When I first visited Cycling Bears’ showroom in East Coast Road back in 2022, I remember feeling captivated by its exquisite range of fitness equipment. As a beginner fitness enthusiast and self-proclaimed penny-pincher who buys my yoga mats and dumbbells for no more than S$20 from no-frills retailers such as Decathlon, I had seen nothing like it.

On display were equipment from luxury fitness brands Ciclotte, Pent, NoHrd, Enigma, WaterRower and more, all handcrafted from materials such as wood, steel and leather. To put it bluntly, gym equipment can be rather ugly, but everything displayed at Cycling Bears was aesthetically pleasing, yet functional. The eye-watering price tags made my jaw drop, going up to over S$20,000 for an exercise bike made of glass.

The showroom, an intimate space measuring 650 sq ft, was located on the second floor of a shophouse and operated on a by-appointment only basis. Fast forward two years later and the founders, husband and wife duo Debra Tay and Tudi Guillamot, have since moved to a larger space measuring 900 sq ft in Joo Chiat.

Located on street level, the new gallery, which opened in April, is meant to be more experiential, allowing clients to test out the equipment before committing to a purchase. They no longer have to make an appointment before coming down. A sticker affixed to the gallery's glass exterior, bearing the message "Don't just peek, take a few more steps," entices passersby to enter. "We get a lot of curious people who walk by and peek in, so we want to encourage them to come in," quipped Tay. 

The new showroom symbolises just how far the company, which initially started out as a passion project for the couple, has come in a span of just two years.   

“You can see the difference between the two showrooms. We are now a lot more visible with the offering that we have. Initially, we were not sure how the market would take because our equipment look very different from what people are used to,” said Tay. “Now that we’re gaining a lot of traction, we decided to invest in a larger space.”

The idea to start Cycling Bears came about during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We were exercising at home and we had a yoga mat that was laid on the floor. Because of the heat and humidity, it started to melt,” shared Guillamot. “My background is in wood crafting as my dad was a carpenter. Debra has always had a keen eye for beautiful, handmade products and we both thought that there must be a better way to make fitness equipment that last.”

When Cycling Bears first started, it catered to discerning clients seeking well-made fitness equipment. Every piece of equipment is customisable, where one can pick their preferred colours and materials to match the interiors of their home. Sustainability is also core to the company’s values – all the equipment curated by the company is made from sustainably sourced natural materials, and are made to last.

Aside from the gallery in Singapore, the company has also opened showrooms in Melbourne, Australia and the Philippines. Melbourne was chosen as the couple frequently visits the city to visit family. "There's a lot of growing wealth in the Philippines," Tay said of the decision to open in the Southeast Asian country.

With the brand expanding steadily in the region, Guillamot has left his day job as the head of regional sales for a fire protection systems manufacturer. Tay, meanwhile, keeps her job as a banker.

“One of us has to give Cycling Bears our full attention. I was at a point where I didn’t mind the challenge of entrepreneurship. Debra has started a few businesses in the past, so now it’s my time,” Guillamot explained. (Tay previously dabbled in a few F&B businesses.)

The past two years, the couple said, have largely been focused on educating the fitness industry on their offering. “We invited personal trainers to come and try our products so they can see for themselves that the items not only look good but are functional as well. We also engaged architects and interior designers as they are the ones designing the home gyms for their clients,” said Tay. “This year, our strategy is to engage the end consumers as well.”

Some stand-out products displayed in the Singapore showroom include the top-of-the-range Pent Sophia Fitness Equipment Mobile Set. A comprehensive set on wheels, the bespoke trolley houses essential equipment for endurance, strength, and mobility training. The NoHrd Sprintbok, a curved manual treadmill, also takes pride of place.

The company also has its own Pent x Cycling Bears collection designed in collaboration with the Polish brand. The range consists of off-the-shelf items such as yoga mats, dumbbells, kettlebells and more in unique colours. Prices range from S$240 for a yoga strap to over S$1000 for a fitness ball.

Aside from gym equipment, Cycling Bears has expanded its offerings into wellness and recovery. “Our decision to introduce recovery equipment such as the Sunlighten infrared sauna, Brass Monkey ice bath and Airpod mild hyperbaric oxygen therapy to supplement our fitness lines reflects our commitment to enhancing physical and mental well-being. Having a beautiful space to motivate us in our everyday fitness embodies our belief in the power of having a well-balanced lifestyle," shared Tay.

