Jitendra Chouksey
Founder & Director
Even after numerous measures being implemented by the government, regulatory bodies, and industry players, there is no standardized process that defines the space. Moreover, the fitness industry still faces dearth in terms of producing quality talent and fails to raise customer awareness among a plethora of other challenges. Also, at present, lifestyle diseases on the rise, physical activity plays a vital role in people’s lives, where this prevents obesity, heart diseases, hypertension, diabetes, colon cancer among other lifestyle-related diseases. And, there is no effective medium to educate or habituate people to imbibe healthy lifestyle.
One key player that is changing the perspective of people in the industry and effectively solving the problems in the fitness space is S.Q.U.A.T.S. The company has taken extreme measures to bring in accountability and is seamlessly working towards raising the standard & awareness in people, who are associated with fitness. Founder & Director, Jitendra Chouksey, proudly enunciating the impact his company has been adding in the space says “Previously, fitness trainer was considered to be a low profile job. Now, if you look at S.Q.U.A.T.S consultants, they are not only highly qualified, but they are also well paid. So, to improve the sector, you will have to raise the standard of a person, who is associated with it and that’s precisely what we’ve been doing.”
Currently, S.Q.U.A.T.S is one of the top-rated fitness training companies in Pune. The team believes that to find the right solution to a problem, it starts by asking the right question. Be it, expensive gym membership, educating, result-oriented training, healthy food options, gym equipment, costly apparels and accessories, quality coach certifications etc. The company has forayed into a whole new dimension of the fitness industry, where they have ventured into various sectors like online fitness & wellness consulting, apparels & accessories, lifestyle blogs, fitness magazine, education institutions, low-cost gym membership amongst others.
Quaintly succeeding, S.Q.U.A.T.S alongside INFS (Institution of Nutrition and Fitness Science), a sister company has fixed two main challenges pertaining to the industry. One being the awareness aspect of it, both online-offline consultancy space and the other is the training, coach certification whereby they provide job opportunities to people in fitness Industry. Furthermore, the company envisions fixing other quintessential problems pertaining to the industry and ensures building a solid infrastructure that redefines fitness ecosystem. For now, the company is determined to make 50 million people fit and create 100,000 jobs in the fitness industry. Most important of all S.Q.U.A.T.S is all set to show the world – how easy it is to stay fit!
A Story of a Techie, who evolved into Becoming a Fitness Expert...
Jitendra Chouksey, had been in the fitness finesse ever since a young age. He vividly remembers that – as a kid, he used to be a chubby little boy, and often used to be picked or teased by his friends and relatives because of his weight. As time progressed, in eighth grade, he met a friend who suggested him to join the gym. Frustrated by the act of being told - what to do & what not to do? Chouksey made up his mind once and for all and decided to hit the gym. Thereafter, everything changed for him. At the gym, he noticed that many people were muscular and fit. This inspired young Chouksey to work out even more and thereby enhanced him to perfect the art of fitness. After this, there was nothing that could stop him from becoming fit.
Several years passed, in 2015, while working out at the gym,Chouksey met one of his colleagues, who happened to train at the same gym. Sharing his concerns,he often wondered
how Chouksey managed to stay fit amidst his hectic work schedule and family life. He further stated-how he’s finding it difficult to balance everything, how he is struggling from past two years, and how he is not at all happy with the results. Understanding his concerns, Chouksey realized that the answer to all his quarries was quite simple and it dealt with the basics of nutrition and training.
An Essential Upgrade - Building a Sustainable Ecosystem
Then, Chouksey decided to document all the frequently asked questions and released it in the form of a booklet and uploaded it on Facebook, for free. Once people started to read it and incorporated the methods into their training. This created a unique ecosystem where by people inculcating them, in turn, started to help each other on the page and the group whereby they started posting their transformational pictures. This was the start of the online platform - squats.in. During this process, Chouksey met a lot of interesting people online, who later become a crucial member of S.Q.U.A.T.S. And, Bala Krishna Reddy, the co-founder was definitely one of them.
