Aspire Lifestyle Hub

Located in the hustle and bustle of Petaling Jaya, Aspire Lifestyle Hub aims to be your one-stop all in one facility for all Malaysians! We managed to score an exclusive interview with one of the founders, Juliana to get more insight on why Aspire Lifestyle hub is your go-to facility.

1. How did you get your idea or concept for the business? What inspired you to start a fitness center?

This idea of all-in-one health, wellness and fitness centre was conceived out of our own experience as consumers and what we see as a gap in the market. Sure, there are lots of fitness center out there but there is not many that are an all in one center. We have our professional personal trainers to help clients with their fitness goals, we have our in-house Nutrition Medicine Practitioner – a branch of complementary medicine who assists clients with their health issues, and we have our physiotherapist partners and massage therapists to help the client with their issues.

We also have other modalities such as medical grade infrared saunas, hydrogen induced water hydrotherapy, cold-induced bath therapy, sports massages etc. We aim to add more services to our list as we progress.

(Note: You can check out their full list of services here.)

2. What was your vision or goal upon starting this fitness center?

Our vision for the Centre is to bring preventative, maintenance and restorative lifelong health solutions to the whole consumer. We believe in providing essentials for a healthy body, from the inside out, using natural methods, supplements,natural foods and physical training/exercise aimed at helping people achieve a new level of well being; allowing the consumer to take responsibility for their health and helping consumers prevent pre-existing and potential diseases, which we think is the key to the future; being the bridge for many to achieve optimum health and wellness.

3. Could you tell us a brief history of Aspire Lifestyle Hub such as the team involved with the establishment of the fitness center?

The founders of the company are namely, Mr Keng Tan, who has been in the fitness industry for over a decade in Australia prior to returning to Malaysia and Ms Juliana Lee who has always had a keen interest in the health and wellness industry.

We also understood that all businesses need a good team to implement our vision and mission of the company. Hence, we have invested in working with business coaches to guide all our staff individually to make sure that they grow personally and professionally.

4. Starting a fitness center is not an easy task as there are many competitors around. What differentiates Aspire Lifestyle Hub from other fitness centers?

We do not see ourselves competing with other fitness centers as we aim to serve a greater purpose in the health and wellness industry. We chose to have a gym because weight/strength training produces the fastest results and strength is one of the most under looked and under estimated aspect in this part of the world.

Just a fact, one of the known factor of longevity is not determined by cholesterol or blood pressure, but muscle mass. Muscle mass is the greatest indicator of how long you will live. In Aspire, all our equipment are top of the range and we believe in providing everyone the opportunity to train with top-notch equipment alongside calibrated plates and dumbbells.

5. In terms of marketing, what are the go-to marketing strategies?

Word of mouth and social media.

6. Throughout the years, were there any failures that you faced? If yes, how did you manage to overcome them?

For sure! Doing business is never easy. There are so many aspects that you need to consider in a business, mainly how to make the business profitable. Ideas need to keep evolving with the trend and time. How do we overcome failures? If you fall, get up and try and try again!

7. What are the future business plans for Aspire Lifestyle Hub?

We are looking forward to expanding our gym on the ground floor so that it can host different category of sports, we already have our equipment picked out from USA and Sweden. When the time is right we will be hosting one of the most unique strength training facility in Malaysia. We hope to reach out to the general public about the importance of preventive health rather than cure. It cost more to heal than prevent.

8. What advice would you give to new entrepreneurs that are just starting out?

There is no short cut to success. If you are in it to get rich fast, you’re in for a rude shock. It’s a matter of working hard & putting in actual effort over an extended period of time. There is no instant gratification. Work hard and stay humble. Also, have a kick-ass business plan so that when the going gets tough, refer back to that business plan and remember why you started.

9. Lastly, in your opinion, what is your take on the Health & Fitness industry in Malaysia?

The health and fitness industry in Malaysia is growing at a progressive pace with an increasing number of fitness outlets mushrooming all over KL and the Klang Valley.
However, obesity is still rising. People are more focused on the aesthetics of getting six packs and washboard abs instead of healthy living. There is a huge difference between wellness and fitness. State of mind is one of the most underlooked health issues as people tend to chase for that bootie or abs while forsaking a great night’s sleep. How one feels should always surpass how one look. If you feel bad eating a certain food, stop eating it.

Society is over complicating everything. Keep things simple and always go back to basics. Malaysian tends to be very trend-orientated, always chasing for the new hype or the next best thing in the fitness industry. Ultimately, it always ends back at strength/resistance training; as it’ll always be the most important in any basic human needs (not powerlifting, not CrossFit, not bodybuilding as all these are sports). Why do we like to call it strength training rather than resistance training, it is simply because you always train to be stronger.

Convinced yet?

Aside from the various facilities, Aspire Lifestyle Hub regularly hold events such as their recent event ‘The Art of Powerlifting‘ by Josh Tait with special guest appearance by Gawain Johnstone. There are many special workshops provided to the public which many powerlifters and regular gym fanatics would love to join!

Of course, if you are interested in other pay per entry gyms in KL, you should definitely check them out, especially if you’re under a certain budget.

If you feel inspired to pursue your own business, check out these other young entrepreneurs that managed to build a successful business.

Opening Hours: 6AM – 11PM
Price: RM30
Website: Aspire Lifestyle Hub
Address: No.116, Jalan Semangat, Seksyen 19, Petaling Jaya, 46300 Malaysia

Written by Michelle Anne Kam from Sterrific.