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In the early days, Mr Yeo operated as a one-man show. He single-handedly planned and ran training sessions with clients, took care of administration and marketing, and even rolled up his sleeves to do cleaning and laundry.<\/span><\/p>\n “As a business owner, any issue is your issue,” said Mr Yeo, adding that he had to learn everything on the job without any formal training in business or marketing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n At first, he tried to lower his prices as much as possible to reach as many customers as he could, as well as taking on any customer that came his way to pay the bills. However, this proved to be an ineffective marketing strategy, and also led to him overextending himself to the edge of burnout.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “The worst part was when the funds were not coming in, and I was bleeding (money) every month. I kept asking myself: ‘Why am I still doing this? Should I call it quits?'”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Despite the odds stacked against him, sheer determination and a refusal to give up kept Mr Yeo pressing on doggedly.<\/p>\n “I don’t regret it, because if I didn’t have that experience, I don’t think I could last till now as well.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Eventually, his sincerity won over the small number of clients he had managed to gather, and the referrals started to stream in. Mr Yeo recalled a conversation with a client that put into perspective what he is trying to build with his business.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This client had medical issues and said that coming to the gym was an escape for him while he worked towards losing weight.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Something clicked in Mr Yeo, who had also found an escape in the gym as a lost teen. “I was out there getting in trouble, getting into fights and all. And the gym was somewhere <\/strong>I could belong to.”<\/span><\/p>\n That same client also showed Mr Yeo how his work was more than skin deep, as the client’s improved health had also led him to feel more confident and better his relationship with his wife.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “I always thought training was just physical. But being a trainer is being a part-time listener as well,” said Mr Yeo.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “Some people may have had a bad day at work or (family) issues, and they come here to release.”<\/span><\/p>\n It may seem like the perfect, happy ending at first: the troubled ex-gangster has turned his life around and found new purpose in his burgeoning business. However, Mr Yeo noted that he is not quite out of the woods just yet.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nSTILL A ‘SMALL KID WITH A WIDER BODY’<\/h2>\n