Startup launches gym pods across China

Chinese company has launched a pay-as-you-go gym that fits inside a booth and is unlocked by using a QR code.

There’s now another way to keep fit in China, as the Chinese company Misspao has launched the ‘pod gym’, a mini-gym just large enough for one. The initial launch has been such a success that Misspao plan on installing 1,000 of the pods across the streets of China by the end of the year.

Although the gyms are very compact, there’s still enough space within them for a treadmill, screen (for music, TV or movies), an air purifier and a range of portable fitness accessories. The pods are also cleaned on a regular basis by a team of maintenance technicians. Booking a place in one of the pods is very simple. There is a companion smartphone app that handles all the bookings and payments and then the user scans in a QR code when they arrive at the pod to gain entry. The pods are very reasonable too, with costs working out to be about USD 0.25 a minute.

Currently there are no plans to launch the pods outside of China, but if they prove to be as successful as Misspao hope they will be, then a worldwide release is almost a certainty.

Another pop-up pod that appeared recently was a podcast recording studio in London, while an American company is turning old British phoneboxes into office pods. Are we looking at a future where all our work and social functions are done in solitary pods, or is this likely to be more of a fad?