Meet Arjun Shetty, the fitness entrepreneur training clients across the world

Before launching Ace with Arjun, a premier online fitness venture, Arjun Shetty’s life was defined by sport. Growing up in Thane, Mumbai, he represented his school and college in cricket at the under-14, under-16, and under-19 levels before progressing to A Division cricket in Mumbai. He played in the prestigious Kanga League and counts scoring a century against Shivaji Park in an A Division match as one of the highlights of his playing career.

Shetty also represented leading Mumbai clubs, including Parsi Gymkhana and Tata Sports Club, where he shared the dressing room with several players who went on to represent India, including Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Aditya Tare, Shivam Dube, Tushar Deshpande, Shashank Singh, and Sarfaraz Khan.

Despite enjoying success in Mumbai's competitive cricket circuit, opportunities to progress were limited. On the advice of coaches Abhishek Nayar and Aavishkar Salvi, he moved to Puducherry, then an emerging cricketing destination, where he spent three years.

During his stint there, he was among the union territory’s top run-scorers and competed in the Pondicherry Premier League.

His performances in Puducherry led to an opportunity to play in Sri Lanka's List A circuit, where he played alongside several international cricketers, including Ajanta Mendis.

“When I got married, the financial uncertainty of cricket became a real concern. I was earning Rs 15,000-20,000 a month from the Tata Sports Club, with matches mostly on Sundays. That’s not a stable livelihood when you have a family,” says Shetty.

After stepping away from competitive cricket, Shetty decided to pursue fitness professionally. He earned multiple strength and conditioning certifications and specialised certifications in prenatal and postpartum fitness. While many encouraged him to become a cricket coach, he realised his true passion lay elsewhere. Rather than coaching athletes on the field, he wanted to help people transform their lives through fitness, using training to improve their strength, confidence, and overall well-being.

Shetty began travelling to clients’ homes for in-person sessions, but it became unsustainable, especially during the monsoon season.

When COVID-19 hit in 2020, he had no choice but to take the training online.

Locked down in Thane with nowhere to go and plenty of energy, he started training a friend online. In two to three months, the friend had transformed. Impressed, the friend told Shetty to train a Canadian contact, a woman in Toronto, at the rate of $300 for three months of online coaching.

Shetty protested that no one would pay that much. But the woman agreed, and soon word spread.

The Canadian client referred a friend, who referred another. Soon, Shetty was working 12 to 16 hours a day across time zones, California in the mornings, Dubai in the afternoons, and evenings in New York.

Then one night, his blood pressure spiked. His parents and wife sat him down. He hired a coach, and soon his online fitness platform took off. It now runs with 18 to 21 trainers, a dedicated nutritionist, and clients across the United States, Canada, Australia, and Dubai. He has over 200 active clients and has trained over 1,000 people online so far.

Shetty built Ace with Arjun around a single, non-negotiable principle: every session is live. Every class happens on Zoom, in real time.

Every personal training client begins with a 30-minute consultation call with Shetty himself. From there, his team, the trainer, and the nutritionist build a personalised plan based on goals, health conditions, and schedule. Women form 85–90% of his client base; many of them deal with issues such as PCOD, thyroid, postpartum weight, or cholesterol, conditions especially prevalent in the Indian diaspora in the US.

Group sessions serving younger clients who cannot afford private coaching are capped at 20-25 people to maintain quality. Shetty started these sessions at $49 for two months; the first batch had 25 people.

US clients pay $450–$500 for three months of personal training.

Describing the experience, he says, “When you are an NRI in the US and a trainer speaks to you in Hindi or English with warmth, it means a lot. People there can be isolated; they don’t speak to each other in the gym. I’ve had clients for two to three years who check in regularly, like family. When I visited the US, I stayed with some of them.”

Shetty is direct about the misconceptions he has to dismantle about fitness, especially the myth that strength training makes women look masculine.

“Women don't have the testosterone levels to build muscle like men. Those women on Instagram who look extremely muscular are on anabolics. After 30, women begin losing significant muscle mass. Perimenopause can start as early as 38 years.

“Strength training is critical for bone density, preventing sarcopenia, managing cortisol, and navigating the hormonal changes of menopause. It matters more for women than men at this stage of life, and yet it is precisely the demographic most reluctant to try it,” he explains.

He points out that in India, people are okay with paying for insurance but not for a trainer. And there aren't enough knowledgeable trainers in India to change that perception.

In March this year, Shetty opened Hybrid Headquarters, a 2,700 sq ft premium fitness studio in Thane. It offers exclusive group sessions and personal training for clients.

“I took inspiration from US gyms which feature a members-only, community-driven fitness studio model. We have 120 clients trying for Hyrox and 30 who have opted for personal training. We have nine coaches in the studio. The memberships sold out within days of opening. I am already planning a bigger space in the next three months,” says Shetty.

He wants to build a real fitness community in Thane with community runs, group workouts, and a coffee culture.

His plan going forward is to focus on online fitness training, particularly in the US, Canada, and Australia.

“This helps my coaches earn around Rs 50,000 a month while they work from home and also take on other assignments. It’s a win for everyone,” he says.