With the popularity of S.Q.U.A.T.S reaching its zenith, the problem didn’t end here. Chouksey further elaborating says “Majority of the people out there. They still needed some kind of hand-holding. They kept coming back to me, and the others. Requesting us to train them personally, however, at that point in time, we lacked the bandwidth to train people. So,I came up with a solution - instead of unifying to train 1000 of people, why not create trainers, who can train them.”
With the popularity of S.Q.U.A.T.S reaching its zenith, the problem didn’t end here. Chouksey further elaborating says “Majority of the people out there. They still needed some kind of hand-holding. They kept coming back to me, and the others. Requesting us to train them personally, however, at that point in time, we lacked the bandwidth to train people. So,I came up with a solution - instead of unifying to train 1000 of people, why not create trainers, who can train them.”
Raising Wolfpacks
Initially, Chouksey used to train more than 100-200 people on a regular basis. Somewhere down the line, he realized that there was a lack of qualified trainers in the fitness industry. Hence, he went about and formalized an academy called INFS. “In this academy, what we did was, we picked people who are interested, who are really good, who are determined and offered them a scholarship to pursue a coach in fitness education. Also, people who can afford to pay, we charged them very minimal fee. One third of the cost, compared to other available certification,” states Chouksey.
The coach certification programme helps candidates to learn the exact methodologies, which is highly customized, highly practical, and at the end of the program the institution gives them an opportunity to work directly with the client. That’s the perk of training at INFS. Currently, INFS has 1200 students, and this is where they become a fitness consultant. And, S.Q.U.A.T.S takes immense pride, as they are adding more and more fitness consultants each day and is raising wolf packs, who are said to uplift the standard of the industry.
The Journey-Changing Lives
In the span of two years, S.Q.U.A.T.S has had a roller coaster journey. The team’s high energy to motivate and comprehend each other has transformed the business to a whole new level. Chouksey recalling the entire journey says “I had hurt my back, and there were times when I was
There after, Chouksey coming to his rescue decided to help him. Within the span of three months, he was able to see amazing results. Once happy with the outcome, he immediately went berserk and told everyone at work about his transformation. The office was not at all same for Chouksey. With time, everyone at work started to approach him for fitness lessons & tips and without second thought, he started to train many people from office on a regular basis, free of cost. In fact, he created a Whatsapp group & a Facebook page to ensure everyone gets their quarries answered. “At one point, even Whatsapp group couldn’t sustain and each passing day, more and more people started to join. Inevitably, even the Whatsapp group started to multiply. This became a tedious task for me, as most people used to ask similar quarries again and again,” mentions Chouksey.S.Q.U.A.T.S along side infs (institution of nutrition and fitness science), started by same group of people has fixed two main challenges pertaining to the industry
An Essential Upgrade - Building a Sustainable Ecosystem
Then, Chouksey decided to document all the frequently asked questions and released it in the form of a booklet and uploaded it on Facebook, for free. Once people started to read it and incorporated the methods into their training. This created a unique ecosystem where by people inculcating them, in turn, started to help each other on the page and the group whereby they started posting their transformational pictures. This was the start of the online platform - squats.in. During this process, Chouksey met a lot of interesting people online, who later become a crucial member of S.Q.U.A.T.S. And, Bala Krishna Reddy, the co-founder was definitely one of them.
With the popularity of S.Q.U.A.T.S reaching its zenith, the problem didn’t end here. Chouksey further elaborating says “Majority of the people out there. They still needed some kind of hand-holding. They kept coming back to me, and the others. Requesting us to train them personally, however, at that point in time, we lacked the bandwidth to train people. So,I came up with a solution - instead of unifying to train 1000 of people, why not create trainers, who can train them.”
With the popularity of S.Q.U.A.T.S reaching its zenith, the problem didn’t end here. Chouksey further elaborating says “Majority of the people out there. They still needed some kind of hand-holding. They kept coming back to me, and the others. Requesting us to train them personally, however, at that point in time, we lacked the bandwidth to train people. So,I came up with a solution - instead of unifying to train 1000 of people, why not create trainers, who can train them.”
Raising Wolfpacks
Initially, Chouksey used to train more than 100-200 people on a regular basis. Somewhere down the line, he realized that there was a lack of qualified trainers in the fitness industry. Hence, he went about and formalized an academy called INFS. “In this academy, what we did was, we picked people who are interested, who are really good, who are determined and offered them a scholarship to pursue a coach in fitness education. Also, people who can afford to pay, we charged them very minimal fee. One third of the cost, compared to other available certification,” states Chouksey.
