Celebrity Fitness is one of Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

's largest health

Health

Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...

 and fitness

Physical fitness

Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness , and specific fitness...

 club operators, by number of clubs and members. Celebrity Fitness currently has 27 clubs in 3 different countries, and operates three different gym brands: Celebrity Fitness, Celebrity Fitness Express, and Celebrity Fitness VIP. Every Celebrity Fitness club offers tailored personal training, yoga, and aerobic fitness programs for its members. The current CEO is Martin Darby.

Background

Celebrity Fitness was founded in 2003 by former employees of the 24 Hour Fitness chain, John Franklin, Mike Anderson and John J. Sweeney. Their first employee was local Indonesian Hendra Nugraha, now a member of the senior management team. Celebrity commenced operations in February 2004 with the opening of a club in Jakarta. The ‘Celebrity’ name was chosen specifically to convey and upmarket brand; club members can have their own personal trainer just like film star celebrities and can work-out in environments inspired by the bars, nightclubs and celeb hangouts of Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Miami Beach.

Areas within the clubs are also designated lounge and salon areas where members can relax and socialise, and Celebrity Fitness clubs are generally located within shopping malls in order to facilitate combining fitness and normal life.

In 2005, Celebrity Fitness entered the Malaysian market opening its first club in Kuala Lumpur. The Malaysian business expanded in 2009 with the purchase of California Fitness (Malaysia) gyms.

In 2007, the majority shareholding of Celebrity Fitness was acquired by Navis Capital Partners, with subsequent expansion into Turkey (which the Company exited in July 2010) and India with the opening of the first Indian club, sited in Gurgaon

Gurgaon

Gurgaon is the second largest city in the Indian state of Haryana. Gurgaon is the industrial and financial center of Haryana. It is located 30 km south of national capital New Delhi, about 10 kilometers from Dwarka Sub City and 268 km south of Chandigarh, the state capital...

. In May 2010, Navis appointed Martin Darby as Celebrity Fitness Group CEO.

As of 2011, Celebrity Fitness boasts 100,000 members and over 30 clubs. In 2011, Celebrity Fitness continued its rapid expansion with the opening of its second New Delhi club (West Mall, Rajouri Gardens); its first club in Sumatra (Sun Plaza, Medan); its fifth club in Java (Paragon Mall, Semarang); plus continued expansion of its club footprint in Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur. Celebrity Fitness is currently the largest fitness chain in Indonesia and second largest in Malaysia.

Celebrity Fitness has received many awards and commendations, winning the Top Brand (best fitness brand category) in 2009 and 2010; Men’s Health Magazine Best Overall Gym Award 2011, with special commendations for Celebrity Fitness La Piazza and Puri Indah Clubs.

Indonesia

Celebrity Fitness was the first gym company of its kind in Indonesia. In 2004, Celebrity opened its first gym in Jakarta's e'X Mall

Entertainment X'nter

The Entertainment X'nter is a shopping mall located in Menteng, Central Jakarta directly beside the Japanese Embassy....

 at Plaza Indonesia

Plaza Indonesia

Plaza Indonesia is located in central Jakarta and is often referred to as PI. Plaza Indonesia is the first high end shopping centre in Indonesia....

. The company has the largest gym network in Indonesia and is the market leader, by number of clubs and members, ahead of Fitness First

Fitness First

Fitness First is the largest privately owned health club group in the world with over 540 Fitness First clubs worldwide reaching over 1.7 million members in 21 countries...

 and Gold's Gym

Gold's Gym

Gold's Gym International, Inc. is an international chain of co-ed fitness centers originally started in California by Joe Gold. Each gym features a wide array of exercise equipment, group exercise classes and personal trainers to assist clients...

. As of mid 2011, Celebrity Fitness had locations in Jakarta

Jakarta

Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...

, Surabaya

Surabaya

Surabaya is Indonesia's second-largest city with a population of over 2.7 million , and the capital of the province of East Java...

