A bizarre case of fitness fraud has emerged from eastern China, where a man spent over ₹1 crore (871,000 yuan) on a 300-year gym membership and coaching packages, only to find the gym owner had vanished with his money.

The man, identified as Jin, was a long-time customer at Ranyan Gym in Hangzhou’s Binjiang District. In May 2025, he was offered an unusual promotional deal: purchase annual memberships for 8,888 yuan each (approx ₹1 lakh) and resell them for nearly double the price. The gym promised 90% of the profit from sales and a guaranteed refund if the cards weren’t resold within two months.

Trusting the scheme, Jin initially bought two cards — but quickly became convinced to invest more. Between May 10 and July 9, he signed 26 contracts, purchasing 1,200 memberships and lessons with a combined validity of 300 years — all worth nearly ₹1 crore.

However, when Jin tried to recover part of the promised amount on July 15, the payment never came. Staff told him the finance department was reviewing the request. By the end of July, the gym’s owner and sales executives had disappeared.

Despite the fraud, Ranyan Gym remains operational, staffed only by receptionists and admin personnel, according to Zhejiang TV.

Shockingly, Jin later realized that none of the contracts contained terms about resale profits or refunds. In fact, the contracts explicitly barred membership transfers, contradicting the sales pitch entirely.

“I admit I was brainwashed,” Jin told local media. “I believed I was just one step away from getting all my money back.”

“It wasn’t about living 300 years — it was about investing in fitness,” he added.

The case has triggered national debate in China over aggressive sales practices and the lack of consumer safeguards in the fitness industry. Jin has since filed a lawsuit and approached media outlets in hopes of recovering his money and warning others against similar scams.