Yang Chi-seung smiles again after filming first ad following gym loss

Good news has arrived for celebrity trainer Yang Chi-seung. After closing the gym he built over a lifetime due to massive lease damages and even starting a new job, he has signaled a comeback by filming his first advertisement through his YouTube channel.

In a video released on his YouTube channel 'Yang Chi-seung's MakTube' on the 20th, Yang announced he had filmed his first advertisement and expressed his gratitude, saying, "It is all thanks to you all." The video is titled 'If I had this, I would have bought a building,' which uses humor to reflect on his current reality while recalling his past struggles managing members while running his own gym.

This advertisement holds particular significance because Yang has experienced considerable ups and downs in recent years. Since the 2010s, he became well-known as a star trainer, gaining public recognition by training actors such as Sunghoon and Kim Woo-bin, and established a dual identity as both a 'harsh-talking trainer' and a media personality through various variety shows.

However, his gym business did not go as planned. While operating a fitness club in a building in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Yang received an eviction notice due to issues regarding the building's rights and the operating period, and eventually closed the gym in July 2025. At the time, he stated that he suffered losses of at least 1,000,000,000 won, including deposits and facility costs, while other reports suggested the scale of damage reached approximately 1,500,000,000 won.

The building in question was reported to be a structure where a private developer built on land owned by Gangnam-gu, used it for free for a certain period, and then transferred the management and operating rights. Yang claimed he was not fully aware of these rights at the time of the lease agreement and appealed that he suffered massive losses during the eviction process. According to related reports, he also lost the lawsuit for the handover of the building filed by Gangnam-gu.

Losing the gym was not the end. Yang stated that he proceeded with refund processes to ensure members did not suffer damages, and mentioned that even during the closure, he was preparing refund money by disposing of his personal vehicle and belongings. His actions at the time drew significant attention as he sought to fulfill his promises to members until the end, rather than accepting the business failure as a purely personal loss.

Since then, Yang has embraced the unfamiliar title of 'office worker.' In early 2026, he personally revealed that he joined a service company that manages and operates community facilities in apartments and buildings, overseeing various facilities such as gyms, swimming pools, golf facilities, GX, Pilates, and cafes. For someone who had lived primarily through part-time jobs and running gyms since his 20s, this was effectively his first corporate life.

In this video, Yang brought up stories from his trainer days again. While exercising with a current trainer, when the production team asked about member management and PT income, Yang shared his realistic experience that it is difficult for members to decide which trainer to choose based on consultation alone.

He explained that during the initial consultation, most trainers may seem similar, and ultimately, from the member's perspective, price becomes the deciding factor. Just as one compares the ingredients, price, and characteristics of products like chicken breast, he noted that for PT, price inevitably becomes an important criterion until the service is actually received.

When the current trainer explained that they use an application to help manage members' exercise records, Yang recalled the past. Looking at the system that connects member management to product purchases, he said, "If such an app had existed back then, I would have used it so efficiently."

This led to him saying, "If I had used it since the old days, I could have retired, but I ended up going bust." He added the joke, "I would have bought a building," which carried both laughter and bitterness. It was a moment that clearly revealed the irony of looking at a technology he might have used for business expansion in the past from the perspective of a closed business owner.

An even heavier moment occurred when the production team suggested he register for the application himself. Yang said, "I don't have a gym. I am not a trainer," and when the current trainer replied, "You should return to being a trainer," he answered, "I want to return to being a trainer too. But I don't have a gym."

Though it sounds like a short joke, those words encapsulate Yang's current situation. He has not given up the profession of being a trainer; rather, he has lost his business foundation. While his professional expertise and media recognition remain, he has lost the physical space to connect them back to his business.

For him, this first advertisement holds more meaning than a simple sponsorship. While it may just be a single ad in a YouTube video to the public, for Yang, it serves as confirmation that even after his gym's closure, his name and content still hold economic value.

In particular, even after losing his gym, Yang has continued his YouTube activities while balancing broadcast appearances and his new job, expanding his career in different forms. In fact, at the time of the closure in 2025, he stated, "I will make sure to show you my comeback," and subsequently began a new life as an office worker.

For an entrepreneur, failure is recorded in numbers, but a comeback is not always explained by them. It is not about instantly recovering lost deposits and facility costs, but the process of working again, creating content, and building new revenue streams that constitutes a true comeback.

Yang's comment that the advertisement was "all thanks to you all" can be read in the same context. A man who once managed members at a gym spanning hundreds of square meters is now utilizing his experience, character, and content itself as a business asset.

Losing a gym does not mean 'Trainer Yang Chi-seung' has disappeared. Rather, by converting his expertise in exercise and self-management into content even after leaving the physical space of a gym, this first advertisement has become a small scene showing that he is standing at the starting line once again.