Virat Kohli to launch 75 fitness centres pan-India

Following in footsteps of his skipper MS Dhoni, dashing cricketer Virat Kohli is all set to come up with his own chain of gyms and fitness centres. With investment of Rs 190 crore in sight, the plans are to launch 75 centres in three years under the brand name Chisel.

This brand is jointly owned by Kohli, Chisel Fitness and CSE, the sister concern of Cornerstone Sport & Entertainment, which is the agency that manages Kohli. "We will launch gyms of various sizes and with different facilities according to their locations," said Satya Sinha, Director of Chisel Fitness, a Bangalore-based startup that specialises in corporate fitness. Franchise India will be the commercial and marketing partner in this venture.

The brand under the celebrity-status of Indian cricket team’s vice-captain is hopeful of making it big in around Rs 1,300 crore Indian fitness industry comprising branded fitness chains and standalone gyms.

Kohli is not the first cricketer to switch role from cricket pitch to entrepreneurship in the recent time. Earlier, Dhoni launched his chain of gyms with SportsFit brand, Delhi Daredevils player Yuvraj Singh invested an undisclosed amount as seed funding in a mobile phone-based beauty and wellness startup Vyomo and Kolkata Knight Riders’ Robin Uthappa too has co-founded a food startup iTiffin.