The coach certification programme helps candidates to learn the exact methodologies, which is highly customized, highly practical, and at the end of the program the institution gives them an opportunity to work directly with the client. That’s the perk of training at INFS. Currently, INFS has 1200 students, and this is where they become a fitness consultant. And, S.Q.U.A.T.S takes immense pride, as they are adding more and more fitness consultants each day and is raising wolf packs, who are said to uplift the standard of the industry.
The Journey-Changing Lives
In the span of two years, S.Q.U.A.T.S has had a roller coaster journey. The team’s high energy to motivate and comprehend each other has transformed the business to a whole new level. Chouksey recalling the entire journey says “I had hurt my back, and there were times when I was
completely immobile. This incident had made me feel low and depressed at times, but my people, my team who believed in me, lifted my spirit high and ensured that the vision and mission of the company were set alive.”
He further states “Since every body shares the same passion. We know what it takes to train hard at the gym. We believe in the same philosophy. So, we are not at all afraid to do extra work. Most importantly, the biggest motivation for us is-when someone says that we have changed their life. This is the biggest reward that drives us to go forward.”
Today, S.Q.U.A.T.S is present in 24 locations and has become a trendsetter in the fitness space. The lean team does n't believe in making people fit but ensures them to be fit as well as socially responsible. So, from an overall perspective, S.Q.U.A.T.S represents fitness as well as ensures people taking part in social causes such as blood donation camp, marathon, cleaning campaign amongst others to create awareness programme.
The Growth Story of S.Q.U.A.T.S: Revamping Fitness Industry
“We have created something unique that has never existed in the history of the fitness industry. And, looking at the success rate of online consultation, we are very sure that this is going to change the way people look at fitness,” enthusiastically says Chouksey.
In 2016, when the company launched its first of a kind platform, in the first month alone, they did revenue about 10 lakh, where they acquired more than 150 clients. Last month, the company crossed 1.7 Cr, where they have acquired more than 950+ clients. In the online space alone, the company has reached 100 percent YoY growth.Overall, they have served close to 23,000(officially) clients &(unofficially) more than 40,000+, across the globe. “We don’t ask people to enroll with us. In fact, what we suggest is; to read and do it yourself. And in this way, it helps people imbibe knowledge thoroughly and validate the progress effectively. This is exactly, what we communicate to all our clients,” avers Chouksey.
S.Q.U.A.T.S is harnessing its growth by diversifying its operations across various segments. Finally, concluding the roadmap ahead, Chouksey says “We don’t want to create everything under one banner. We have separate issues, separate segments inside the fitness & wellness space, so we are targeting them individually. Once everything is successful and running, all the problems are addressed, then we will totally integrate under one umbrella. However,in the months to come, you’ll see a lot more developments from our end; be it - fitness applications, consultations, food app, and many more innovative product and services,”
Jitendra Chouksey,Founder& Director
Jitendra Chouksey is a techie and an ITIL certified senior consultant with 8 years of experience in Implementation, Roll-out and support of SAP applications. He is also a certified database administrator with hands on experience on Oracle, DB2 and SQL-server, and has a rich exposure working on some of the largest landscapes for some of most prestigious companies around the world. More than anything, Chouksey loves technology and fitness. His passion for both has channelized him to establish S.Q.U.A.T.S and four other companies today.
Word of Mouth:
S.Q.U.A.T.S - Secret of Success
S.Q.U.A.T.S success story is quite contrary to how things happen in startup world. Today, the company is valued - US$ 3 million company. Often people worry thinking the company has to raise the capital, has to be profitable since the day one, and what not? Well, Jitendra Chouksey giving us a shocking revelation says, “I think, people should let go of the mindset – ‘If you have a great idea, you need investment to make it success.’ In our case, the whole investment was 2000 INR, which was collected from six of the members of our team.”
He further adds “You don’t need a lot of money to build a great startup or a company, what you need is the desire to make it success. Most importantly, is the ability to solve problem. So, if you solve the problem, that’s that. You are already a great startup.”
