Goji Studios (Gym And Wellness)

Various locations (in the premises of the defunct California Fitness):

• Whampoa (April 2017)
• Tsim Sha Tsui (June 2017)
• Mong Kok (June 2017)
• Kowloon Bay (June 2017)
• Central (June 2017)
• Causeway Bay (June 2017)
• Wanchai (July 2017)

Web:  https://gojistudios.com.hk
Email: hello@gojistudios.com.hk
Tel: 2530 3038

Walking down Granville Road last night, FuelMix was approached by a gym marketing guy who handed  FuelMix a flyer for Goji Studios, a gym and wellness centre.  It was located on the 9th, 10th and 11th floors of The One, Tsim Sha Tsui.

"Aren't those the premises of California Fitness..?" enquired FuelMix

"Yes", said the marketing guy, "but we are NOT California Fitness at all.  We give you the choice of 1 year or 6 month membership.  And it is all fixed price.  Everyone pays the same in all our branches.  The basic membership is about HK$500.00 per month.

(Underlining  highlighting and bold print by FuelMix):

A newly established gym chain has quietly rented seven premises previously occupied by the shuttered California Fitness, with the first to open in Hung Hom next month. 

Goji Studios, owned by a local consortium led by financial services firm Opus, was offered significant rent discounts after the seven prime locations had been left vacant for 10 months, the Post has learned. 

Unlike California Fitness, whose members paid multiple years of membership fees in advance, Goji charges on a monthly basis to reassure customers who were left in limbo by the former chain’s sudden collapse. 

About 64,000 members and 700 employees were hit last July as the operator of California Fitness, mYoga and Leap closed all its 12 outlets across the city amid unpaid debts amounting to more than HK$100 million. The gym chain had earlier been criticised by the Consumer Council for using intimidatory and misleading sales practices. 

“We are not California Fitness,” Ricky Cheuk Ming-yin, chief operating office of Goji Studios told the Post in an email.

The former Hong Kong rugby sevens player said the closure of California Fitness had provided a “special investment opportunity” to take over numerous vacated premises well suited for a fitness club. 

Opus has taken over the former chain’s premises in Causeway Bay, Wan Chai, Central, Hung Hom, Mong Kok, Kowloon Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui. They would be launched before the end of August, Cheuk said. 

It is understood that most Goji Studios outlets have been leased for five years at a total monthly rent of about HK$10 million. Its Hung Hom branch received a 13 per cent discount for a monthly rent of HK$1.3 million. 

The consortium is currently in discussions with landlords to rent other vacant premises once used by California Fitness. 

“Opening seven locations in such a short time requires sizeable financial resources. Opus has secured ample financial resources to support a successful business,” Cheuk said, assuring customers that his chain would not collapse like California Fitness. 

Despite expensive rents and stiff competition from smaller rivals, Cheuk was confident about prospects for the fitness industry, with a plan to ride the wave of family interest in health.

“Our market research has found that Hong Kong people place great importance on health, and fitness is a growing industry,”he said, citing a 2015 survey that showed 69 per cent of respondents placed health and fitness as their top priority. 

“In addition to sports lovers and health and wellness enthusiastics, we also target families and kids. We aim to offer activities that adults and kids can enjoy together as valuable family time,” he said.

The chain charges HK$588 a month for basic membership and HK$888 for a premium plan.

About 300 people had joined the chain as of last Friday, a sales manager told the Post. Many of them are former members of California Fitness........

-----Former Hong Kong ruby star Ricky Cheuk to run new fitness chain in vacated California Fitness premises, South China Morning Post, 24 April 2017

"They're not doing any hard sell", said the muscleboy working in BC Connection in Tsim Sha Tsui, "they know what will happen if they try....it's a fixed rate membership.  Everyone pays the same.  But the guys working there are the staff and trainers who used to work in California Fitness and Pure Fitness".

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California Fitness, Hong Kong 5

COMPLETED 17 DECEMBER 2016

Even When They're Dead, They Seem To Be Devious...

