Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty invests undisclosed sum in Pune-based online fitness platform Squats

Pune-based online fitness community Squats has secured an undisclosed investment from Bollywood actor, producer, and entrepreneur Suniel Shetty. The investment will enhance its underlying technological framework, strengthen its team, and expand its pan-India operations. With this investment, both Squats and Shetty, have pledged to initiate a movement of making 50 million people fit and also enable the company to create one lakh jobs in the fitness space.Squats, founded in 2016, has driven more than 70,000 paid fitness transformations and has built a strong, highly-engaged online community of 5,00,000 members, said Jitendra Chouksey, founder. The online fitness platform generated cumulative revenues worth $8.5 million.[caption id="attachment_6610591" align="alignleft" width="380"] Suniel Shetty, Sonal Singh-director, Jitendra Chouksey, founder, Squats. Pic courtesy: Squats[/caption]Commenting on its maiden investment, Chouksey, said, “We are confident that, with Shetty on board, Squats will be able to attract and transform the lives of more people in the country.”Shetty said, "My career as a Bollywood actor aside, staying fit and active is a choice that I consciously made since my teens. I have always believed in keeping it natural. However, in today’s time, when all kinds of false information about fitness is common, there is a critical need for companies like Squats that focusses on ‘balancing quantified nutrition with weight training’. I truly believe in the vision and approach of its founding team, and its future growth potential as India’s preferred fitness brand. ”Through Fittr, its mobile app, Squats is also addressing misinformation or quick-fix solutions, said Chouksey.According to a 2016 FICCI-EY report, the wellness industry is staring at industry-wide growth for the rest of the decade, with gyms and fitness centres expected to log an 18 percent expansion.