"We’d like to put Southampton on the map."
Sohail Chowdhary is a businessman who appeared on BBC’s The Apprentice in 2023.
It recently emerged that Sohail had invested in a new gym in his hometown of Southampton, UK.
By using the business connections he established on the business reality show, he opened Limitless Martial Arts.
The gym is located in Empress Road, Bevois Valley and is open to people of all ages. Children as young as three years can use it too.
Beginners, novices, and experts are able to participate in activities including kickboxing, judo, boxing, and mixed martial arts (MMA).
Sohail Chowdhary spoke about the gym, revealing: “It’s a family-friendly martial arts club but it’s a proper MMA gym as well.
“So we’re taking training to the next level in Southampton, developing good fighters but characters as well.
“We’d like to put Southampton on the map in the martial arts world.
“The feedback has been good so far. People seem to love it.
“We’ve had people come here from all over Southampton and as far away as Fair Oak, but it’s early days yet.”
The gym apparently cost over £50,000 to establish. Commenting on this, Sohail continued:
“It was very expensive to put this sort of thing together, we want to build a community.
“We’re expanding a sister club in London, but I’d rather invest my money here.
“I grew up around here – if I had a place like this when I was growing up, I’d have loved it and been here 24/7.
“It’s crazy because last week we saw some kids rocking up for five out of the seven days we do classes, and they loved every single one.
“I’m more than happy to invest tens of thousands into Southampton.
“When you go on a show like The Apprentice, you’re in front of nine million people and there’s so many opportunities at hand.
“I’ve stayed in touch with everyone from the show.”
During his time on The Apprentice, Sohail enjoyed a decent run, lasting in the show for seven weeks.
However, when Lord Alan Sugar tasked the candidates with designing a children’s lunchbox with an accompanying app, Sohail Chowdhary was fired for mismanaging the team and overseeing a failed product.
The Apprentice is soon set to return for its 19th series on Thursday, January 30, 2025.
The candidates will find themselves in Austria, tasked with selling and running alpine tours.