1.   It's been a while since gay mecca California Fitness hit the news.  Disgruntled former customers ended up in other gyms and from street gossip, it would appear Physical picked up a lot of them.  That's not surprising since Physical was always rumoured to be the Number 2 gym circuit for GAMs in this city.  They're now in "pole" position, so to speak.

2.  At the end of November 2016, the High Court of Hong Kong ordered the winding-up of JV Fitness Limited, the holding company of the various California Fitness gyms and yoga centres.  This was as a result of its failure to pay a debt of HK$7million to another company in respect of renovation services  In total, there were 12 outlets in the city, 64,000 customers and 700 employees. It is alleged that over the last 2 years, JV Fitness had lost over HK$117 Million Dollars. There were also gyms in Singapore, Beijing and Shanghai.

3.  It was reported in the South China Morning Post ("SCMP") on 23 November 2016 that the Provisional Liquidator, ShineWing, was in discussions with a potential investor for the purchase of California Fitness assets and that these discussions would continue notwithstanding that the winding-up order had been made.

4.   Apparently ShineWing has a Facebook page in which it give updates on the status of California Fitness.  Both the English and Chinese versions invited former gym customers to go to another website and "provide their indication" as to whether they would agree to having their personal data sold to help recoup losses.

5.  When the SCMP went to that website, it discovered that there was no option to refuse to provide the data.

6.  ShineWing claims it was only to gauge interest, but did not give an assurance that those who had already given their agreement for the sale of their data, would be allowed to change their minds if the data were in fact to be sold (and we suspect, they did not give an assurance that other customers' data would not be sold by default).


FuelMix says:

1.   LOL...When they were still alive, California Fitness had a reputation for aggressive sales practices, shady dealings and greedy billing.  Now that they're "dead", the Liquidator is treading a fine line.  According to the SCMP report, the Liquidator is seeking legal advice on this matter and would have to comply with the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, the contract terms with its customers and obtain its customers consent before any such data could be transferred to a Third Party.

2.   Welcome to the world of Big Data!!  FuelMix attended a number of business presentations and was mildly pissed off at the blase attitude of entrepreneurs ("Oh yeah....we keep the Big Data in a separate room which is locked and you need special access to get in...") fascinated and yet repulsed at the lengths to which companies were looking to "granulate" information in order to profile customers.  Nobody would say it publicly, but businesses have morphed into commercial spying agencies.  The distinction between business research, surveillance and stalking doesn't exist anymore.  It's a predatory world.

3.   And for California Fitness' customers, therein lies the pain.  Having been stripped of their cash, they may run the risk of being stripped (or already having been stripped) of their personal data.  Nobody has answered the question:

"What was California Fitness doing with customer data in the 2 years BEFORE they went bankrupt..?"  

4.   It had racked up HK$117 Million in losses during the last 2 years of its operations.  For a business unconcerned with a city-wide reputation for sharp practice and Consumer Council warnings, that Big Data would have been worth something during that period.  And we have a suspicion that somebody, somewhere, was asset-stripping the business.

5.   Remember, Big Data is worth something to the company.  Qualitatively it is worth more than the Pec Decks, Leg Presses and Cable Machines.  Its individual customers are simply unsecured creditors.  Translation:  They get zip, zero, nada.  (But hey, thanks for the personal data...).

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California Fitness, Singapore

Just over 2 weeks after the cascading collapse of California Fitness in Hong Kong - an event that triggered much wailing and, we suspect, had many local fags shitting in their Aussie Bums - the insolvency roadshow rolled into Singapore.

The 2 branches of California Fitness in Singapore have been shut down and provisional liquidators have been appointed.  Needless to say gym patrons over there were following the saga over here and probably realized that it was only a matter of time.

California Fitness, Hong Kong 4

For the record, FuelMix is not, and never was, a member of California Fitness gyms.

1.   Here is a list of the ways in which customers of California Fitness (including Leap and MYoga) may have paid for their memberships.

