Building Strength for Everyday People: Adarsh Gopalakrishnan founder of Move101 on Making Fitness Accessible.
The Indian Startup Show — EP210
The world is getting fatter! In this episode, we dive deep into fitness and nutrition with Adarsh Gopalakrishnan, founder of Move101 in Chennai. Move101 is a unique strength and conditioning gym tailored for regular folks with little to no training background, and it also offers online coaching.
Adarsh’s journey into fitness began in an unexpected way: he started working out to impress a girl who liked the biceps of a popular MTV VJ. He had no biceps and he wanted biceps and he started lifting weight and he got biceps! Thirteen years later, he’s trained hundreds of clients both in-person and online.
Here’s what you can expect in this episode:
- Adarsh’s Journey: Being an unconventional, anti-institutional kid who dropped out of school.
- Right Place, Right Time: Catching the CrossFit wave in 2008–2010 and building a unique, community-driven gym.
- Word-of-Mouth Success: Why Adarsh spends zero on Google or Facebook ads and still has an 80% client retention rate — higher than most big box gyms.
- The Protein Problem in India: Why Indians often lack protein in their diets, the supply chain issues around whey protein, and what alternatives you can eat.
- Fitness in a Post-COVID World: How the pandemic actually boosted his business and his thoughts on the global obesity crisis.
- Social Media Pressure: The unrealistic expectations to look “jacked” and the common mistakes people make in strength training (like too much volume and variety, and poor goal setting).
- Adarsh shares insights on improving your communication skills
- Training Myths & Realistic Goals: Why you don’t have to train like a beast, loving single-leg squats, and why a six-pack is hard. But a four-pack is good enough!
- The Problem with Corporate Wellness Programs: Why Adarsh isn’t a fan and his thoughts on the most effective exercises.
- Navigating Diet Fads and Fitness Trends: Adarsh’s advice on avoiding the hype around the latest diet crazes, fitness gadgets, and weight-loss drugs.
- The Indian Fitness Market Today: His views on why he’s not interested in scaling his business and how his philosophy on fitness has evolved over the years.
And for a fun finish: we talk about how to handle those family gatherings where well-meaning aunties offer Pepsi and jalebi when you’re trying to stay on track!
Links
Hosted And Produced by Neil Patel
https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/neilpatel2
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Music by Punch Deck.
