fitin didn't start with a business plan.

It started with Ishu and I renting a small 2BHK apartment near our homes so that we didn’t go back. So that it didn’t become one of those ideas you talk about for a few days, research for a few more, and then slowly stop mentioning.

We wanted to take it seriously. So we found a place and told ourselves that at the end of every month, we’d have to pay its rent from our own pockets.

That apartment is now our first office, studio, testing ground and everything in between.

And from here, we started experimenting.

Hi, I am Ishaan, one of the founders at fitin, and I have been meaning to write this for a while. If you’re curious about who we are as people behind everything we do at fitin, how we got started, and what the purpose looks like for us, stay with me.

Before I tell you about myself, I want to introduce Ishu, my co-founder. I think it’s only fair because fitin exists largely because of her.

We met at Anytime Fitness.

I was a member and this was probably my fifth or sixth attempt to build a fitness routine.

It had been a couple of months since I started training there when Ishu joined as a personal trainer.

Somehow, we got into a conversation, and from there I got to know more about her.

She had landed there because of a knee injury that made it impossible for her to continue playing taekwondo, a sport she had played for almost half her life, winning seven national and three Indian international gold medals.

She’s the eldest daughter in her family, someone who’s always been protective by nature. That quality reflects in how she trains and takes care of her clients even today. Her father is an ex-serviceman and due to that, she has lived all over India, moving from one place to another, sometimes for her father’s postings, and sometimes for her tournaments.

After her injury, when her world sort of shattered, she took time to recover. But even through that loss, she realised something important - sports, health and movement were still close to her heart. That clarity led her to study at one of India’s most respected institutes for sports education, the Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education and Sports Sciences (IGIPESS).

That’s where she went deep into the science of movement, training and health, and learnt the craft of fitness from the inside out.

And to be honest, her expertise doesn’t end there. She makes excellent healthy sweets (if you’re a fitin client, you may already know this),

knows more about fruits than anyone I have ever met,

and if you take her to the mountains, she’ll tell you an interesting fact about every other flower you spot. So that’s her.

Now, about me.

Remember how I said joining Anytime Fitness was probably my sixth attempt at building a fitness routine? Well, in the first five, I either quit after a day, a week, a month or sometimes, didn’t even start properly.

Some days, it was because the trainer had me do such an exhausting routine on day one that I just didn’t have the courage to go back. Some days, life was so hectic that I couldn’t take out 60 to 90 minutes for the gym. And on a few, I’ll admit, I was just lazy because, to be honest, I wasn’t enjoying it.

But there were also other reasons.

One of the hardest parts about going to a gym is the intimidation. You walk in and you see fit people everywhere, lifting heavy weights, following perfect routines, knowing exactly what to do. And then there’s you - standing there with no clue where to start. It makes you uncomfortable. It makes you want to run away.

And when you finally do gather the courage to ask a trainer for help, you often get one of two responses: either a quick demo and they move on, or a personal training pitch. And when you say no, most of them lose interest. You become invisible.

It’s disheartening, especially when you’re genuinely trying to make a change.

Curious, why did I still wished to build a fitness routine in the first place?

Well, a couple of years ago, I lost my mum.

She was beautiful, kind, hardworking and intelligent. She worked at AIIMS and did everything she could to make sure her kids, me and my younger brother, got the best possible education.

One day, she went for a normal check-up because she had some discomfort in her stomach. A few tests later, the results came back. It was stage four cancer. Nine months later, we lost her.

While I pretended to be okay on the outside for over a year, inside I was broken. Emotionally torn. I would cry for no reason at all.

But this isn’t a story about grief. It’s about what changed after that. Two things happened, knowingly or unknowingly.

The first was work. I decided I would work hard, take all the professional bets I could, and make something out of myself. My mum had spent every bit she could on my education, even when she could barely afford the school fees. I wanted to make that count. I didn’t want to leave any stone unturned.

The second change came slowly. I started taking care of my health. Eating on time. Eating better. Moving a little every day. Maybe seeing death so closely does that to you. Maybe.

I wanted to stay healthy. I wanted my dad and younger brother to do the same. I wanted to set an example.

So when people ask me, “Ishaan, why are you so deep into fitness?” or “what’s the need to do all this?”, this is the real answer I want to give, but rarely do.

That’s the truth. And that’s where the journey really began for me.

So when I met Ishu, I think we connected through her helping me with the correct exercise form, making me understand that you don’t really have to do 60 minutes, and that what matters is showing up. Slowly, I started improving and could do things like this now

Even though she wasn’t my personal trainer, through her guidance we connected, and over time we shared how we both wanted to build something of our own - something meaningful.

She came from the world of discipline and sport. I came from the world of business and marketing.

She was frustrated with how gyms operated, how trainers were pushed to become salespeople, and how female trainers were almost non-existent. I understood how people start and quit again and again, with guilt slowly destroying their confidence.

That’s how the concept of fitin started taking shape - slowly, through a lot of conversations, trial and error, and listening to people who were struggling just like we once did.

Every part of fitin comes from something we’ve lived.

Ishu’s years as an athlete taught us the importance of injury prevention and proper technique, not blind intensity. She had seen what happens when you push without care, and how easily discipline can turn into punishment if not guided with empathy.

My struggles taught us that flexibility of time is crucial for anyone to begin. You can’t expect a working professional, a founder or a parent to follow a fixed one-hour routine every day. Fitness has to fit into your life, not take it over.

Our shared frustration with intimidating gyms made us focus on approachable, empathetic trainers, all of whom are women. Trainers who understand context, who don’t just instruct but actually guide you through your ups and downs.

And our vision is simple: to make working out and eating better feel doable for founders, operators and professionals with busy and erratic schedules.

We are carrying the vision today through different fitness programs we run. You can check them out here. And if there’s something I can help you with, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

If you’ve read this far, thank you. Maybe a part of our story feels familiar. We don't have all the answers. We’re still learning, still experimenting, still showing up.

But every time someone tells us they have finally started enjoying workouts (instagram highlight link), it feels like we’re on the right path.

Will be back soon with another story, Ishaan Kaintura