Tikhon Kosykh decided to make money on sports in 2008 when he sold his stake in a construction company. He founded a network of gyms, quit the project, made unsuccessful investments in sports-related Internet startups, and in January 2017 opened his dream fitness club: cheap, automated and large, with a capacity of 600 people (and in the evenings there is a DJ playing there). Raketa is conceived as a network: one of these days another club will start working, and within three years there will be at least 17 of them in Moscow and the region.
Like in Germany
Kosykh sold his share in the construction company Land Technologies after the 2008 crisis. As an experiment, he decided to go into the sports business and in 2009 he opened the Physics club, after which he went to Europe and the USA to get acquainted with the manufacturers of exercise equipment. In Germany, the entrepreneur saw the automated McFit fitness centers: by saving on staff, customers got access to high-quality sports infrastructure for only 19 euros per month.
I was infected with this idea. I decided that this was precisely what was lacking in Russia, ”recalls Kosykh.
Returning to Russia, he tried to turn Physics into a club with a similar concept, but the idea did not work. Firstly, not everyone had bank cards, and by design, all payments should be non-cash. Secondly, the creation of an electronic accounting system was too expensive. Tikhon realized that it was too early to automate the management of the club, and decided to sell season tickets like everyone else - through agents. He was engaged in physics for four years: by the end of 2014, when there were five fitness clubs in the network, Kosykh left the project.
I didn't want to leave, but a new investor appeared. The partner suggested that I either buy out his shares or sell his share. Now I don’t regret that I sold it and received the money, ”says Tikhon.
Raketa founder Tikhon Kosykh
Kosykh did not disclose the amount of the deal. He invested some of that money in several fitness startups. Among them was the Kazan "Classfit" for the online sale of subscriptions to the city's gyms - it turned out that "in the regions nobody needs it at all." And Wemble is a search network for personal trainers and fitness clubs who will let you in to train (they did not).
A year later, I realized that just online business in this area is not effective: you need to combine the Internet and offline. So I decided to create a new project on the market of affordable and high-tech fitness clubs.
Non-contact fitness
The first Raketa opened in January 2017 in the Mari shopping center in Maryino, the premises were equipped for six months. During the first two weeks, over 1000 people signed up for the club. The second Raketa will open on February 25 at the Columbus shopping center near the Prazhskaya metro station, and five more will appear by the end of the year.
The concept included everything that could not be created in Physics. The development of the IT platform cost 5 million rubles. Programmers have been working on it since February 2015.
A pass, a key to the lockers and a payment instrument - a bracelet based on contactless technology - are issued upon registration.
Fitness club Raketa
Clients buy a subscription and additional services, such as personal training, in their personal account on the website. A subscription for the first month costs 4,500 rubles, and then 1,500 rubles per month. Now the system of annual subscriptions is widespread, but much more people can afford the monthly payment, Kosykh is convinced.
Kosykh is going to keep prices low by saving on staff: since all services are issued online, only a few employees work in the club. But they did not save on simulators: for the first club they bought 200 units (including 70 power ones) from the American companies Life Fitness and Hammer Strength for the amount of almost 100 million rubles.
To make the club customer-friendly, Tikhon divided the space into several areas, fenced off the cross-fit area, installed an electronic information counter and vending machines with water and snacks. In the hall, he equipped shelves with sockets for charging gadgets and even took care of the quality of selfies that customers would take.
Fitness club Raketa
In other fitness clubs, the light falls from above, and you always have bruises under your eyes in the photo. And we have a light from below - and you look much better.
And in the evenings on weekdays, a DJ plays in Raketa, who plays tracks depending on the mood of the audience.
Money and investment
In August 2016, Raketa attracted 320 million rubles of investments from a "near abroad fund" (Kosykh does not name him) - the money went to open the first two clubs. This year, Raketa plans to conduct a second round of investments and in the next three years to expand the network to 17 clubs in Moscow and the region, and in parallel to launch a franchise in the regions.
Kosykh decided to be located in large shopping centers in order to get a large area at attractive rates.
The crisis has kicked out all tenants, especially on the upper floors, and a good fitness club attracts up to 1,500 people a day, and on weekdays, not on weekends, like most cinemas. In the near future we will see how shopping centers compete with each other, inviting operators of fitness clubs. Visitors munching in the food courts will see others exercising and get carried away by the idea themselves.
Some areas Raketa will rent to so-called satellites, for example, yoga studios, boxing coaches and other teachers. According to the idea of the studio, they will rent rooms for one-time classes in Raketa: it is cheaper than renting a separate room.
Fitness club Raketa
A similar system was invented for personal trainers: they work in a free schedule as individual entrepreneurs and pay a monthly rent of 50,000 rubles (but if you carry out 150 workouts a month, you don't have to pay it). An individual lesson, which can be arranged on the Raketa website, costs from 500 for 30 minutes to 3000 rubles per hour. The trainer sets the prices for his services himself and cannot change them within a month. In the fitness club in Maryino, 8 trainers work according to this scheme.