Founder’s Note
Jitendra Chouksey believes that instead of enduring a healthy lifestyle, one needs to enjoy it or embrace it. Every thing in life can be achieved by doing some kind of hardwork. So,as far as S.Q.U.A.T.S is considered we don’t show those things. We consider ourselves as your mentor/teacher. So, when a person comes to S.Q.U.A.T.S. Don’t expect us to be a product company. We are basically a company that sells- what you need to hear and not what you want to hear.
He further states “Since every body shares the same passion. We know what it takes to train hard at the gym. We believe in the same philosophy. So, we are not at all afraid to do extra work. Most importantly, the biggest motivation for us is-when someone says that we have changed their life. This is the biggest reward that drives us to go forward.”
Today, S.Q.U.A.T.S is present in 24 locations and has become a trendsetter in the fitness space. The lean team does n't believe in making people fit but ensures them to be fit as well as socially responsible. So, from an overall perspective, S.Q.U.A.T.S represents fitness as well as ensures people taking part in social causes such as blood donation camp, marathon, cleaning campaign amongst others to create awareness programme.
The Growth Story of S.Q.U.A.T.S: Revamping Fitness Industry
“We have created something unique that has never existed in the history of the fitness industry. And, looking at the success rate of online consultation, we are very sure that this is going to change the way people look at fitness,” enthusiastically says Chouksey.
In 2016, when the company launched its first of a kind platform, in the first month alone, they did revenue about 10 lakh, where they acquired more than 150 clients. Last month, the company crossed 1.7 Cr, where they have acquired more than 950+ clients. In the online space alone, the company has reached 100 percent YoY growth.Overall, they have served close to 23,000(officially) clients &(unofficially) more than 40,000+, across the globe. “We don’t ask people to enroll with us. In fact, what we suggest is; to read and do it yourself. And in this way, it helps people imbibe knowledge thoroughly and validate the progress effectively. This is exactly, what we communicate to all our clients,” avers Chouksey.
S.Q.U.A.T.S is harnessing its growth by diversifying its operations across various segments. Finally, concluding the roadmap ahead, Chouksey says “We don’t want to create everything under one banner. We have separate issues, separate segments inside the fitness & wellness space, so we are targeting them individually. Once everything is successful and running, all the problems are addressed, then we will totally integrate under one umbrella. However,in the months to come, you’ll see a lot more developments from our end; be it - fitness applications, consultations, food app, and many more innovative product and services,”
Jitendra Chouksey,Founder& Director
Jitendra Chouksey is a techie and an ITIL certified senior consultant with 8 years of experience in Implementation, Roll-out and support of SAP applications. He is also a certified database administrator with hands on experience on Oracle, DB2 and SQL-server, and has a rich exposure working on some of the largest landscapes for some of most prestigious companies around the world. More than anything, Chouksey loves technology and fitness. His passion for both has channelized him to establish S.Q.U.A.T.S and four other companies today.
Word of Mouth:
S.Q.U.A.T.S - Secret of Success
S.Q.U.A.T.S success story is quite contrary to how things happen in startup world. Today, the company is valued - US$ 3 million company. Often people worry thinking the company has to raise the capital, has to be profitable since the day one, and what not? Well, Jitendra Chouksey giving us a shocking revelation says, “I think, people should let go of the mindset – ‘If you have a great idea, you need investment to make it success.’ In our case, the whole investment was 2000 INR, which was collected from six of the members of our team.”
He further adds “You don’t need a lot of money to build a great startup or a company, what you need is the desire to make it success. Most importantly, is the ability to solve problem. So, if you solve the problem, that’s that. You are already a great startup.”
Founder’s Note
Jitendra Chouksey believes that instead of enduring a healthy lifestyle, one needs to enjoy it or embrace it. Every thing in life can be achieved by doing some kind of hardwork. So,as far as S.Q.U.A.T.S is considered we don’t show those things. We consider ourselves as your mentor/teacher. So, when a person comes to S.Q.U.A.T.S. Don’t expect us to be a product company. We are basically a company that sells- what you need to hear and not what you want to hear.
.jpg "S.Q.U.A.T.S: Aiming to Reach Out to 50 Million People & Make them Fit")
