Gyms to tech wearables: Virat Kohli does a Dhoni, plans Rs 90 cr investment in fitness

Following in the footsteps of India’s ODI captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli is betting big on fitness and is reportedly investing a whopping Rs 90 crore to set up a chain of gyms across the country. According to a report in Times of India, the chain of gyms will be called Chisel. The brand is jointly owned by Kohli, Chisel Fitness and CSE, the sister concern of Cornerstone Sport & Entertainment, which is the agency that manages Kohli. Apart from gyms, Kohli is looking to launch fitness inspired clothing lines and tech wearables under the Chisel brand, the report added. Kohli has reportedly also invested an undisclosed amount in London-based social media   Sport Convo . Sport Convo was founded by Vishal Patel, Amrit Johal, co-founder investor, Praveen Reddy and chief designer, Jasneel Nagi. The business is being backed by private venture capital investment and the site is being developed by a technology company specialising in social media in Delhi. The site is currently under development, aims to be a leading player in sport-specific social media. [caption id=“attachment_2180703” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] RCB skipper Virat Kohli. PTI[/caption] Kohli also co-owns Indian Super League football franchise FC Goa and has a clothing line for youngsters – Wrogn. Apart from Kohli, Mahendra Singh Dhoni entered into the business of fitness through a company co-founded along with his business manager Arun Pandey – SportsFit brand. The brand starting franchising in 2013 and has plans to open at least 300 gyms by the year end. On Monday, Yuvraj Singh also invested an undisclosed amount as seed funding in a mobile phone-based beauty and wellness startup Vyomo. Robin Uthappa even has a food startup called iTiffin, but Yuvi is first to foray into venture capital. It appears that the link between start-ups and cricket is only getting stronger.Apart from endorsement sand seed capitals from cricketers, several startups are sponsoring teams in the Indian Premier League this year. According to a report in Mint, Cardekho and Paytm have signed up as associate sponsors and are estimated to shell out Rs.28-35 crore each, while E-commerce portal ShopClues made a maiden entry into IPL advertising with its role as the official e-commerce partner of the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK).