Running a gym might be stereotypically a male thing, but at Macao Fitness, Norika Chio is the boss and she won’t let anybody push her around.
The tough and glowing Chio, CEO and managing director of Macao Fitness, started out as a distributor of US dermatologists recommended health skin products before she started her own nutrition business Power Nutrition (PNM Limited) in 2001 when she found that exercising is the best way to a beautiful and healthy body shape and the supplement makes it more effective faster.
“I have always been into a healthy and fit lifestyle and many people opt for dieting and doing body treatments, but I was looking for something that’s healthier for the body and soul, and only through exercising can you get a healthily fit body, and supplements help that process,” Chio told MPD Weekender at her Macao Fitness gym in AIA Tower last week.
After years of introducing and providing a comprehensive range of sports nutrition and health supplements to locals, Chio earnt a reputation and built a loyal customer base that supported her when she started her own fitness centre.
“It’s men who are usually in the fitness business but I’m really into being healthy and getting a beautiful body shape and I couldn’t find an ideal commercial gym in Macau then,” Chio said, and so, in May 2011, she opened Macao Fitness, a 20-million-pataca investment located right in the city centre in AIA Tower.
“I’m very confident in the fitness industry here, as long as the rent doesn’t kill us,” said Chio, who managed to secure a 10-year lease in the Grade-A commercial building in Nam Van.
The confident-looking Chio has dozens of staff under her and about 10 instructors, mostly men who all have full respect for her.
“As a woman in business, you’ve got to be tough and not let people push you around, but before that, you need to work hard, be bold and be attentive. Being diligent and having passion in what you’re doing is key to success,” Chio, a workaholic who is always monitoring the market trend and her business every day, said.
With over 100 pieces of equipment and offering 150 group classes and one-on-one training sessions, Chio also put in the fitness centre a sauna, a German brand MegaSun solarium for tanning and a booth for collagen therapy for all types of needs.
Currently most popular group classes are hot yoga, aerial yoga, samba dance, strong zumba – an intensive session of aerobics with body combat – and ABT (abs, bum, thighs), and spinning.
All of its treadmills and certain cardio machines are connected to the Internet so people can watch their favourite TV shows online during their workouts, and even the lockers in the changing rooms have a smartphone charging cable installed – a major appeal for members – so they can make use of the time recharging themselves to recharge their phones.
“We have everything for every type of customer, whether you want to lose weight, tone your body, detox, de-stress or are looking for bodybuilding”, Chio said, “As we’re living in the city, we get a lot of stress being built up from work. So if you had a bad day, you come here for a workout and you’d forget about how bad your day was, it’s very important that we release that stress, and the best way to do it is through workouts – you get to clear your mind and you get a healthier body.”
If workout is too much, Chio said you should at least stretch to relax the muscles.
“Stretching is probably more important for people who work sitting behind a desk at a computer all day. If you don’t relax those muscles, they will only get stiffer and that’s why people get cramps.”
Seeing that people in general are getting more health conscious, Chio, who is always up for a challenge to explore ways to build up her business, said there are still opportunities in the fitness industry and so is looking to open branch in Taipa.
“It’s still in the plans,” Chio said, adding that more details would be announced in due course.
Macao Fitness CEO and Managing Director Norika Chio poses for a photo at the gym last Friday. Photo: Monica Leong
