He Left Engineering to Build Gyms

800 members. A popular gym. And a business that still had to close. Bashir Yannick’s first gym in Rwanda attracted customers quickly, but high rent, excessive space and flawed pricing made the business unsustainable. After about 18 months, it closed. When he rebuilt @soho.rw , he focused less on membership numbers and more on the economics behind them. Pricing, capacity, personal training, coaches and systems became central to the model. The result was a more disciplined fitness business, with a growing coaching team and reported profitability of more than 30%.