2.   If your membership was paid:

• in full in cash - bye bye **
• in full by cheque - bye bye** (unless you were smart enough to stop payment on the cheque when the story first broke;
• in full by Debit Card - bye bye**;
• by monthly installments via direct debit from your account - you should by now have cancelled the direct debit instruction with your bank and theoretically may have reduced your losses;
• by Credit Card - there are 2 scenarios here:

(1)  monthly installments debited to your Credit Card - you should by now have contacted the Credit Card company to cancel this immediately as a partial reduction of loss;  OR
(2) the Credit Card company MAY have paid JV Fitness the FULL amount of your membership fee IN ADVANCE and for which, they are debiting you in monthly installments. In this case, you will still be liable to the Credit Card company for the full amount;

3.  ** bye bye :  What we mean is that at the moment, it would appear that the money has gone.  However, the circumstances of the chain's collapse raise several questions, some of which we posed in Part 3.

4.  We would not be surprised if there was a criminal investigation against the company and against its past Directors (notwithstanding they sold their shares and resigned) for fraud, deceptive trade practices and carrying on business knowing that the company was unable to pay its debts.

5.  We would also not be surprised if allegations emerged of asset stripping the company.  In the event that funds were traced, there might be partial recovery for the customers.

California Fitness, Hong Kong 3

 For the record, FuelMix is not, and never was, a member of California Fitness gyms.

1.   The Director's Unconvincing Press Conference

1.   On 13 July 2016 the former sole Director of JV Fitness, the holding company of the various California Fitness gyms around town (as well as the sister gym, "Leap" and the MYoga studios) gave a press conference in Hong Kong.  We'll call him Mr W1.

2.   The gist of it all..?  Mr W1 claimed he too was a "victim" and in December 2015 was duped into buying the gym chain for HK$50 Million by Mr C and Mr G. In particular, he alleged he had not been shown an audit report that highlighted the chain's lousy finances at the time he bought it.  Apparently JV Fitness' net liabilities in 2014 was HK$335 Million.

3.    Mr W1 claimed that it was only months later did he find out what the finances were and had personally injected HK$20 Million to keep the chain running, but ended up losing a total of HK$70 Million.

4.  He claimed the problems were compounded by the gym chain's notorious hard sell practices which he did not know about and that Mr C and the personal trainers were deliberately obstructing his attempts to end them.  Those hard sell practices got Mr W1 and his wife arrested for misleading sales practices.

5.   In June 2016, Mr W1 sold his shares in JV Fitness to his brother Mr W2.


2.   FuelMix says:

1.  Total bullshit.

2.  Mr W1 is himself a businessperson, being a director of BeSpark Technologies - the company that filed the Winding-Up Petition against California Fitness' Whampoa Branch, which blew the lid off this whole saga.

3.  It's hard to believe he was duped and that the Audit Report was withheld.  It looks like a failure to properly conduct due diligence fueled by greed.

4.  It's hard to accept that he was totally in the dark about California Fitness' sales tactics. He claimed to be one of its earliest Life Members. Did he never keep his eyes and ears open in the gym..?  And even more recently,  his company BeSpark Technologies was doing renovation work in the Whampoa Branch.

5.  If as he claims, some personal trainers were earning over HK$100,000 a month due to the hard sales tactics, why didn't he fire them in the interests of ethics..?
(b)  Instead Mr W1 claims Mr C raised their commissions.
(c)  What agreement was there between Mr W1 and Mr C..?? and between the trainers about the daily management and sales quotas of the gyms..?  Is it to be assumed that Mr W1 had absolutely no contact with the trainers and never held a management meeting in any of the branches..?
(d)  Is that why the trainers are now covering their faces when they appear in public?

6.   It looks like Mr W1 first divested himself of his shares in JV Fitness in order to launch the Winding-Up Petition, so as to avoid any allegations of conflict of interest.

7.   But here's something curious:  A few days ago, the SCMP reported that some staff and trainers claimed the various branches were actually solvent and that they had seen the accounts.  That raises the question who skimmed off the money? when....? and where did it go..?  After all, as pointed out above, Mr W1 himself said that JV Fitness' net liabilities as at 2014 were HK$335 Million.

