From California Fitness To True Fitness: What 10 Years Of Sudden Gym Closures Can Teach Us

This past Friday morning, news broke that True Fitness and True Yoga in Singapore were closing down suddenly. All 10 outlets in Singapore under the True Group, including the TFX and Yoga Edition brands, have shuttered, leaving members and staff in the lurch. Tragically, True Fitness’ closure reminded many in Singapore of the collapse of its former rival, California Fitness, in 2016. In fact, several True Fitness members and staff, along with at least one outlet location, switched from California Fitness to True Fitness in 2016.

California Fitness Was The First Major Collapse In 2016

California Fitness was once a symbol of aspirational living when it first opened in 1998 as one of the country’s first mega gyms. With sprawling outlets in Bugis, Orchard, Raffles Place and Novena, it promised prestige, convenience, and community at a level unheard of in Singapore’s fitness industry. Yet in 2016, the chain abruptly shut its doors, leaving its nearly 27,000 members stranded with over $20 million in prepaid fees.

A business model built on aggressive expansion and hefty prepaid packages proved unsustainable. Later in 2019, liquidators blamed parent company JV Fitness for letting gym members fund the business for three years, even though the company had been heavily in debt since 2013. With only $200,000 in capital, the firm’s liabilities far outweighed its assets, making it impossible to repay most creditors.

For many, the closure was their first encounter with the fragility of fitness institutions, and the shock reverberated across Singapore. Unfortunately, gym closures became a regular refrain in Singapore over the next decade.

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The Domino Effect For Gyms After COVID

The collapse of California Fitness was not an isolated event. Over the next decade, Singapore saw a string of closures that echoed the same themes. The industry was also hit hard by the pandemic, when working from home turned outlets in town into white elephants.

Between 2019 and 2022, the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) received 23 complaints due to the sudden closures of 14 gyms and fitness centres, involving more than $16,000 in contract value. However, things got much worse as gyms struggled post-pandemic.

UFC Gym Singapore opened its first outlet at CityLink Mall in March 2019, then a second at City Square Mall. Both outlets closed suddenly in 2022 and 2023, citing “challenging market conditions” and pandemic-related losses. Members filed police reports, but refunds were scarce.

Smaller boutique operators like Haus Athletics, boOm Singapore, and Fenix Fitness all shuttered within a year because of the pandemic’s impact and subsequent post-pandemic rent hikes.

Haus and boOm closed in May and June 2023, respectively, after 6 years in operation, and Fenix closed in August that same year. boOm informed members of its impending closure and promised to refund unused portions of their packages. In contrast, both Haus and Fenix shut down all their branches suddenly, unable to refund millions of dollars in prepaid fees to hundreds of their members.

Ritual Gym, a pioneer of 30-minute high-intensity workouts, closed four outlets in 2024: East Coast, Orchard, Holland Village, and Tiong Bahru. Though the gym claims to have taken steps to minimise the impact of its closure on customers, members were still left in the dark over the possibility of refunds, the latest victims in a now very familiar scenario.

Then came 2026, when True Fitness and True Yoga collapsed after its parent company entered liquidation. Losses mounted to HK$19.1 million in just eight months, with liabilities more than triple its assets.

Ironically, this wasn’t the first time members were concerned about True Fitness’ sustainability. Back in 2017, the brand had ceased nationwide operations in Thailand and Malaysia, prompting fears that another California Fitness-like collapse would happen here. Nonetheless, it would take another decade before True Fitness finally surrendered in Singapore.

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The Psychology Of Fitness Consumption

These closures unfortunately all seemed to end the same way. Gyms, both big and small, often relied on long-term contracts and prepaid packages to fund operations, but when growth slowed, liabilities often outpaced assets.

In all the examples above, members bore the brunt of collapse, with little recourse for refunds, even after registering as creditors. For some, like Ritual Gym members, who found genuine value in the culture that had developed around the community, they lost more than just money when the gyms closed.

Yet, the industry continues to innovate. After a decade of closures, franchise models have now flourished. Brands like Anytime Fitness and BFT have spread across the island, and members are confident that even if one outlet closes, their memberships remain valid at another. For those less willing to spend, condo gyms and community centre gyms have become reliable alternatives.

That said, sudden closures are not unique to fitness. There’s a reason why CaseTrust, the accreditation arm of CASE, is more focused on spas and renovation companies than gyms, and that’s because, in the grand scheme of things, gym closures are still rare.  In its list of over 1,000 accredited businesses, only names like Amore Fitness and Snap Fitness appear.

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