Wangtang6911 Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Hey guys, So a little bit of a background. I moved here to Shanghai, China about 4 years ago after college and was training here with the Shanghai team. During that time, I was working in finance and my contract lasted about 2 years. During that time, I was working from 6:30AM to about 2:00PM and then going to the gym afterwards since they trained during the day. It was pretty rough and I definitely missed out on a lot of hanging out with friends and partying. Some foreign lady found out that I was training here and asked me if I would be able to coach her 2 daughters in gymnastics, but honestly, I was really hesitant so I pushed it off. Mostly it was due to my schedule and I had never coached kids before. A little bit of background on the gymnastics system here in China. Gymnastics, along with a lot of other sports, are fully funded by the government. So gymnastics facilities are purely for those that are olympic hopefuls. You cannot just walk into a gym and sign up for a class. Hosting athletes in the gym is actually a complicated process and similar to managing a professional sports team in the US. As for foreign children in China, they basically have no place to train. So, this lady kept asking me and I finally said ok and asked one of the coaches at the gym I was training at if there were any smaller gyms that I could use to train these children. After about a month, there was one gym in Shanghai that would let me use their facility. So, I started coaching there. We started out with 2 kids just coaching for 2 hours on the weekend, and a month later, there were 7 kids. It just kept growing because people heard about this and their children didn't have any proper facility to use or proper coaches to train them. This was October of 2009. In 2010, my contract was up, but I thought this gym program could have potential so I decided to not renew my contract with the company I was working for and pursue this gymnastics program full time. That was actually a rougher time because money was hard to come by. In 2011, the number of kids grew from about 15 kids a week to around 70 and things were actually going really well for a little while. The Chinese administration at the gym I was renting saw how popular this gym was and started demanding bribes and other payments. At the time, I didn't have anywhere to go, so I paid them and continued on. I really hated doing this, but it was a necessary evil to continue my dream. From 2009, I had an idea that I was going to open up my own gym one day in Shanghai. I saved in every way I could and cut every unnecessary cost out of my life. I remember sleeping in my cold apartment in the winter with my jacket on under my covers like I was camping. Most days for lunch, I would spend about 50 cents on a yam and dinners would be 1 dollar fried rice that the lady cooked just in my alley. In March of 2013, it is finally starting. I found a business partner that I really trust and respect, a former national team rhythmic gymnast from Indonesia, and together we have saved up enough money to build up our gym. This is a dream that we have shared together so it was definitely fate or destiny that we met. We began renovation in November and the equipment came in just last month. There were many many nights where we waited in an empty warehouse from 3PM to 2AM just waiting for equipment, materials, installation. This was also in the middle of winter. But, after all of that, it's finally done. I am really proud of what we have built here. This is the first privately owned gymnastics training facility here in China. Below is a link to a video of the gym. If any of you are ever in Shanghai, please come by. I will greatly welcome anyone, gymnast or not, to come say hi and just hang out. This path hasn't been easy and looking back now, I have really lost a lot of things I wish I could get back, but there is no use crying over spilled milk. I have also learned a lot of things involved with the corruption here in China. It is present in the way they do business, the way the government runs, and even in their gymnastics system. If anyone ever wants to come by, please contact me. Details of the gym can be found on: www.shanghaigymnastics.com Thank you everyone who read this. 41 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayden Whealing Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Congragulations! Sounds like living in China can be quite a challenge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Sørlie Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Congratulations! And thanks for sharing the story. Sounds like a rough road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matus Michalicka Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 congrats, great story, nice gym you got there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua Naterman Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Wow. That's dedication and determination for you! Congratulations on being the first! You have my deepest respect for having followed such a path. Thanks for sharing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FREDERIC DUPONT Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Kudos to you, it ain't easy! Respect!This little corruption, is the grease that oils the wheels of commerce... no big a deal.Where are you in Shanghai? Argh! If I'd known yesterday, I would have been there this week end! Coach, next seminar maybe? October is very pleasant in Shanghai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irongymnast Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Congratulations! Very inspiring!Out of curiosity, how old are you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wangtang6911 Posted March 15, 2013 Author Share Posted March 15, 2013 I am 26 years old right now. Seminar is definitely possible!! Thank you all for reading! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Douglas Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Wonderful, congratulations! I have a big sister who just opened a kung fu school in Shanghai and has been very interested in gymnastic training; I will let them know about this too if that's ok Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wangtang6911 Posted March 15, 2013 Author Share Posted March 15, 2013 Wonderful, congratulations! I have a big sister who just opened a kung fu school in Shanghai and has been very interested in gymnastic training; I will let them know about this too if that's ok For sure! We are all in this together!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarun Suri Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 I have but one word: Respect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua Slocum Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 That is a very nice gym! Congratulations! I'll have to try to get over to Shanghai sometime... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Vere Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Congratulations on the success! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Lee Wilson Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Wow. I am speechless. Your story was inspiring, and I have the utmost respect for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wangtang6911 Posted March 17, 2013 Author Share Posted March 17, 2013 So after the first week of operation, I realized that there is actually a lot more stress and work running a gym than I actually thought. It's gonna be a long time before I finally get to relax, but I guess there is no turning back now. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razz Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 Big respect man. Inspiring story for sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADRIANO FLORES CANO Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 Impressive history my friend, inspirational above all! I'll be there someday Thanks for that history! Greetings from Spain! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quick Start Test Smith Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 This is amazing. Congratulations on such an achievement! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Mullin Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperMan Posted May 4, 2013 Share Posted May 4, 2013 Man your story made me so sad. Respect. Respect. Respect!Man I wish you from all my heart good luck to you!Maybe 1 day I will come by when I won't be busy saving the world. Yours, SuperMan! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASForum Posted May 4, 2013 Share Posted May 4, 2013 Bows down! From what I know from friends who are there - Chinese Govt will muscle and control everything they want and push how they want. To survive so far and sustain this far - Crazy Courage and Persistence and Faith. PS: Please do make FB Page so that I can send to all friends on that side and make you more popular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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