8.   Putting it another way, whilst the customers were stripping in the Locker Room, somebody was stripping the gym.

9.  If JV Fitness' finances were such a mess, what incentive was there for Mr W1's brother to buy his shares..?

10.  If as Mr W1 claims, JV Fitness' Net Liabilities as at 2014 were HK$335 Million, why was the Court told on 13 July 2016 that the company had lost HK$117 Million over the last 30 months..? Are these additional losses or were Net Liabilities reduced in some fashion..? If so, how and by whom..?

11.  Given that several gym branches were in debt, it looks like the Winding-Up Petition was a tactical move to force the creditors to the table.  Several writs were issued after the Winding-Up Petition. That means those writs cannot proceed in court unless the Provisional Liquidator allows them to go ahead.

12.  In the meantime 64,000 gym members (initially estimated in the media at 100,000) and 700 employees (initially estimated in the media at 500) are in limbo.


As one of our readers wrote to us yesterday:

Dear FM

I am so amused by the California fitness saga. The "victim" director simply made himself look like a total idiot in public.

One could not make this stuff up.

Sincerely,
-------

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California Fitness, Hong Kong 2

For the record, FuelMix is not, and never was, a member of California Fitness gyms.

1.   The above image, taken in the lobby of one of the California Fitness branches, sums it up.  "The Burn" wasn't so much calories as it was cash - the company's and that of the 100,000 customers.

2.   The South China Morning Post reported that as at 12 July 2016, all branches of California Fitness in Hong Kong as well as their branch in Beijing and Shanghai have shut down until further notice as their operating capital (what's left of it) has been frozen as a result of the Winding-Up Petition against the holding company.

3.   The wailing and gnashing of teeth continues.  There is some ironic humour.  The pushy staff and personal trainers whose aggressive in-your-face "sales" techniques pissed off loads of people for decades, are now covering their faces with scarves as they mill around police stations and the Labour Department whining for their wages.

4.   Why darlin'..??  Don't ya wanna be recognized for behaviour that fell somewhere between stalking, harassment and intimidation..??  Are you scared that a (justifiably) pissed off customer might hold you liable for their losses..??

5.  The SCMP reported that the trainers are mulling:

• mass resignations (we have news for them: they're effectively redundant at the moment. The Winding-Up Petition took care of that);
• industrial action (hahahahahaha...!!! the holding company has ground to a halt. Whaddya gonna do...? March on the streets with covered faces..?)
• legal action (you sure you'll qualify for legal aid..?)

6.   What would a high-profile gym saga be without a politician or two to add that touch of humanity and hypocrisy..?  Some are befriending the customers, others are making sympathetic noises in favour of the staff and trainers.  So here's our question.....where the hell were you over the last 20 years when people were screaming about this joint's business practices...??!!

Copyright © 2006 – 2016 FuelMix All Rights Reserved

California Fitness, Hong Kong

For the record, FuelMix is not, and never was, a member of California Fitness gyms.

1.   Thanks For The Memories...
2.   Gay Boy Central
3.   You Spin Me Right Round Baby, Right Round 
4.   A Potential Buyer..?? 


So.....let's see:

1.   Thanks For The Memories...

• 20 years of extremely aggressive sales tactics on the street and in their premises;
• staff ganging up on customers to join or renew gym memberships;
• customers incurring huge liabilities sometimes years in advance;
• utterly skewed and unjustified pricing difference between customers using the same branch of the gym at the same time;
• unauthorized credit card billings - in some cases, months before their memberships expired; 
• allegedly homophobic or gay-for-pay personal trainers using their looks and muscles to intimidate male customers into signing up for long-term personal training sessions by openly criticizing a customer's appearance and technique in the gym, ganging up on him to sign - and then laughing amongst themselves afterwards;
• years of customer complaints in the media with no action taken;
• increasing complaints of lack of hygiene;
• finally - after 20 years - named and shamed by the Consumer Council following a further spike in complaints aggressive sales tactics;
• and still the gym continued its tactics.....

2.   Gay Boy Central

And not forgetting:

1. This is a gym chain whose branches around town were and are, HUGELY popular with gay guys;
2. A gym chain very famous for gay cruising in the gym;
3. A gym chain notorious for gay action in the locker room, showers and steam room;

-----of which allegedly the staff were fully aware and tacitly encouraged it as a means of getting male customers.(But don't expect them to ever admit that).


