In a MediaBrief exclusive, Aqib Mohammed, Co-Founder, SLOVIC, speaks about how the brand is making home fitness more accessible and affordable for Indian consumers, the growing demand for flexible wellness solutions across metros and emerging markets, and the strategy behind its ‘Gym Ghar Lao’ campaign featuring Tiger Shroff. He also shares insights on balancing affordability with quality, building a creator-led fitness community, and how Slovic is evolving its marketing approach to drive long-term behavioural change in an increasingly competitive home fitness landscape. Read on.
Since its founding in 2021 by Aqib Mohammed and Shashwat Diesh, Indian sports and fitness gear brand Slovic has focused on reshaping at-home wellness. Discussing the brand’s foundational philosophy, co-founder Aqib Mohammed says, “At Slovic, our core value proposition is centered on making fitness accessible, practical, and sustainable for everyday Indian consumers.
He continues, “We operate at the intersection of affordability, convenience, and home fitness, with a strong focus on solving real-world lifestyle constraints such as limited space, busy schedules, and the intimidation often associated with traditional gym environments.”
He adds, “One of the biggest gaps we identified is that while interest in fitness is growing rapidly in India, access still remains limited for large segments including working professionals, women, beginners, and older consumers. With gym penetration in India still relatively low, many consumers are increasingly looking for flexible home-based fitness solutions.
“At Slovic,” Aqib says, “we aim to bridge this gap through space-efficient, user-friendly, and affordable fitness equipment that integrates seamlessly into everyday life and encourages long-term wellness habits.”
Key growth drivers and emerging consumer segments
When asked about Slovic’s key growth drivers and the consumer segments showing the strongest pull toward home fitness solutions, Aqib says, “Our growth has largely been driven by the rising demand for convenient, affordable, and home-based fitness solutions that fit seamlessly into modern Indian lifestyles. Consumers today are increasingly prioritising flexibility, especially as busy schedules, hybrid work routines, and space constraints make traditional gym memberships harder to sustain.”
He adds, “India’s fitness and wellness market is expected to nearly double by 2030, driven largely by younger and digitally connected consumers seeking more accessible and lifestyle-oriented fitness solutions. Campaigns like Gym Ghar Lao also resonated strongly by positioning fitness as something practical and accessible within everyday home environments.
“The strongest demand,” he says, “is coming from young working professionals, first-time fitness users, women, and families looking for simple and approachable wellness solutions. There is also increasing traction from Tier II and Tier III cities, where fitness awareness is growing rapidly alongside digital commerce adoption and home-first lifestyle preferences.”
Balancing affordability, durability, and brand trust
On balancing price sensitivity with quality and brand trust, Aqib says, “Price sensitivity is a defining reality in the Indian fitness market, but we believe affordability should not come at the cost of quality or user experience.”
“At Slovic,” he says, “the focus has been on designing products specifically for Indian households and usage patterns rather than building premium products with unnecessary complexity. This allows us to optimize functionality, durability, and pricing more effectively.”
He adds, “We also rely heavily on consumer feedback, marketplace insights, and rapid product iteration to improve usability and long-term performance. Instead of competing purely on discounts, the brand focuses on creating value through reliability, practical design, and accessibility. Building long-term trust comes from consistent product quality, customer support, and ensuring that fitness feels achievable and sustainable for everyday consumers.”
Role of celebrity endorsements in a utility-led category
Speaking about the Gym Ghar Lao campaign featuring Tiger Shroff, Aqib says, “Gym Ghar Lao was intended to communicate practicality, accessibility, and the ease of integrating fitness equipment into their lives.
“The involvement of Tiger Shroff as an endorser helped communicate the idea that fitness can be aspirational and convenient at the same time. This is especially relevant in a market environment where home workout is a much more practical solution for most people.”
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Performance, brand, and creator-led marketing mix
On Slovic’s marketing mix across performance, brand-building, and creators, Aqib says, “We think of performance marketing as operational hygiene and always ensure that we have a certain share of visibility on any platform that closely reflects our aspirational market share across categories.”
He adds, “Brand-building on the other hand is a long-term growth investment that helps us build the right mental associations for Slovic as a brand while also driving overall growth in the various categories we operate in.”
He adds, “While our media distribution is similar to any other D2C brand in terms of a very online-first approach, we have a large, thriving community of creators who help us build on the mission of democratising fitness and making it feel accessible for most people.”
From aspiration to sustained behavioural change
On Slovic’s broader marketing philosophy, Aqib says, “Fitness marketing has traditionally focused on aspiration, transformation, and extreme goals, but our approach is centered more on consistency, accessibility, and everyday practicality. The brand narrative is built around making fitness feel achievable for ordinary consumers rather than intimidating or performance-driven.”
He continues, “Instead of promoting unrealistic routines, we focus on encouraging small, sustainable habits that can easily fit into daily life, especially within Indian homes where time and space are often limited. Campaigns like Gym Ghar Lao reflect this philosophy by positioning fitness as convenient and adaptable rather than disruptive. The larger goal is to shift fitness from being an occasional activity to becoming a natural and long-term part of everyday lifestyle and wellness routines.”
Efficient customer acquisition amid rising ad costs
Fitness as a category is often shaped by aspiration-led storytelling, but Slovic is working to shift the narrative toward sustained behavioural change and everyday utility. On this, Aqib says, “Our goal is to focus on earning consideration rather than buying it: by building a genuine community of fitness creators who use and advocate for the products authentically, rather than relying on traditional paid advertising to reach new customers. This organic content engine does the heavy lifting on awareness, so when we do spend on performance marketing, it’s working with the grain of existing demand rather than creating it from scratch.
“At the same time,” he says, “having Tiger Shroff as the face of the brand with a clear, accessible message of Gym Ghar Lao gives Slovic a cultural presence that money alone can’t buy. Together, these shifts mean that our marketing becomes more efficient as we become bigger.”
Future marketing strategy in a crowded fitness market
Looking ahead, when asked how Slovic is evolving its marketing strategy to stay relevant as the home fitness space becomes increasingly crowded, Aqib says, “As the home fitness market becomes more competitive, our marketing strategy is evolving from pure product visibility toward building a deeper everyday wellness narrative. The focus is no longer just on selling equipment, but on making fitness feel practical, sustainable, and naturally integrated into daily life. Consumers today are increasingly prioritising flexibility, convenience, and long-term wellness habits over short-term transformation goals.”
“Going forward,” he says, “technology will help create more personalised and engaging fitness experiences, while partnerships with creators, athletes, and wellness communities will strengthen trust, education, and long-term consumer engagement beyond transactional marketing.”
