Pakistan's Power Player

CBI: You were just named to the HFA board a couple of months ago. What does it mean to serve on the board, especially as somebody representing your region of the world?

AHMAR AZAM: Being on the board of HFA is both an honor and a responsibility. I joined the fitness industry early 2014, and almost every year I have attended the annual convention and trade show. As an American living in the Middle East, I sensed that HFA conventions were U.S.-centric, where the rest of the world may not be able to benefit from the great work of the HFA. In 2018, as the CEO of Leejam Sports Company (a multibillion-dollar chain of fitness clubs in the Middle East), I brought 17 people with me from our company to the convention. I always felt that if you can’t take the well to the horses, then bring the horses to the well. Using my international perspective, I felt I could assist the HFA to refocus on branding and positioning itself more strongly as a global player. There’s a huge opportunity to tap into the Middle East, South Asia, Africa, and Far East markets. We need to bring HFA conventions and their influence to these regions.

In addition to my fitness industry experience, I hope to leverage my expertise in finance, banking, and corporate finance to bring out-of-the-box thinking to the esteemed HFA board. As an American living overseas for 10+ years, I want to help bridge the gap to guide HFA to understand the fitness needs and opportunities for our industry in the regions mentioned above.

CBI: You’ve worked in other industries. Why did you decide to stay in fitness?

AHMAR AZAM: I worked in multiple industries before joining the amazing fitness industry in early 2014. I don’t think there is a better business in the world where you get a faster, more productive, and rewarding return on effort than the fitness industry. In literally three months, you can impact somebody’s life when they start embracing a healthy lifestyle. They start performing better at work, their relationships improve, their self-image improves, etc. What other line of work provides that? At Leejam and TriFit, I would see people with tears in their eyes talking about how much their lives improved since they joined our fitness clubs. I’d never experienced that positive feedback in my life before.

Something else that attracted me to the industry was the fact that I found good-hearted people who were genuinely interested in helping others. I can never forget my first HFA convention, where I felt at home as soon as I entered. Everybody welcomed me as part of this awesome family and introduced me to other people. In fitness, people take genuine interest in others. I knew I had found my home.

CBI: Was it a difficult transition?

AHMAR AZAM: Most people enter the fitness industry at different points. Our awesome $200+ billion industry is mostly a product of their efforts. For me, the transition wasn’t difficult. It was love at first sight, and when you love what you do, you never work a day in your life. And secondly, I was fortunate to leverage my non-fitness industry experience, bringing fresh ideas to drive exponential growth.

I was also super lucky to work with the Haqbani family, founders of Leejam, another fitness juggernaut in the Middle East, and learn from them. This resulted in my humble success, where I entered the fitness industry as a CFO at Leejam with no fitness industry background, transitioned to CEO, took the company public as a multibillion-dollar company, and a top 10 fitness chain. Now, I am leading TriFit, the largest chain of fitness clubs in Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world, and soon to be going global.

CBI: What inspired you to return to your native Pakistan?

AHMAR AZAM: When I got into the fitness industry, I would visit Karachi and visit other gyms. I saw there was a huge gap in the market, because gyms were selling a budget airline experience at super luxury prices. I saw the same opportunity that Leejam availed many years ago, only much bigger. It was time to go to work.

I wrote the business plan, backed by a fitness market study on Pakistan, conducted by a top market research firm. The result was evident as Pakistan is a virgin market for fitness.

I raised a large international fund to finance the growth of TriFit. Several investment bankers, a lot of my close friends from the U.S. and Middle East, and even some of my ex-bosses from the past 20 years, became investors.

On one end, the opportunity is huge because of the population. Even if you have a product that attracts just 10% of the population of the country, it’s still 25 million people.

However, on another end, Pakistan is also not New York or Dubai, and the operational challenges of building a business in a Third World country can sometimes feel astronomical. Luckily, my family and I are well rooted here and I was able to successfully navigate through the challenges.

CBI: How is TriFit doing so far?

AHMAR AZAM: We started TriFit with the end goal in mind. Start in Pakistan, build the largest chain of fitness clubs in Pakistan, and use that as a platform to go global through our holding company, TriFit DMCC, in UAE. In a couple of years, we want to take TriFit outside of Pakistan through franchising in the Middle East, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, and other countries.

TriFit is a very interesting concept. It's holistic wellness where, on one end, big-box fitness combines with both studio experience and virtual fitness, and on another end, member experience includes nutrition, recovery, mental wellbeing, etc. For me the answer to the question, "What business are we in," is quite simple. We are in the business of delivering member experience. Fitness and wellness are the tools through which we deliver phenomenal member experience.

The TRI in TriFit stand for Tribe, Results, and Innovation. Our entire concept and value proposition revolves around that. In about 18 months since we opened our doors in Karachi (population more than 30 million), we've built the largest fitness brand in Pakistan. Today, we are truly the "third space." Whether you are a celebrity, an influencer, a fitness enthusiast, or a couch potato, TriFit is the place to be.