In the coming years, the Russian fitness market will grow at least five times, Kosykh is sure. - Today in our country 3.5-4 million people go in for sports, and potentially this is an audience of 15 million people.
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Fitness club "Kometa.fit" (Columbus) is a revolution in the world of fitness. A unique format that combines affordable prices with a high-quality infrastructure, traditional types of fitness with current sports trends. New concept of payment, organization of space and development opportunities.
Club photos
Prices are current for April 2018.
CLUB REVIEWS
A second Raketa club has opened in Moscow near the Prazhskaya metro station. It covers an area of 2,700 sq. m, 1100 of which are reserved for the gym.
As in the first club of the Raketa Mari chain, we have before us a new urban format of a fitness club. Open functional spaces with a bright futuristic design, like in a nightclub, almost complete absence of staff. New members of the club independently register online on the site - in the future, money for renewing the subscription is automatically withdrawn from the card. Access to the club, towels and lockers is carried out using a personal fitness bracelet with an identifying fingerprint. All these innovations are combined with the unique atmosphere created here, which motivates you to play sports.
The gym is the place where the main activity of the club is concentrated. The gym is equipped with premium equipment from American brands Life Fitness and Hammer Strength. A total of 170 pieces of equipment have been installed here, and 70 of them are cardiovascular equipment.
The hall is made in the corporate style of the Raketa chain: walls of dark shades, bright color combinations, zoning of the hall according to the purpose and complexity of the simulators (zones are visually highlighted in color), a coach's stand with large TVs and the famous running line with motivational phrases.
In the cardio zone, there are treadmills, exercise bikes, Life Fitness elliptical cross-trainers of the Activate and Integrity series.
Zone strength training Equipped with Hammer Strength Select stacking machines for a natural, biomechanically correct trajectory. There are also Hammer Strength Plate-Loaded machines; Life Fitness Signature Cable Motion multi-station and adjustable crossover designed for functional exercise. For those who prefer barbell training, HD Athletic stands are installed.
To make it easier for beginners to join the training process, the club offers free classes with a trainer dedicated to the most relevant topics: proper nutrition, getting to know the gym and correct technique performing exercises, developing programs (for women, express training for the whole body, etc.).
Another factor that keeps you motivated to work out in the gym is high-quality musical accompaniment. Famous Moscow DJs play here every weekday evening. The club has already created its own music label Raketa Music. The workout playlist can be downloaded from iTunes or listened to at soundcloud.com.
Also attractive are training sessions from independent studios called satellites here. On the territory of "Raketa" there are small "clubs in a club": each studio rents a separate room, originally designed in accordance with the type of training.
Zhara studio conducts high-intensity interval training. A special training system for different muscle groups is planned for each day, including cardio and strength loads. In one workout, you can burn 1000 calories here!
Also in "Raketa" there are trainings from the Atmosfera studio (strength, cardio, functional classes, dance classes, yoga, Pilates, stretching, myofascial release, etc.) and the famous Moscow martial arts club Tiger (Thai boxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, grappling , boxing, MMA, judo).
And the most innovative component of the club is a fitness bracelet created by Raketa together with Alfa-Bank. It not only identifies the client, giving him access to the club and lockers, but also allows you to pay for additional club services and can be used as a bank card in any places where the MasterCard PayPass system works. In the future, it is planned to introduce a fitness tracker function into the bracelet. The bracelet will be able to record physical activity, the amount of sleep, measure the pulse - all this information, along with financial information, will be available in the mobile application.
Raketa constantly comes up with something new and original. For example, each visitor to the club can take a red or green bracelet at the entrance, depending on his mood. The green bracelet with the word Online for those who want to show that he is open to communication, and the red bracelet with the word Offline for those who today are focused only on training.
As for prices, the cost of a monthly subscription is 1,500 rubles (subscriptions for six months and a year are not provided for in Raketa). Moreover, there is a special offer for students - a 50% discount!
Raketa Columbus is a club created specifically for an active, advanced audience. All its benefits, together with the technologies presented, motivate you to train and achieve results.
In addition, the club has been awarded the prestigious international status of the official Hammer Strength training center: a selection of strength equipment allows it to train professional athletes.
Raketa.Fit - A network of innovative fitness clubs
How to get there:
Fitness club Raketa is located on the 3rd floor of the small building of the Columbus shopping center.
Fitness could also be searched under the following names:
raketa, raketafit, rocket, rocketafit
Additional information provided by the fitness center:
Free trial visit.
Raketa is:
▪️ premium Life Fitness and Hammer Strength equipment
▪️ professional trainers
▪️ free training sessions
▪️ personal training from 500 ₽
▪️ group programs Raketa
▪️ DJ every evening
Raketa is revolutionizing the world of sports and fitness. We are approaching a new future where sports and fitness are becoming available. Where everyone is passionate because they know their goal. Where everyone is involved because they know how to achieve it. Where everyone is focused only on winning.
Raketa is a new look at fitness services. A unique format that combines affordable prices with high-quality infrastructure, traditional types of fitness - with current sports trends.
Right now, we are changing the rules of the game and creating a new generation of fitness. Welcome to the Raketa fitness club chain!