Although the company began during the pandemic, the reopening of gyms and return to regular exercise routines has not impacted the business. “People still want to have gym equipment at home. Having said that, we still encourage our clients to join classes for the social aspect and interaction, which is good for your emotional wellbeing,” said Tay. However, “we’re seeing a slowdown more so because people are pulling back their purse strings due to inflation," Tay admitted. 

With their eye-popping price tags, the products naturally target a niche audience. But the company wants to expand its focus to include a broader clientele.

Guillamot said: “We have people stepping into the showroom and seeing a S$14,000 set. That is a mountain too high for them to climb. But if we direct them to our selection of yoga mats or individual weights, the perspective changes. They can start by buying a couple of these individual items first then come back in a couple of years to complete their set.”

“There’s an analogy that we can draw from watch collecting. You don’t need to buy a Rolex to start your collection. You can start with a smaller brand with a beautiful mechanism, while enjoying the process of working towards the Rolex in the meantime,” he continued.  

Even if one is not shopping for oneself, items such as fitness mats, yoga blocks, and yoga straps, priced in the hundreds, can also be customised with initials on the leather, making them ideal as gifts. The fitness mats, for example, make for great wedding gifts for an exercise enthusiast duo.

One of the more interesting customisation requests the company has received thus far was from a client in the Philippines. “This client is a comic geek, so he wanted to customise two sets of the Sophia, one inspired by Batman and the other by Ironman. We customised one set in red and gold, and the other in gray, black and dark wood,” shared Tay.

“We meet people who already tick a lot of boxes in life, so they become very conscious about the finer details. We had another client who asked us to match the British green colour of his car,” Guillamot added. “It’s a challenge for us but we love these types of requests. It’s what we seek to do – to fulfil our clients’ dreams and specifications.”

Apart from outfitting home gyms, Cycling Bears also works with hotels, yachts, resorts and private clubs. Hospitality spaces in Singapore sporting the equipment they carry include Marina Bay Sands’ VIP Suites and The Robertson House by The Crest Collection. Tay, who is also trained in interior design, is a home gym designer certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM).

“Designing for a home gym is a lot more specific as we cater to an individual’s exercise routine. For a hotel, we cater to a wider audience, so our first question is usually who are their target guests? The W might be attracting a different clientele from the Edition, for example,” Tay explained. “The second consideration is if the equipment will be in the common gyms or in the VIP suites. Although curating for a hotel is a bit more generic, we are still able to cater to the brand in terms of colours and aesthetics.”

In the two years since they’ve been in business, the couple, naturally, has learnt some lessons in entrepreneurship along the way. “We start every day with humility. We accept that we don’t know everything but as long as we keep our eyes open, we will learn along the way,” said Guillamot.

“Humility is really key. As an entrepreneur, you’re very fixated on your business, so much so that sometimes you have blinkers on,” Tay agreed. “We’ve learned to pivot, that’s why our strategy has changed over the years to expand our target audience.”

Managing a team of employees is also another challenge. “When it’s your own business, as an entrepreneur, you give your own blood, sweat and tears. But with employees, it’s a bit different as they might be motivated by other things. Being able to tailor our management style to each person is a skill that we are still learning and developing,” Tay continued.

As for what’s next for Cycling Bears, “we will continue to look at having more showrooms on the ground in our key markets,” shared Tay. “We also want to leverage on our space to build a community,” added Tay, who shared that the company will look into bringing in partners to organise events and talks around wellness, nutrition and more.

“Holistic wellness is a trendy phrase at the moment, but to us, it’s not just a trend, it’s a personal quest to understand all the mechanisms that go into feeling better. As much as we do it for ourselves, we also want to do it for our clients,” said Guillamot.

For the fitness-loving couple, that includes continuing to study and learn new things in the health and wellness space. Tay is certified by Harvard Medical School on nutrition and is currently pursuing a functional medicine course. “Our main goal is that we want to learn how to live better and we want to share our knowledge with people, so we can help everyone create their own wellness sanctuaries,” she concluded.

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