Fitness instructors, customers left in the lurch after 2 gyms close down; police reports lodged

SINGAPORE — Customers and employees of two fitness studios, X Fitness and Kyklos Studio, are left searching for answers after the gyms' outlets allegedly closed without any warning. 

The fitness gyms’ websites and social media pages have been taken down, and Kyklos Studio’s mobile application does not display any classes for customers to book.

The man behind both studios is said to be Mr Atlas Ang. This is not his first foray — in July last year, he reportedly shut down a cycling studio in Downtown East unexpectedly, shifting all classes to his fitness gym at Gr.id mall in Dhoby Ghaut.

Customers of the outlet, called X Spin Club, were unaware of the sudden shift and had struggled to get refunds for missed classes due to the move.

Mr Ang, 31, is registered as the director of advertising company Hong Creatives. He has four other companies registered under his name: ACSG 1, Kyklos, X+ and XSC 1.

Business records online showed that the four companies deal with training courses for sports and games. Former employees claimed that these companies are associated with Mr Ang’s gyms — X Spin Club, X Fitness and Kyklos Studio — which have shuttered and reopened in the past two years.

Requesting anonymity in interviews with TODAY, three former employees claimed that they are owed up to “a few thousand” dollars in salaries.  

The founder of activewear brand Vaultage, who also did not want to be identified, alleged that Mr Ang has not returned her S$3,000 or so worth of goods since its partnership with his gyms ended in August last year.

The police have confirmed that reports have been filed against X Fitness and Kyklos Studio and they are “looking into the matter”.

Gym-goers, taken aback by the sudden closure, claimed that Mr Ang’s fitness studios had seen low attendance in the past months — sometimes as few as three people for a session meant for 40 participants.

X Fitness and Kyklos Studios sell class packages to their customers. The more class credits bought, the cheaper each class costs.

One customer who wanted to be known only as Ms TK said that she has made a police report regarding her loss of S$99.

The 41-year-old director at a media company said: “On Sept 1, (X Fitness) launched a promotion where you can get an unlimited one-month membership for S$99, on the condition that I have to make the payment via Paynow directly to its account.”

She then had to register her credit card details in Kyklos Studios’ app to make recurring payments for two extra months.

“Normally, the studio will email the receipt (when I pay for classes), but there wasn’t any this time,” she added. Ms TK said that she had been a regular at X Fitness since last year.

Her latest package was activated through the app last Saturday, but the next day, she realised that there were no classes to book on the app.

“On Monday, I texted the studio manager to check if there were classes, but received no reply. I tried to contact X Fitness via Instagram but the account went missing… I reached out to the instructor, who said he could not reach the studio manager,” Ms TK continued.

“That was when I realised there was something wrong.”

More than 20 people have sounded out on social media channel TikTok through videos and comments that they have unused credits and are unable to reach Mr Ang or his team.

WHAT CASE SAYS

In response to queries, Mr Melvin Yong, president of the Consumer Association of Singapore (Case), said that it has received one complaint each against Kyklos Studio and X Fitness between Sept 8 and 13.

“Consumers complained that they had unutilised sessions of fitness classes with these companies, but they were unable to book classes as the companies have ceased operations and become uncontactable,” he added.

One consumer claimed that she had paid S$700 for 50 spin cycling classes but could not book any.

Mr Yong said: “Case had informed these consumers on their avenues for recourse, including the option to file their claims with the Small Claims Tribunals.”

Another customer of X Fitness, who wanted to be known as just Lynn, visited its outlet at Gr.id on Tuesday, hoping to find out more about what has happened.

All she saw was a locked door, she said.

“I’ve been attending classes since 2021 almost four times a week, and have about seven classes left from a S$380 package I bought in May 2022,” she added. These remaining seven classes amount to S$133.

“The company’s app has been undergoing a revamp over the past year, so I thought the lack of classes on the app was an error.”

Both she and Ms TK said that they have been trying to contact X Fitness, but have not heard back from Mr Ang or his employees.

ALLEGATIONS OF PAYMENTS OWED

Fitness instructor Jeremy (not his real name), who had worked with X Fitness for nine months, alleged that Mr Ang owes him around S$300 for spin classes that he had conducted. This was for classes he led after he had resigned and he was still working to serve his one-month notice at the studio, he claimed.