3.   You Spin Me Right Round Baby, Right Round

1.   What goes around comes around.  After decades of squeezing their customers, California Fitness has  found itself on the receiving end of a Big Squeeze.......a Winding-Up Petition against the holding company JV Fitness, lodged by a pissed off creditor (we assume their Landlord) for unpaid water and electricity bills on its Whampoa Branch in Hung Hom which opened in March 2016. A couple of days ago, it shut down abruptly to howls of anguish from the boys in spandex and compression shirts.


2.   It's now emerged that since its opening, the Whampoa branch was the subject of an even more-aggressive-than-usual sign up campaign with many customers signing away big bucks.  More curious is that the Directors of the holding company that owns all the branches around town, resigned one after the other from April 2016 to June 2016 and the company is apparently looking for a buyer. The biggest joke in this is that the Winding Up Petition was lodged.....by a former director of California Fitness' holding company.  He quit in April 2016 and issued the Winding Up Petition via another company of which he is a Director.

What a fuckin' mess.......!!

3.   As at 8 July 2016 not only is the main California Fitness gym chain affected, but so is its sister gym, Leap.

4.  The total number of gyms or studios of this group now in financial trouble is currently 12. A partial list of branches' liability taken from online reports in the South China Morning Post looks like this:

• Whampoa - liable for HK$2.47 Million;
• Leap - liable for HK$976,000.00;
• Tuen Mun - liable for HK$2.23 Million;
• Quarry Bay - liable for HK$2.82 Million;

5.   As at 8 July 2016, the latest reports from the SCMP state that California Fitness' debts are as high as HK$130 Million, with a staff of 500 and a total gym membership of around 100,000, many of whom are getting disgruntled by the day.  In other words, Stages 1, 2 and 3 of not being able to do business.

6.   It's not surprising that customers of all their branches around town are increasingly agitated to discover whether their gym branch is also affected by the Winding-Up Petition (We haven't seen the Petition but if it is directed against the holding company then the answer would be yeah.....all branches are affected and cannot continue in business unless the Liquidator authorizes it) and what's gonna happen to the big bucks they also handed over. 

7.   It hasn't helped that over the last few days, all California Fitness branches have stopped accepting new members. In other words, Stage 4 of not being able to do business.

8.   Apparently some personal trainers (yeah, including the allegedly homophobic, gay-for-pay ones) as well as other staff are lining up in black scarves to hide their faces, demanding unpaid salary and commissions of several million bucks.  Stage 5 of not being able to do business.

9.   A Facebook page, set up a couple of days ago, called California Fitness Victims Group has over 1000 members bitching and shrieking for a refund.  Some have reported their grievances to the Police as well as the Customs & Excise Department.  That's Stage 6 of not being able to do business. We have news for them.....in a winding-up of a company, gym members (regardless of how much they paid) rank as ordinary unsecured creditors with no preferential treatment whatsoever.  From a legal point of view, the prospects of getting their cash back are zero (That doesn't stop a new buyer of the chain from voluntarily offering refunds, but that carries the risk of huge capital outflows).

10.   But reporting the issue to the Police and the Customs & Excise Department, might be a different matter.  The conduct of the Directors, putting the chain up for sale, the Winding-Up Petition by one of the former Directors, the abrupt closure of the Whampoa Branch, the staggering amounts of debt, the refusal to take on new members at any branch, the unpaid salaries and commissions - and the general revulsion of their customers suggests, that a criminal offence may have been committed.

11.   Under the Companies Ordinance, a company commits a criminal offence if it carries on business, knowing that it cannot pay its debts. Its Directors would be liable.  Which now raises the question....are all the Directors still in Hong Kong or have they fled..??

12.   We fuckin' told you this was the Age of Destruction, Disruption and Dissonance. Have you read the series we wrote..?  No...? Stupid faggot.



4.   A Potential Buyer..?

As at 8 July 2016, the SCMP is reporting that there might be a potential buyer/white knight.  We'll see how this develops.

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