CBI: Is TriFit a budget club?

AHMAR AZAM: TriFit is not a budget model. I would put it in the affordable lifestyle category. One of our tag lines is: "Where Luxury Meets Affordability."

Our price point at the moment is about $30-35 a month, everything inclusive. In addition to hundreds of strength and cardio machines, we have five studios in each club, offering more than 300+ classes per week between male and female sections. Members get all of these classes with a single membership.

Plus there are a sauna, a massage area, wellness consultation rooms where members get access to physios, sleep therapists, nutritionists, etc. The only additional fee you pay for is personal training.

We are also pioneering a new concept in Pakistan like Vitality and Silver Sneakers with insurance companies who will reimburse us for training.

Today we have seven clubs operational with over 100,000 square feet of fitness space. Last month, we had close to 30,000 attendees to our classes alone in one month, testament to our belief that tribes are built in group classes, and not on cardio machines. Members are loving the TriFit experience as we live by the idea of putting fun back in fitness.

CBI: Is fitness growing in popularity in Pakistan?

AHMAR AZAM: Yes, the growth is phenomenal. When it comes to lifestyle trends, Pakistanis generally follow the Indian trajectory. Today, I see the Pakistan fitness industry where India was perhaps 10 years ago. Unfortunately, Pakistan has to be one of the least penetrated countries with respect to healthy lifestyles, but there’s a real youth movement here. About 70% of our members are below the age of 30, in a country where 64% of the population is below the age of 30.

CBI: Why do you think that is?

AHMAR AZAM: I was born in the ‘70s. Growing up, times were different. In Pakistan, we would watch different cartoons, listen to very different music, fashion trends were different, etc. As we would travel to the U.S. and Europe for summer holidays, we would feel that difference. But today, things have changed. The world is truly flat. Millennials and Gen Z are following the same fashion no matter where they live.

Whether you are a kid growing up in Riyadh, Karachi, or New York, you have access to the same music, lifestyle trends, and content, follow the same influencers, etc. The internet has really made the world a global village. In Pakistan, men my age may not be as educated about healthy living, but their children and wives are. Their exposure to healthy lifestyle and trends from the internet helps us penetrate faster. It’s been an amazing response.

CBI: When do you think you’ll expand TriFit to other countries?

AHMAR AZAM: In the next couple of years, we want to take the business from Pakistan to other countries, and by 2032, with the help of God, hard work, and focus of our awesome team of TriFitters, we aspire to be a top hundred fitness chain in the world.

No one person can do it alone. I really believe we have an amazing leadership team from Pakistan and other parts of the world, mainly South Africa. Pakistan has given us a great platform to build upon. It’s a virgin market. Here we have more leeway.

CBI: You're creating quite a footprint in the region. Is one of your missions to grow the fitness industry in general, not just your own business?

AHMAR AZAM: Yes. Our industry propagates a win-win mindset. We learn to support others and still be comfortable in our own skin. It's a true example of compassionate capitalism.

As we launched TriFit, we planned to build a whole wellness ecosystem. In addition to TriFit, we have a healthy café concept called TriFuel Café. We also established Pakistan’s first ICREPS accredited fitness academy, called Sporta Fitness Academy. We’ve already graduated more than 175 professionals. Almost half of them work for us, and the rest work in other gyms, and a few decided to seek jobs as fitness trainers, many in the Middle East.

We believe that to be able to grow the fitness market, TriFit cannot have it all. We need to feed other gyms as well, help them, guide them, and coach them to be success stories. The more people we get hooked on a healthy lifestyle, the more every other gym will succeed.

Ahmar Azam, Founder and CEO of TriFit, and HFA Board Member

With an honors degree from the London School of Economics, and as a Fellow Chartered Accountant from England working in the financial sector in London and New York, Ahmar Azam may seem an unlikely fitness mogul. Yet, he’s quickly built a reputation as a fitness brand builder in up-and-coming markets in the Middle East and beyond.

After cementing a reputation as an astute global finance leader, Azam joined Saudi-based Leejam Sports Company as CFO. Though new to the fitness industry, he soon transitioned to CEO and led the company to phenomenal growth. Under his leadership, he helped the company complete a successful IPO, leading to a multi-billion-dollar company.

In addition to being on the HFA board, Azam serves on several boards as an independent director and advisor, including being named an honorary board member of the audit committee of the International Cricket Council. Azam is also a frequent speaker at conferences and other events, sharing his expertise on leadership, finance, and the fitness industry.

Azam dedicates his success to his parents, his beautiful wife, their four lovely children, his brothers, and an amazing set of friends from all over the world, who have always been a great source of support for him.

"We're really trying to build a business, not as a local company, but with an international mindset. We want to grow the fitness industry in South Asia and beyond."

This article originally appeared in the August 2024 issue of Club Business International. View the full digital version of the issue online.