As a part of a motion to offer inclusive and accessible health to Singaporeans, Jeremy Ko, Chen Yanheng and Chew Leong Heng based Arkkies, a health firm that leverages know-how to boost the general health journey and expertise.
Investing near S$3 million to construct its gyms, in-house know-how and product improvement groups, the enterprise was utterly self-funded by the trio, with sources from their current enterprise ventures — Motion First, Match Bloc and Javy Sports activities.
The pandemic catalysed the launch of Arkkies
Jeremy and Yanheng have been of their second 12 months in college after they first determined to begin their respective ventures within the sports activities trade.
Jeremy based Motion First, a premium health gear provider, whereas Yanheng based Javy Sports activities and First Support, which caters gear for bodily training at faculties. The duo solely determined to affix palms and work collectively throughout their fourth 12 months in college.
“Upon commencement, we continued rising the enterprise whereas drawing S$500 [salary] per thirty days for 2 years,” stated Jeremy.
Years later, when the pandemic hit, Motion First surprisingly noticed a big inflow of orders. Whereas most companies have been badly hit by COVID-19, Motion First was thriving because of a rise in demand for residence health gear in the course of the circuit breaker.
Our gross sales spiked by 200 to 300 per cent in these two years. Having a strict management of our provide chain and good working relationships with our suppliers meant that we discovered ourselves being the one provider with prepared shares in Singapore to satisfy the spike in demand.
– Jeremy Ko, co-founder of Arkkies
On the similar time, whereas the health panorama in Singapore is presently ultra-competitive and saturated, Yanheng recognized that there have been nonetheless gaps within the trade that weren’t correctly addressed, primarily, health inclusivity.
Pulling collectively the extra surge in income from Motion First and sources from their different companies, each Yanheng and Jeremy, joined by Leong Heng, plunged headfirst into their newest enterprise, Arkkies.
The Arkkies’ ecosystem of gyms
“Conserving match shouldn’t be a privilege, it must be accessible,” stated Jeremy.
Arkkies consists of 5 totally different ideas in its health ecosystem — Ark Transfer, Ark Liv, Ark Grit, Ark Bloc and Ark Pod. Every of those ideas cater to totally different segments of the inhabitants.
Moreover, each health club is provided with Arkkies’ personal gear, all manufactured abroad.
Ark Bloc is the one sheltered outside health club in Singapore that has gear catering to many area of interest sports activities beneath one roof. These embrace bouldering, powerlifting, strongman, weightlifting, kettlebell sports activities and calisthenics.
We’ve got greater than 15 stations (energy racks, machines and rig) merely for squats at Ark Bloc, which is essentially the most in the entire of Singapore. Not having to queue to squat was a gamechanger for a lot of members — they will even superset their squat with one other train with ease with out having to share gear.
– Jeremy Ko, founding father of Arkkies
In the meantime, Ark Liv is a ladies-only health club, and supplies a secluded protected area for women. By means of Ark Liv, Arkkies goals to construct a group of girls who will not be afraid to attempt new sports activities and get fitter collectively.
The health club includes a free weights space, cable and cardio machines, a bouldering wall, in addition to a studio for personal exercises corresponding to barre and yoga.
As well as, the health club additionally has a devoted vainness for freshening up, earlier than or after exercises.
The Ark Liv workforce additionally includes a “very succesful workforce of girls, making the entire health club welcoming for females,” stated Jeremy.
Past its open area and female-only gyms, Arkkies additionally has an ‘Ark Pod’, which permits for personal exercises in a 24-hour self-sufficient health club.
Positioned in Bishan, the outlet consists of 4 pods clad in neon lighting, furnished with totally different gear which cater to totally different exercise wants. Every pod is housed underground, and may accommodate as much as two individuals.
To keep up the cleanliness of the unmanned health club, every pod consumer will likely be supplied with disinfecting instruments and is requested to wipe and tidy the pod after their session.
Arkkies additionally carries out a weekly upkeep train to scrub in addition to conduct checks on the pods’ gear.
Apart from Ark Pod, the corporate additionally has a neighbourhood health club idea, Ark Grit, situated at underutilised areas. Arkkies needs to rejuvenate such areas and add worth to the group by making a exercise area for residents close by.
There are presently two shops working in Bishan and Hougang, and every health club spans 2,500 sq. toes respectively.
Each the Ark Grit shops have solely been round for 4 (Bishan) and two (Hougang) months respectively, but its membership numbers are steadily doubling each month. Jeremy attributed this sturdy traction to the truth that Ark Grit’s membership payment is presently the bottom monthly-billed payment in Singapore.
Final however not least, their ultimate idea, Ark Transfer, caters to the mass market.
Ark Transfer is a group health club and presently has three shops in Singapore. It supplies all kinds of health club gear and has not too long ago prolonged its working hours to offer 24-hour entry for its members.
