeing the long-term and bigger picture. There is no rush to make money now but what I want is a solid base and we can slowly make our way up from there," Wu explains.

When asked about the main challenges faced by Fitness Zone when it first opened, Wu immediately cites Bruneians' lack of knowledge about fitness.

"It's slowly improving but we feel sometimes customers give up too fast. They don't know the importance of exercise. They just come and do very light work," he says, adding that it has become the gym's main focus now to educate members.

Wu says that response has been good because customers are referring their friends to join and "if you recommend friends, that means you are somewhat satisfied with the services and facilities of the gym".

"Like I said before, we spend a lot of effort and money on training instructors. They go overseas for fitness management short courses and so on. It's very important and Brunei is not at that level yet. In other countries, people are hitting the gym during lunch, it's always packed because they are aware of the importance. We are always empty during lunch," he says.

Brunei needs to slowly build up and let everyone realise the benefits of staying healthy and fit, Wu says.

As Bruneians become more aware, Wu says that it leads to another challenge.

"When the gym was new and fresh, with exciting classes, people got interested. Now, as they get more accustomed to this, they look at the service provided. We are very focused on customer service and I want customers to get that feeling they are treated well once they step into the club," he says.

Wu believes the club should be like a second home, because they go the extra mile to keep clients comfortable so that everyone are "friends and like a family".

"Sometimes members who are not doing weights or when they are done with it, they still hang out and talk to people, I like that kind of atmosphere," says Wu.

Now, almost seven years down the road with 1,000 active members and almost 50 staff, Fitness Zone is expanding to a third branch in Serusop.

"We may open May or June this year. Initially I wanted to get it opened in March and like I said previously, I like being hands-on so I will be visiting the branch a lot this month," he says, adding that he hopes to attend the gym's opening ceremony.

Besides that, Fitness Zone also has a couple of new plans in the pipeline.

It is constantly upgrading and introducing new classes even though its Les Mills classes have always been popular.

"Every time our trainers go overseas for courses, they will hold new classes as they come back. Besides that, we want to introduce more outdoor activities like biking, hiking and maybe even a boot camp so we aren't always indoors the whole time," says Wu.

Fitness Zone is also introducing hip-hop, street dance classes led by the Next Element dance group.

"A lot of people enjoy dancing now so that's something we are happy to venture into," he says.

Five years down the road, Wu hopes to see Fitness Zone venture overseas.

He says he is looking at China, Hong Kong or Taiwan.

"I have been in talks ... so hopefully something will work out. There might even be a possibility of us opening in Southeast Asia, like in Singapore," Wu reveals.

For now, Fitness Zone wants to educate Bruneians about the importance of keeping fit and healthy, he says.

He adds instructors would give talks in schools or invite students to Fitness Zone because he believes if someone likes sports, it has to start from a younger age.

"We want to slowly educate Brunei, starting from the grassroots," he adds.



source: The Brunei Times