Indian football’s pin-up boy Bhaichung
Bhutia kicked off his second venture as entrepreneur this month when he
opened a fitness studio in his hometown Gangtok.
The studio has been named BB15, derived from the initials and the jersey number of the Sikkimese sniper.
And this, he promises, is the first of a chain.
“This venture has
been on my mind for a year,” Bhaichung, the founder and co-owner of
United Sikkim FC , said over phone from Gangtok.
“Fitness has been
important to me throughout my football career and I want the culture
to spread across all strata of society. If parents are health-conscious
they would encourage their children to take up sports as well.”
This, Bhaichung
says, is the first studio of its kind in the Northeast, with all its
equipment coming from Technogym, the official fitness equipment supplier
at London Olympics.
Spread across 3,000sq ft, the studio was inaugurated by Olympian archer Tarundeep Rai.
While his own team
would train there, he plans to offer free membership to all Indian
sportspersons who have represented the country at the international
level.
“Other than the
cricketers, no one gets top-class infrastructure for training,” he
said. Individuals have to shell out Rs 4,000 per month while couples
get a monthly package deal of Rs 7,000.
The former India skipper who used to train for three hours daily during his playing days still sweats it out regularly.
“Most of my time
goes behind my team. Still I spend an hour either in the gym or in the
field six days a week. Madhuri (his wife) is a fitness freak too and
has started using the gym,” he says.
He wants BB15 to spread wings across eastern India. Yes, Calcutta is very much on his radar.
The Telegraph
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