Dedication points to long-term contracts
Whereas Arkkies’ gyms present an inclusive area for all segments of the group, additionally they don’t bind health club goers to a contract.
Most gyms in Singapore require clients to pay lump sums, or invoice them month-to-month and bind them for a set time frame. The cost scheme of those gyms will not be very beginner-friendly, and committing for lengthy durations of time is perhaps uneasy for some.
Fitness center junkies, however, could be tied right down to the identical health club though their health journey might need advanced.
To alleviate this concern, Arkkies doesn’t lock in its members in to any long-term contract.
We wish to encourage individuals to attempt a health club facility to enhance their well being, not flip them away because of dedication points.
– Jeremy Ko, founding father of Arkkies
Members at Arkkies’ gyms can cancel their month-to-month memberships or freeze their memberships for a small payment at any time.
They’ll additionally select to pay for passes (single visits or multi visits) every time they go to. “This empowers clients to pick out a plan that makes most sense to their health journey,” defined Jeremy.
Housing massive gyms within the dense inhabitants of Singapore
Whereas Arkkies triumphed over the preliminary success of the launch of its first few shops, the enterprise confronted quite a lot of challenges alongside the best way.
The principle problem for Arrkies was to find appropriate venues to function its gyms, nearer to its members, to offer them with larger comfort.
Every of its health club requires a minimal of 1,500 sq. toes to function, however such unit sizes will not be simply obtainable. On prime of the problem to find an appropriate venue to function its gyms, Singapore’s hovering rental charges don’t make it simpler for the enterprise.
Arkkies has presently established eight gyms islandwide, however it’s nonetheless in search of alternatives to develop domestically.
As a health club operator, our price proposition is to attract common footfall and constructing a more healthy group, and we’re grateful to have discovered many landlords (HDB, JTC, NTUC, PA amongst others) who’re supportive of this imaginative and prescient.
– Jeremy Ko, founding father of Arkkies
Moreover, as a result of nature of its membership construction which doesn’t bind its members to any long-term contracts, Arkkies has to place in laborious work to make sure that its members proceed to see worth in being a part of the Arrkies group.
Regardless of income not being assured on a month-to-month foundation, we’re proud to share that many members are near finishing a complete 12 months of their health journey with us – the whole period Arkkies have been in existence.
Many members be a part of the health club as there was minimal monetary dedication, however keep after discovering themselves part of this bigger health group.
– Jeremy Ko, founding father of Arkkies
Integrating tech and health
Arkkies’ web site permits its clients to purchase passes or memberships, droop their membership within the occasion of harm, illness, or being pregnant, guide time slots to come back into the health club, and robotically unlock health club doorways by way of a hyperlink.
“All the above is finished with none human intervention, permitting us to channel manpower sources to service our buyer base higher,” shared Jeremy, including that the corporate has plans to port over the options from the web site right into a user-friendly cell app.
It additionally goals to implement a health programme suggestion characteristic inside the app. By collating knowledge on customers’ top, weight, sleep, metabolism, physique kind, habits, exercise and vitality ranges, the characteristic will leverage machine studying beneath the supervision of a sports activities scientist to suggest the depth of a consumer’s exercise.
The machine studying algorithm will create a four-, eight- or 12-week coaching programme primarily based on the consumer’s health objectives. These objectives could possibly be metric-based (to drop some weight or achieve muscle) or goal-based (do a certain quantity of push ups or pull ups).
In the long term, Arkkies goals to create a software program and human vetted programme which connects private trainers (PTs) to appropriate purchasers. For instance, this programme would be capable of join overweight purchasers to PTs specialising in sustainable fats loss, or join gymnastics coaches to purchasers eager to discover ways to do a handstand.
Apart from that, Arkkies additionally goals to combine Web of Issues (IoT) into their gear by collaborating with their abroad factories. By means of the combination of IoT, clients can place their telephones or scan a QR code to report their exercises.
Establishing extra shops each domestically and abroad
For a lot of nations, a patriarchal society mixed with acts of micro and macro aggression in direction of females means most of them won’t ever step right into a health club, regardless of the well being advantages.
– Jeremy Ko, founding father of Arkkies
To deliver the idea to those nations and to offer a safer exercise setting for females, Arkkies is presently working with abroad companions. The truth is, the health club obtained an abroad franchise enquiry on the second day of its operation.
In Singapore, Jeremy shared that the following Ark Liv outlet will likely be launched in Fusionopolis at one-north subsequent.
Other than increasing its female-exclusive health club, Arkkies additionally has plans to maneuver into different sports activities and health ideas tailor-made to kids and the aged.
So long as a bunch of consumers can profit their well being from our subsequent iteration, we will likely be motivated to proceed what we’re doing. Our final objective has at all times been to be a associate within the well being and health journey of as many people.
– Jeremy Ko, founding father of Arkkies
Featured Picture Credit score: Arkkies
