When I first read about DailyMuscle’s mission, it totally resonated with me.
As someone who experiences “gymtimidation”, working out in public spaces like the gym can be very anxiety-inducing, even when joined by a friend. Is my form weird? Are people judging me for my technique? Am I using the equipment right? Do I even belong here with my skill level?
DailyMuscle’s beginner-friendly gym (which they call LightHouse) is a place that gets that. Here’s its story.
Meet the founders
In 2010, Noel Chelliah decided to make a career switch, moving away from his computer science and IT background.
“I quit my career in IT because it was taking a toll on my health,” Noel explained. “Long 12-hour work days and tight project deadlines led to a really unhealthy lifestyle for me. I was managing my time poorly—poor sleep, poor eating habits, and I became obese over the years.”
Obesity wasn’t something new to Noel, though. Growing up, he had been obese. This led to a lot of bullying and name-calling.
“You know the kid who gets left out in the school canteen, having to sit alone? I was that kid,” Noel said.
It was in his early 20s when Noel discovered fitness and its transformative power, which extended beyond the physical.
So, even before kicking off DailyMuscle officially, he had started to take his own fitness seriously again and studied for multiple personal trainer and fitness certifications. He also picked up being a freelance personal trainer for a couple of years.
Finally, faced with the stressors of work, he decided to open DailyMuscle in 2010.
In 2014, Noel married Kimbeley, who was actually a national athlete. She used to work for another gym chain, where she was even their brand ambassador, but ended up joining Noel. Today, they lead DailyMuscle together.
Fitness for all
Gyms are nothing new, but Noel wanted to do something different with his gym.
“There was this void, as if fitness needs to be hard, as if you need to be tortured and die at each workout in order to see results—chiselled bodies, high-intensity, no-pain-no-gain approach. In my experience, I quickly realised that the majority of people are not drawn to that intimidating message.”
Throughout his time as a trainer, Noel came to realise that most people struggled with one thing—getting started. He also realised that people need to feel and be successful when they kick off their fitness routine in order to stay for the long run.
This is especially true for intimidated, self-conscious, and shy individuals who want to get started but don’t know how.
“I want to help people who hate gyms find a fitness home they actually love,” he said.
And so, that’s what DailyMuscle does.
At DailyMuscle, there are long-term memberships as well as a lower-commitment Cancel Anytime membership. They’re also known for their signature six-week Challenge programme, designed to be a quick-start (but not quick-fix) programme to fast-track people’s journeys.
In terms of training, they offer two options. First, there’s the Small-Group Personal Training (SGPT).
“Traditional personal training costs upwards of RM240 per hour in KL,” Noel pointed out. “It also requires you to be locked into one trainer.”
With those factors, it may be hard to train frequently enough to get the best results. SGPT is DailyMuscle’s version of one-on-one personal training, but better. Training sessions are capped at four to six people in a single session with a trainer, starting at RM75 per session.
Then, there are Group Classes. These accommodate between eight to 20 people and are set up as a fun group training session. With a mix of bodyweight, dumbbell, and kettlebell exercises, the classes are where all fitness levels and trainers can scale their workouts to the appropriate challenge level. Rates start from as low as RM28 per class.
With their approach, DailyMuscle has grown to around 200 active members currently with a team of six instructors.
A lighthouse, not a gym
To align with their vision, DailyMuscle was designed as a family-friendly space with no loud swearing or songs with vulgar lyrics being played. They also pay attention to the aroma of the space, and have been told it smells like a new car showroom.
They also call members “heroes” instead of members or clients, a reflection of the culture that Noel is proud to share they’ve established over the years.
“This isn’t a typical gym with sweaty shirtless people grunting,” Noel described. “Instead, you’ll find very ‘ordinary’ looking people who will make you feel very welcome right away.”
While it seems like DailyMuscle does want to disrupt the status quo in the fitness industry, Noel doesn’t consider other gyms to be their enemies.
“Our competitors are not other gyms,” Noel said. “I believe our competitors are anything that’s getting in the way of people achieving their best health—from fast food joints, unhealthy foods, Netflix.”
Growing day by day
Equipped with their proven model, we wondered whether DailyMuscle would want to expand their presence. To that, Noel said no.
“Many boutique studios expand too fast, and wear themselves out too fast too soon, underestimating the amount of time and effort it takes to run multiple studios,” he said. “Some wear it like a badge of honour (e.g. having X number of outlets), which has never been something I wanted to pursue in the first place.”
Similarly, Noel said that many trainers feel like the logical next step in their career is to open a gym.
“It’s not,” he shared. “Running and sustaining a fitness centre requires you to wear many hats, looking at systems and processes and sales and retention—things many trainers don’t take into consideration and don’t enjoy doing.”
The struggles of running a fitness centre have gotten to him as well. When bogged down with running the gym, he said it’s easy to neglect his own fitness. When that happens, he believes it’s important to get someone to hold you accountable.
Just because Noel has no plans to open more outlets of DailyMuscle doesn’t mean they’re not growing, though.
For example, they’re working to offer strength and resistance training programmes for individuals on weight loss support drugs like Ozempic. Noel believes these individuals represent a neglected group.
“Chances are, this group has gone directly to a medical professional for help with weight loss, and they obtain the medication,” Noel said.
“However, they only get advice on how to use the drug, some basic nutrition, and generic fitness advice because medical professionals (by no fault of theirs) aren’t 100% equipped to guide someone on a strength training programme.”
DailyMuscle aims to launch their programme in August and are in talks with clinics who have expressed interest in kicking this off.
Looking toward the future, DailyMuscle aims to grow slowly but steadily. This includes hitting the 400 active member mark in five years while doubling the training team.
Despite all the changes, growth, and come what may, Noel said that the team has been holding true to their core values since 14 years ago.
“We haven’t changed,” he said. “We’ve always stuck to our goal to help people who don’t like gyms and always had a soft spot for the first timer, newbie who is looking for a place to begin their fitness journey.”
Featured Image Credit: DailyMuscle