Jeremy said that he was uneasy about the company’s situation when he found out new instructors had signed their contracts under ACSG 1, rather than XSC 1. 

“Why did he register so many companies in such a short period? It was quite concerning so I thought I should leave,” Jeremy said, adding that he still does not have answers to his question.

“We used to communicate through WhatsApp but he kept saying that he was busy (after I quit) and that I should email him instead.”

A general manager for X Fitness is said to have sent Jeremy a payslip, though Jeremy insisted that he had not received his owed wages.

“I’m still considering whether I should go to the police or the Small Claims Tribunals, but it's another process to deal with that I'm not prepared for,” Jeremy added.

A former instructor, who was hired on a freelance basis by Mr Ang last year, alleged that Mr Ang owes her “a few thousand” dollars in wages after he fired her, though she declined to disclose the exact amount for fear of being identified.

“Instructors would join as quickly as they left,” she claimed. “He would train (new instructors) for a short period of time before getting them to lead spin classes.”

Similarly, another former instructor is alleging that Mr Ang owes her around S$500 in pay — and former class participants have purportedly approached her in the hopes of reaching Mr Ang to refund their unused credits.

“There are people who have spent their hard-earned money to pay for classes,” she added.

TODAY understands that newer instructors who had signed contracts with Mr Ang were required to pay between S$500 and S$1,000 in training fees.

As for the founder of activewear brand Vaultage, she alleged that Mr Ang owes her merchandise that were displayed at X Fitness last year. 

“When Atlas first opened his business X Spin Club on Club Street (in the Ann Siang Hill area), he reached out and we collaborated with him often, such as sponsoring clothes.”

“My partner and I decided to leave about 40 pieces of our activewear for his customers to browse and they could just order online. X Fitness acted as a pick-up point for customers.”

Then, when they tried to end their partnership last August, Vaultage's founder claimed that Mr Ang said the studio was too busy to allow Vaultage to take back its clothing.  

After a heated exchange of words at X Fitness on Aug 14 last year in an attempt to retrieve her items, Vaultage's founder filed a police report against Mr Ang. She has yet to receive her items, she added.

“We consulted a lawyer who said that we can file through the Small Claims Tribunals, but we’re just a small business,” she said.

TODAY has reached out to Mr Ang for comments.

WHAT LAWYERS SAY

Mr Joshua Ho, an associate at law firm Luo Ling Ling LLC, said that in cases such as this, there is legal recourse for the customers, employees and vendors, but they should consider if the company has the financial resources to fulfil their claims.

“In the event that these gyms or fitness studios do not have enough assets to satisfy any potential judgement debt, there may be little incentive for these individuals to pursue their respective claims given that the prospect of full (or even partial recovery) is low,” Mr Ho said.

"For customers who have paid for gym and fitness packages, they may be able to sue for breach of contract.”

Noting that the amount such customers claim is typically less than S$20,000 each, he said that they could turn to the Small Claims Tribunals.

This would be similar for vendors who have supplied their goods or services if their claims are below S$20,000.

"In the event that their quantum of claim is larger than S$20,000, these vendors may want to consider engaging a lawyer to begin litigation against these gyms or fitness studios," Mr Ho added.

Employees may sue for a breach of their employment contract, which would go through the Employment Claims Tribunals instead, though the amount of claim is limited to S$20,000.

Ms Luo Ling Ling, managing director of Luo Ling Ling LLC, said that freelancers do not have such recourse and they would have to go through the Small Claims Tribunals instead.

In the event that these fitness studios are insolvent, Ms Luo said that creditors may apply for a winding-up order against these companies. She added, though, that this is typically done by larger creditors.

"In such a situation, a liquidator would be appointed to wind up these corporations. The remaining assets of these corporations would be distributed according to the pari-passu principle (on an equal footing)," she said.

The pari-passu principle means that each party is treated equally and thus receives the same amount.

"Among customers, workers and vendors, it is likely that the employees would be paid first," Ms Luo added.

"As for consumers and vendors, the pari-passu principle would apply."

She said that for freelancers, they would also be subjected to the pari-passu principle and since they are not employees, they rank the same as other creditors.