, Bandung

Bandung

Bandung is the capital of West Java province in Indonesia, and the country's third largest city, and 2nd largest metropolitan area in Indonesia, with a population of 7.4 million in 2007. Located 768 metres above sea level, approximately 140 km southeast of Jakarta, Bandung has cooler...

, Bekasi

Bekasi

Bekasi is a city in West Java, Indonesia, located on the eastern border of Jakarta in the Jabodetabek metropolitan region. To the south is Bogor Regency, east is Bekasi Regency....

, Bogor

Bogor

Bogor is a city on the island of Java in the West Java province of Indonesia. The city is located in the center of the Bogor Regency , 60 kilometers south of the Indonesian capital Jakarta...

, Semarang

Semarang

- Economy :The western part of the city is home to many industrial parks and factories. The port of Semarang is located on the north coast and it is the main shipping port for the province of Central Java. Many small manufacturers are located in Semarang, producing goods such as textiles,...

 Central Java and soon opening in Medan

Medan

- Demography :The city is Indonesia's fourth most populous after Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bandung, and Indonesia's largest city outside of Java island. Much of the population lies outside its city limits, especially in Deli Serdang....

, totaling 20 clubs.

Malaysia

In 2004, Celebrity Fitness opened its first gym at the 1 Utama

1 Utama

1 Utama is a popular shopping mall in Bandar Utama, a suburb in the northern part of Petaling Jaya, Selangor and is located just opposite Taman Tun Dr Ismail in Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia....

 shopping mall in Petaling Jaya

Petaling Jaya

Petaling Jaya is a Malaysian city originally developed as a satellite township for Kuala Lumpur comprising mostly residential and some industrial areas. It is located in the Petaling district of Selangor with an area of approximately 97.2 km². On 20 June 2006, Petaling Jaya was granted a...

 located near Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...

. Celebrity Fitness is the second largest fitness chain in Malaysia by number of locations (with 9), behind Fitness First

Fitness First

Fitness First is the largest privately owned health club group in the world with over 540 Fitness First clubs worldwide reaching over 1.7 million members in 21 countries...

 (12) but ahead of True Fitness (4). In September 2009, Celebrity Fitness acquired all of California Fitness

California Fitness

California Fitness is a wholly owned subsidiary of 24 Hour Fitness Worldwide which has around 400 clubs serving more than three million members. The first California Fitness club was established in 1996 in the business district of Hong Kong near Lan Kwai Fong...

's gyms in Malaysia. Miss World Malaysia finalists work out at Celebrity. The Bangsar Village 2 gym is where Amber Chia

Amber Chia

Amber Chia is a Malaysian model. She was born in Ipoh, Malaysia, but grew up in the city of Tawau, in Sabah, East Malaysia. She began her modeling career at seventeen in Kuala Lumpur...

, a former Celebrity Fitness brand ambassador, announced that production of the show Malaysia’s Supermodel Search Presents Ford Supermodel of the Year

Supermodel of the World (contest)

Supermodel of the World is an international modeling contest established by Eileen Ford in 1980. The contest showcases young fashion model entrants from over 50 countries in order to discover new talent for the fashion industry...

would be delayed until further notice.

India

In December 2008, Celebrity Fitness commenced operations in India with its first gym in Gurgaon

Gurgaon

Gurgaon is the second largest city in the Indian state of Haryana. Gurgaon is the industrial and financial center of Haryana. It is located 30 km south of national capital New Delhi, about 10 kilometers from Dwarka Sub City and 268 km south of Chandigarh, the state capital...

 located near Delhi

Delhi

Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

.

Membership types

Celebrity Fitness has offered different types of membership packages since it opened, which can generally be grouped in two categories: Terms (all membership fees are pre-paid upfront) and Dues (membership fees are paid on a monthly basis). There are also different packages for members who only want access to one club, as opposed to members who want access to all clubs. Since 2009, Celebrity Fitness sells primarily Dues memberships. The company also offers Corporate membership packages for corporations aiming to improve the health of their employees.